Trever Keith is best known for his vocal duties with Face to Face.  And I’ll be upfront honest about this before I continue - I’ve never heard any of Face to Face in the many years that I have understood them to be together.  I am reviewing Trever Keith’s solo debut based on the merits of the album itself, with no expectations as to how it should sound.  After several complete spins, I have to say that Melancholics Anonymous is a fine album.

Trever Keith has the influenced sound of early to mid-‘80s UK bands as you would hear it from groups like Depeche Mode.  On Melancholics Anonymous, there are 11 tracks, the first (“Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die”) hold more to the structure of a current pop-punk sound than more than half of the other songs do.  As the beginning strains of “Sick of Me” waft out of the speakers, you find a welcome familiarity that is warm and inviting.  This song is excellent and begins to reveal the strengths of Keith’s grasp on his uniquely influenced songwriting.  “Polish” is the 4th song on the album and is classic single material.  It has fun guitar and vocal work, and has a fantastic blend of ‘80s and today’s pop-punk as does the excellent “Half Asleep.”

This album has made me a fan and encourages me to not only pay closer attention to Trever Keith but to also seek out earlier Face to Face music.  Sometimes it works backwards.  Melancholics Anonymous is solid work and will appeal to a wider expanse of music fans than current pop-punk phenomenons do.

I call Melancholics Anonymous better than many of today’s chart toppers.  As a note of interest, the album is available as a DD (Digital Download) and can currently be streamed in full at Trever Keith’s website (click on the Website link found below).  In addition, the physical CD is available as a Limited Edition (1000) and will be numbered.