Originally from sun-baked Tucson, Arizona, Bay Area pop alchemist Brad Brooks has a big voice and he intends to use it for dastardly good. It’s Freddie Mercury dating Leonard Cohen, in a threesome with Kate Bush. With tales of love on his sleeve, ex-stripper librarians, and manic tourists, his is an extraordinarily unique perspective on a city and its delightful debauchery. Cinematic, orchestrated, and moody, his elaborate west coast baroque sound rocks, pops, and breaks your heart in all the right places. Solo or with his band Brad’s 70s piano driven style of psychedelic persuasion moves from constructed pop anthems, through Jacques Brel-esque satirical waltzes, to intimate guitar ballads. Brooks' latest feature release Spill Collateral Love evokes a dramatic and orchestral pop soundscape: think huge, bright Circus Tent being torn down on a rainy flatland in a vintage Fellini fim. The 13 song CD is Brooks' best so far, a visceral and psychedelic mix that highlights the Oakland songwriter's exceptional vocal range and bold command of powerful pop craftsmanship. Centered on a piano and acoustic guitar base, the expert band highlights a host of musical luminaries, including Paul Hoaglin from The Mother Hips & Sensations. Brooks's disc is rooted in a kind of Victorian California romanticism; his vocal approach is earnest and dramatic, but maintains a poise and sense of wry wit that keeps the release organic yet keenly produced. Brooks even includes tape loops from S.F.'s now-defunct carnival funhouse Musee Mechanique on a track, pushing the band's vaudevillian influences to the forefront of his original sound.