Author: Lee Zimmerman (Page 18 of 20)

James Jackson Toth: Waiting in Vain

September 19, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

Toth’s psychedelic combo Wooden Wand provided a promising template for this, his solo debut, but despite his persistent croon and a decidedly dark ambiance, it’s far less cryptic than that previous project. Toth enlists a back-up band with considerable credentials – among them, members of Wilco, Deerhoof, Vetiver and Geraldine Fibers, as well as his wife and foil, Jexie Lynn. – giving him plenty of room to maneuver within their fluid arrangements. “Nothing Hides,” “Do What You Can” and “Midnight Watchman” seem somewhat innocuous on first glance, but there’s a sinister subtext in Toth’s tales, with shady characters, worrisome encounters and a general air of pervading doom tainting the atmosphere. Indeed, lyrics like “Cocaine and bourbon, pinball and pool – look in on me/Don’t leave me to face the slow death of a fool” and an inside cover photo of Toth cradling a revolver confirm his shaded intents. Swagger turns to stagger on the woozy ballad “Poison Oak” and the aforementioned ode to decadence, “Look in on Me,” but overall, this is a most assured collection and a distinctive one at that. (Rykodisc)

James Jackson Toth MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Music Labels, Rock

Ry Cooder: I, Flathead

September 17, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

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Ry Cooder’s artistic ambitions have always driven him to be an archivist of sorts, from his earliest days as a session player serving a wide array of A-list artists, to his initial solo efforts retracing the blues and on to his later forays into world music, including the groundbreaking collaboration with Cuban musicians that birthed the universally acclaimed album by the Buena Vista Social Club. More recently, Cooder’s musical explorations have veered closer to home while remaining no less eclectic. Consequently, I Flathead completes his so-called California trilogy that began with Chavez Ravine and My Name Is Buddy, an album cycle which spans the underlying influences that steered the state’s native sounds, from rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly to the feisty sounds emitted from its barrooms and barrios. Country still claims the most attention here – as evidenced in the titles “Johnny Cash” and “5000 Country Music Songs,” each of which references initial influences – but rock, ragtime and mariachi music also add to the mix. The deluxe edition adds a 96-page narrative that further underscores the premise (a group of guys racing in the salt flats and a fictional band of vintage variety) but whether the songs serve the story or vice versa is really no matter. An album driven by ambitious intents, I, Flathead is a new milestone on Cooder’s journey of rediscovery. (Nonesuch 2008)

“Ry Cooder MySpace page“

CD Reviews, Country, External Music, Folk, Rock

Gus Black: Today Is Not the Day

September 16, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

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Gus Black has always purveyed a terse subterfuge, a sound that has its foundation in singer/songwriter tradition and blanketed by thick atmospheric ambiance. This is, after all, an artist who pared down his handle to Gus for his first couple of releases, dressed an early album cover almost entirely in black and then drove the point home by including a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” If Black’s last album, Autumn Days, suggested an idyllic aside, his latest, Today Is Not the Day enforces the fact that dark days are indeed here again. Black could make Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley seem positively radiant by comparison, and, title aside, a cover photo of him emerging from the shadows, gun pointed towards the listener, offers no small hint of foreboding. These are songs cloaked in hushed, haunted circumspect and nocturnal rumination, melancholy, shoe-gazing melodies from a dark cellar where the sun rarely intrudes. It leaves the listener on the fringes, although a pair of songs – “Blood And Belonging” and “Little Prince Town” – suggests Black could be a little more embracing if he wasn’t so bent on introspection. (Cheap Lullaby 2008)

Gus Black MySpace page

CD Reviews, External Music, Pop

The Break and Repair Method: Milk the Bee

September 12, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

Up until now, it’s been Matchbox Twenty front man Rob Thomas who’s profited most from the band’s upward trajectory, given the high profile he’s attained with his solo standing. Now it appears that drummer Paul Doucette is ready to take the same route, thanks to a superb side project titled the Break and Repair Method. While the origins of the name seem somewhat hazy, the music’s anything but, given its unabashed display of effusive optimism. Titles like “You Won’t Be Able to be Sad,” “Life Gets Beautiful” and “Won’t Get Worse” offer first hints as to its more upbeat offerings, while the sparkling melodies and loping tempos affirm Doucette’s starry-eyed sentiment. Likewise, “This City Is Bound to Do Us In,” “Forget about the Brightside” and “I’m at a Low” provide the contemplative yin to that celebratory yang, their sentiments seemingly more restrained but fortunately no less embracing. An excellent debut, it ought to find Doucette following on the heels of Thomas’ solo success.

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Donna the Buffalo: Silverlined

September 4, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

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Forget the silly handle; there’s no one named Donna in Donna the Buffalo. For that matter, there’s no Buffalo involved either. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years or so, Donna the Buffalo has become a fan favorite on the festival circuit, thanks to a no-nonsense blend of breezy Americana and homespun attitude. Their latest, Silverlined, appears more streamlined than previous efforts, with the band’s three singers – Tara Nevins, Jeb Puryear and Joe Thrift – rotating the vocal chores. With a sound that recalls the latter-day Byrds and their Flying Burrito Brothers offspring, the new album finds them in affable country rock mode, complete with mid-tempo melodies, down home arrangements and a populist point of view. Nevins’ songs garner the most attention here – “Temporary Misery,” “Broken Record” and “I Don’t Need A Riddle” being the best of the bunch – and it’s her sass and swagger that gives the band its spunk. So while Silverlined doesn’t break any new ground, it still purveys plenty of back porch charm, and that’s ample reason in itself to want to run with the herd. (Sugar Hill)

Donna the Buffalo MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Rock