Even though I am more than semi-retired from this scribbling biz I still get a steady stream of emailed press releases and the odd disc in the post. When I find myself needing a break from my daily routine of newspaper sections and cataloging (I won’t get into the current misery of the equities markets), I sometimes peruse the emails to see if anything can catch my interest. Then I flip over to MySpace and see what the music actually is like, as opposed to the puffery.
This record cut through like a 16 carat diamond. Full of tunes sweet and lovely, most touched with a whisper of melancholy and a glint of reflection, usually via the extra coloring of a plaintive, occasional mandolin, slide guitar, piano, accordion or harmonica, as well as the intonation of the multi-tracked vocals. At its core this is a one-man-band concoction — one Reed Dahlmeier — with much overdubbing, particularly the harmonies. For some of the more rocking numbers an outside drummer was brought in.
Many songs are predominately just acoustic guitars and voices. The first number, Road Flares, from which the album gets its title, rolls through the first verse and chorus that way — though with mandolins in place of the acoustic guitars — and yearning, lonesome vocals. Then the ‘band’ kicks in, rocking at a mid-tempo gait, splitting the verses into harmonica-led instrumental and vocalized segments. The feel is loose and comfortable. The production is relatively untreated, even though the harmonies are multi-tracked magic. Empty Bottle, Travel Sick Blues, Maybe By Morning, This Coastal Town and The Winter are what I spoke of above, combining some tasty picking and succulent harmonizing in a pretty unadorned fashion — the first has a bit of accordion, the second mouth harp and the last more mandolin. The vocals bring to mind the multi-tracked Elliott Smith, circa either/or, and the Veis brothers, who did business as Fantastic Something. While the picking — a semi-lost art amongst today’s singer-songwriters — can approach that found on Phil Ochs’ debut LP in terms of crispness and sympathy. (Whether it is Phil’s or Danny Kalb’s which drives Power And The Glory I’ve never known.)
The odd duckling is Roll Over. The vocals and melody remain as pretty as the others but they lie on top of a grouping of synthesized beats, very homemade demo sounding, which no matter how sparely the other material was recorded they never have that sense. Yes, You Can Call Me, one of the ‘band’ numbers, intros with a similar splay of electronics, but then it rolls into a more than common, repetition driven, Modern Rock tune. So when those beats reappear at the end they lay in as part of the whole, not as the proverbial sore thumb.
Interestingly enough Reed seems to create an innate differentiation between the ‘band’ numbers and the sparer numbers, in that his vocals tend to be full-throated and plain-spoken in the former while with the latter they are more breathy, have a hint of “Englishness” and will reach for a higher register. But the quality level remains high regardless. Sinking Stone and Three Long Years have truly satisfying melodies, amiable rhythms and a nice starkness to their production.
I’ve now listened to this album dozens of times. And every time, I’ve gotten swept up in its multifaceted luster. I think particularly because it unfurls in such an unfussy and humble manner.
[Released by Dirty Laundry 2007]
Be the first to comment