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Joseph Arthur: Foreign Girls EP

September 5, 2008 / Michael Fortes

Coming hot the heels of this past June’s stellar, ethereal Vagabond Skies, Foreign Girls ends modern day Renaissance man Joseph Arthur’s 2008 EP extravaganza with a whisper instead of a bang. This semi-acoustic-based set of six short songs comes and goes with barely enough time to register, except for the impression that the vocals aren’t totally on point in “Foreign Girls” and “Candy and Cars.” Its electronic flourishes also come off as gimmicky rather than essential (especially on the otherwise decent tune “Stay”), though “New Satisfaction” strikes the best balance between Arthur’s electronic and acoustic tendencies, makes effective use of falsetto, and ends the disc on a high note. Otherwise, the EP feels less like a cohesive set of tunes than a collection of leftovers. Maybe he’s saving the big guns for his upcoming full-length album, Temporary People, in September. After this wacky year-long set-up of four EPs, one would certainly hope so. (Lonely Astronaut 2008)

Joseph Arthur MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews

The Mood: Synaesthesia

September 5, 2008 / Jeff Giles

Everything about this album, from the band’s name to the vaguely Talking Heads-ish artwork to the title, suggests snobbishly arty postmodern pop – but the Mood’s Synaesthesia is actually a breezy six-song chunk of good old-fashioned power pop, with tracks such as “Eskimo Scientist” aimed right at the pleasure centers of music fans who still fondly reminisce about bygone groups like Gladhands or Summercamp. Of course, this stuff never sells worth a damn, so the EP is destined to whisper quickly into dust-covered obscurity, only to be pored over by pop nerds years from now…like, say, Gladhands’ La Di Da. Nothing here approaches the classic greatness of that album, but it’s cut from mostly the same cloth, and so few bands are doing this sort of thing anymore that it’s hard not to snap your fingers and bob along. Too short to wear out its welcome and too catchy to resist, Synaesthesia offers up a perfectly serviceable soundtrack to brief end-of-summer barbecues. If there’s a real knock against the EP, it’s that the material is good, but never great — with a few truly stellar songs, who knows what they could do? (Outright Rock 2008)

The Mood MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop

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

Jeremy Jay: A Place Where We Could Go

September 4, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

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Jeremy Jay’s downcast disposition and lo-fi designs combine to make A Place Where We Could Go seem something of a dreary destination. “Nite Nite” offers an uncertain send-off, its forlorn vocal and solitary strum providing a stilted backdrop for his wistful reflection. With Jay accompanying himself on piano and guitar, drummer Chris Sutton does what he can to manage the tempo, but the sparse monochromatic arrangements find the songs droning on and on to the point where it’s a challenge trying to distinguish one track from another. Jay ‘s unfortunate penchant for expressing his thoughts in a steady stream of consciousness doesn’t help matters either, and he sometimes appears so self-absorbed that his lyrics turn into fragmentary ramblings. The album’s final two entries – “Hold Me in Your Arms Tonite” and “Someone Cares” – aim to provide some respite by picking up the pace and imbuing some optimism, but by then it’s too late. The place Jay ‘s invited us to go has long since lost its appeal. (K Records)

Jeremy Jay MySpace page

CD Reviews, Folk, Rock

Paper Rival: Dialog

September 3, 2008 / Mike Farley

Paper Rival is a four-piece rock band from Nashville, so let’s give that obligatory nod to the fact that this is a rock band in a city known for country music. Okay, now let’s focus on Paper Rival’s music, because the songs on their debut, Dialog, are damn good. Paper Rival is being touted as having an “expansive take on classic rock,” which only means that it’s difficult to classify them. Their music is moody, alternative, at times bordering on heavy, but not classic – think Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s rather than Aerosmith. “Cassandra,” the first single, is a mid-tempo, melody-driven, lo-fi beauty, but it’s not the best track. “Foreign Film Collection” has that distinction – haunting, driving, alt-rock bliss. And there is a distinct balance between dark, scream rock (“The Family Ghost”) and musically uplifting (“Keep Us In”). And while a few of these tracks sound too much like a few of the others, we won’t hold that against Paper Rival when the majority of the band’s debut is this good. (Atlantic)

Paper Rival MySpace Page

Alternative, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock