Two notes into Spin Art and it's apparent this quartet takes its name from the ocean-side Southern California community, not the ancient Italian city. The 13 songs included in Spin Art evoke comparisons to the early 1970s California sound spearheaded by the likes of the Eagles and Jackson Browne. Venice, though, fits more in a second-tier grouping that includes Poco, America, Pure Prairie League, and Seals & Crofts. Most of the group's originals (most shepherded by Michael Lennon with help from his brethren Venetians) feel like they could have been programmed on the station WKRP in Cincinnati. Put on Spin Art and you'll feel like you're traveling down Highway 1 backwards in time with the top down and the FM coming in clear. --Steven Stolder
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