The Kristoffer Carter The Kristoffer Carter Show Kinda like: Dave Matthews, Ryan Adams, Jason Mraz

With only five songs, Carter’s debut CD, The Kristoffer CarterShow, is short and charming. This Northeast Ohio native is a favoriteamong cafe dwellers all over L.A.

His acoustics sound like Dave Matthews when he first learned howto play his first strings, or a hybrid of Ryan Adams and Jason Mraz:poppy, upbeat and quite catchy. It doesn’t sound bad – it’sjust not something we haven’t already heard on the radio.

Carter does get credit, however, for a vibrancy and buoyancy notoften heard on the radio waves. And though his songs are about adifficult breakup, he manages to sound pretty positive about it- well, sometimes.

In the song “Salvation” he fantasizes about putting his girlfriendin a box and dropping her off at The Salvation Army, then the choruschants, “So this is what it feels like to be free!”

Some of his lyrics are a little vague and almost taken out ofcontext. In the song “Ask,” he laments his failed relationship, thensays something about a black girl he once knew who thinks he’s prettycool, and how that should count for something. What that something ishe never explains.

Even though the lyrics are goofy, “Ask,” a recording from one ofhis live performances, is his best song. It’s full of passion andpain, which convinces me he’s probably pretty captivating live.

Furthermore, with lyrics like “I still think my music’s gonna saveme,” you can’t help but like the guy. The Kristoffer Carter Show isthe kind of album people should listen to and try to get over abreakup with, not to get a deeper understanding of the life we areall supposed to lead.

Despite all of this however, his songs permeated my cranium fordays on end and forced me to smile. Carter is as addictive as realityTV – it’s a little obnoxious at first, but after a few dosesyou can’t get enough, and pretty soon you want to TiVo him.

For more information, check out the SDSU Information Desk or www.kcshow.com.

– Christy Castellanos