“Small stakes and musical amity can be a recipe for mush, and that’s why a lot of bands are over before they begin. But adding a calm “why not” to a mature “what if” can work, especially if everybody is relatively free of hangups. So it goes for John Davis and Chris Richards, two former Q and Not U members who have reunited under the name Paint Branch and recorded a dignified, deeply ’70s influenced album called I Wanna Live.

Neither guy is at a career point where he needs the other to pull him out of a hole. Davis recently cranked out two memorable power-pop albums with his band Title Tracks, and his first post-Q band, Georgie James, was all about indie ambition. Richards, meanwhile, has hit his stride as the Washington Post’s pop music critic. And with those things in mind, it should be no surprise that Paint Branch veers toward the golden age of vinyl for inspiration. These guys have had plenty of time to ponder Harry Nilsson, Wings, Rumours, and The Notorious Byrd Brothers—but as pros, not curious kids.

Although I Wanna Live takes its cues from an era when rock ‘n’ rollers sometimes prized craft to a fault, the album still remains the work of two people who understand punk. And sometimes punks make songs just for themselves.”

– WashingtonCityPaper.com