I have used this app since its days as a PTH product. I was sad when You Software bought it and rolled it into the (IMHO) expensive You Control bundle. I was ecstatic when they brought it back as a standalone free app, albeit with reduced features. This + SizzlingKeys ≥ Synergy, but for free!

What many don't realize is that the overlay is as flexible as any RTF file. Want to mess with fonts, coloring, shadows, etc.? In the style menu of the Overlay section, select "Custom." Arrange the pieces as you like. Copy the whole thing into a blank TextEdit doc. Go to town with fonts, colors, etc. Copy from TextEdit and paste back into the custom overlay sheet, and Presto! Each component of the overlay (song title, artist, time, rating, etc.) can have independent font, size, color, and shadow settings. Not to mention that you can set the color and transparency of the background of the overlay.

On top of all that customization utilizing features of OS X (rather than a tacked-on system like Growl) is the simple and elegant solution of having basic playback controls in the menubar; this is the ultimate in conserving desktop real estate. This is generally the first thing I install on a new system, and I find it indispensable.

The only reason I give the "features" rating 4 stars is that it would be nice to not have to run SizzlingKeys simultaneously to have my PowerMate control playback system-wide.