CHRISTIAN MCNEILL

Too much music today is culled from formula and false emotion. True believers need a rebirth of passion where honest feelings rule the day. We saw it in the Grammy-winning Adele -- and we see it in a Boston phenomenon that deserves national discovery -- Christian McNeill. Note the name. If there's justice in the world, you'll hear it more. "I see myself as a career songwriter,'' says McNeill. "And I'm very passionate about it.'' Yup, there's that word again ... passion. It's the same thing that Van Morrison has -- and it's what McNeill, who grew up in Derry in Northern Ireland, has cultivated ever since seeing Van perform at age 10 in Derry. "Seeing Van showed me that you can really occupy a song. You don't just perform it. You live it,'' adds Christian. A good example of how Christian has occupied a song is "Zero,'' a hard-driving tune about his own rebirth (overcoming a lost love and a draining lifestyle) that has become a hit on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM. Its frank lyrics of "I was a zero, falling through the cracks of infinity and the void'' force anyone to stand up and listen. "When I first heard 'Zero,' I knew I liked the band, and when I saw the live at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, it more than confirmed my first impression,'' says Kid Leo, the program director and afternoon DJ on Little Steven's Underground Garage. As Kid adds, "Boston's best-kept secret should be exposed to the rest of the world.” And ''Zero" is just the teaser on a forthcoming album called Everything's Up for Grabs, in which Christian and the Monsters explode with raw emotion of the kind that Van the Man would love. "This is a comeback record for me. It's about finding optimism again," says Christian, who wrote all the songs. It was produced at Boston's famed Q Division Studios (Pixies, Aimee Mann, James Taylor, Dropkick Murphys) by Ed Valauskas. Ed cites Christian's career arc from being "an angry punk rock dude" (when he was in the Irish group Schtum, which recorded for Columbia Records) to his "groovy, introspective stuff'' (with a former Boston band, Hybrasil) to his current epiphany with Sea Monsters. "He has a world-class voice and an overwhelming presence," says Ed, who is excited about the next chapter. Christian also spent time as co-lead singer with Orchestra Morphine, the group that carried on after Morphine singer Mark Sandman passed away. One song, "Southern Cross,'' from the new album is "a hymn...I thought of Mark Sandman a lot when I wrote that," he says. Christian's songwriting progress has been remarkable. In the riveting track "Southern Cross", he outlines his evolution: "Goodbye to the life I once lived." In the electric "Everything Changes" he notes "the second you compromise, you change your mind again." And in the climactic "You Know I Believe in You," he sings, "From your darkest day comes your brightest light." He sings urgently about love and renewal, but also about fun. He is a complete entertainer -- and the Sea Monsters include some Boston all-stars in guitarists Lyle Brewer, Duke Levine, Tim Gearan, bassist Mike Miksis, keyboardist Ben Zecker, drummer Tom Arey, and two simpatico brothers on horns, Scott and John Aruda. Soul singer Jesse Dee, who co-founded the Sea Monsters, sings lead vocals on the title track, and esteemed duo of Dwight Ritcher & Nicole Nelson (who can currently be seen on NBC’s popular TV Show - “The Voice”) add some fantastic backup vocals on the record. "I'm just a heart-on-sleeve guy. I'm ready to go," concludes Christian. --- STEVE MORSE, former head music critic at the Boston Globe for nearly 30 years, and currently an online teacher of Rock History for Berklee College of Music. He also served on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 7 years.