Trax
By Bliss 08/06/2009
MINDY SMITH, Stupid Love (Vanguard):
(3 stars out of 5)
Melancholy is singer-songwriter Smith’s stock in trade, and it’s undeniably present on this album-length paean to busted relationships. But on this, her most overtly pop-sounding recording yet, melancholy’s channeled through Smith’s breathy vocals, not the instrumentation or tastefully layered production. The churchly cadence and stillness of “I’m Disappointed” and piano-centered “Surface” gracefully complement bouncier plaints like “Love Lost,” standout track “Love Chases After Me” and “Take a Holiday,” which offers hopeful resolution to the heartbreak. www.mindysmith.net.
ROADSIDE GRAVES, My Son’s Home (Autumn Tone):
(3.5 stars out of 5)
Departures and death lyrically preoccupy the Jersey folk-rockers here — a fact belied by their instrumental exuberance and frontman John Gleason’s Dylanesque keen. Tracks like “Ruby” and “Lift Up the Gate” evoke Dylan’s post-Woodstock collaborations with The Band, while “Wooden Walls” and “To the Sea” should appeal to fans of Josh Ritter and Ray LaMontagne. Roadside Graves play the Knitting Factory in Hollywood Wednesday; the EchoPlex Friday, Aug. 14; and Spaceland Saturday, Aug. 15. www.roadsidegraves.com, www.myspace.com/theroadsidegraves.
GOV’T MULE, By a Thread (Mule):
(3.5 stars out of 5)
They’re baaack…and Warren Haynes & Co.’s first studio album in three years is as informed by the epic jams that are the band’s hallmark in concert as it is by blues and classic rock guitar riffs, with Haynes’ gruff vocals serving up ample soul. ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons guests on the opener, “Broke Down on the Brazos,” a stomping showcase for new bassist Jorgen Carlsson that sets the sonic tone for the whole disc. “Monday Mourning Meltdown” and “Inside Outside Woman Blues #3” should sate anyone’s jones for Hendrixian psychedelic guitar freakouts, but Haynes really shines on the electrified murder ballad “Railroad Boy.” www.mule.net.
TAGAQ, Auk/Blood (Ipecac):
(3 stars out of 5)
Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq doesn’t sound anything like Tuvan throat-singing masters Huun Huur Tu; where they seem to growl, she grunts and coos. In fact, several songs on this 13-track disc, reissued here in the States on Mike Patton’s Ipecac label, sound like a whale dueting with a didgeridoo. Bjork fans may be drawn to tracks like “Fire — Ikuma,” but the strange, ethereal beauty of “Tategak” and the semi-rapped “Gentle” takes time to get under the skin. At California Plaza in downtown LA Saturday. www.myspace.com/tagaq.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT