Patience pays off with all good things in life, and the wait is finally over for Chris Picco‘s new album Split Down The Middle to be available from chrispicco.ca and to stream on Spotify.

For Picco, a native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Split Down The Middle is in some ways the culmination of building his reputation over the past 15 years. Over that time, Picco has been named MusicNL’s Male Artist Of The Year, while his former band Long Distance Runners earned several East Coast Music Award nominations and a Juno nomination in 2016. Legendary Newfoundland singer/songwriter Ron Hynes even called Picco, “one of the great new songwriters to come out of Atlantic Canada.”

That talent is on full display on Split Down The Middle, an album that never wavers in its pursuit of the perfect hook. Indeed, building on the momentum of the singles “Make It Up To You,” “Time Changes Everything,” “Woman Understand” and “Summer’s Here,” with the 12 tracks on Split Down The Middle, Chris Picco is poised to add his name to the roll call of great power pop auteurs, from Todd Rundgren and Big Star, to Matthew Sweet and Teenage Fanclub.

“My goal with Split Down The Middle was pretty simple: come up with an eclectic mix of songs with killer choruses and arrangements that lyrically capture the confusing and divisive days we’re living in,” Chris says. “I thought I’d try to lighten up these underlying themes by sweetening the arrangements with verbed out electric guitars and layered synths. As for my vocals, I wanted to keep them as raw and honest as possible while letting the harmonies pretty things up”

Challenging himself for the first time to play all instruments on the album, including a return to lead guitar, Chris and co-producer/engineer Kristjan Leslie had only one stipulation — make sure each song was tight and catchy, and most importantly, not boring.

Chris adds, “I love playing and collaborating with a band but the timing was right to do a solo record. I’d like to think that Split Down The Middle captures me at my most confident as a songwriter, performer and producer.”

Crafting Split Down The Middle with such attention to detail reinforces both the musical and lyrical maturity Chris Picco has now reached, without sacrificing any of the fun and energy that’s always been power pop’s trademark. Whatever side you’re on, Split Down The Middle is the kind of album to bring all music fans together.

Chris Picco is available for interviews and on-air appearances.