John Vanderslice - “Cellar Door”

The singer-songwriter is a dying breed in the American music
landscape.

For the most part, the modern singer-songwriter delivers some
heart-on-the-sleeve slop with some cut-rate guitar plucking along
in the background.

This is almost exactly what John Vanderslice does with his
record “Cellar Door,” yet he manages to escape without
too many bruises.

After the first handful of tracks, a few things become clear.
Vanderslice is not going to even attempt to embody the typical
singer-songwriter ideal of using vocals as a punctuation mark and
opts to let the whole pieces speak for themselves.

This might be a smart idea because Vanderslice doesn’t
display the vocal talents to push it to the next level.

The one bright spot on the record is Vanderslice’s lyrics,
which range from painfully confessional storytelling to optimistic
freedom-seeking.

When he tells a story from a first-person perspective, such as
on “They Won’t Let Me Run,” in which Vanderslice
details trying to escape from the woman and kids who he feels have
trapped him, there is a sort of tenderness that makes up for the
general lack of musically interesting things going on.

The record embodies that ‘lo-fi, indie-rock’ feel
that seems to make it compelling, even if the music isn’t all
that interesting. —Chris Steffen

 

The Shins - “Chutes Too Narrow”

There’s been no sophomore slump for Albuquerque indie
rockers, The Shins, who have recently found their new album
“Chutes Too Narrow” at the top of almost every
college-radio chart in North America.

Singer/guitarist James Mercer keeps his lyrics cynical and the
band’s melodic anthems candy-coated throughout most of
“Chutes.”

Mercer’s disparaging lyrics are so effectively hidden in
catchy, vibrant melodies that many fans may not realize what they
are actually singing along to.

It is not uncommon to find lyrics in this album like,
“Don’t ask for his opinion. They ought to drown him in
holy water.”

Most indie-rock fans will be locked into this album from the
start, which joyfully begins with six quick claps followed by a
cheerful “Whoo!”

“Chutes’” best songs come in the heart of the
album and include: “So Says I” (which is in heavy
rotation on MTV2’s Subterranean), “Young
Pilgrims” and “Turn A Square.”

While the album exceeded critics’ expectations, it seems
to lose some artistic freshness in its closing tracks.

I found myself looking for footnotes on songs like “Pink
Bullets” and “Those To Me” to see if the likes of
Neil Young and Nick Drake had correctly been cited.

Despite the brief spurts of musical plagiarism, this is a fun,
versatile album that will continue to gain attention from college
students. — Brad Sheehan

 

Firewater - “Songs We Should Have
Written”

Cover albums are usually all the same—bands doing stale
covers of their favorites, rarely mixing things up and adding their
own.

Fortunately, New York band Firewater takes matters into its own
hands on “Songs We Should Have Written,” altering
tempos and arrangements while staying true to the spirit and
intensity of the originals.

In fact, the only thing bogging the record down is the
band’s selection of material to cover.

An opening romp through Sonny Bono’s “The Beat Goes
On” is dreadfully boring. The first three tracks are
generally uninteresting, but thankfully, things begin to pick up
speed with a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Fulsom Prison
Blues.”

The notoriety of the song alone is enough to make it
interesting, but the execution is questionable. Firewater’s
version ends up coming across as a caricature of Cash’s voice
and stylings.

The fun starts with an enjoyable ride through Jamaican music
pioneer Duke Reid’s instrumental “Storm
Warning.”

The most interesting cut of all is a half-tempo version of the
Rolling Stones’ classic “Paint It Black,” which
reduces the instantly recognizable opening riff into a few slowly
and painfully plucked notes until the band finally gives in and
takes the song to full speed.

The emphasis of the riff finally kicking in after five minutes
of slow, painstaking progression is quite powerful and is a very
interesting take on the song.

The record itself is decent, but one can’t help but wonder
what might have been had the selected songs been stronger.

It’s not that they have to be necessarily recognizable;
obscurity is just fine, but no one really wants to hear boring
songs redone. Some things you just have to let die. —Chris
Steffen

 

Ani Difranco - “Educated Guess”

Ani Difranco has released another album of poems, colors and
reflections into America’s folk scene. Her new album,
“Educated Guess,” is number 21 on her list of releases
since her self-titled debut in 1990.

Over the past decade, Difranco has produced folk albums of
veritable reputation and maintained a strong following of
listeners. However, some might be less impressed with her newest
release.

Ani Difranco was creator, writer, performer and recorder of
“Educated Guess.” She did everything to make this album
herself, short of mastering and stuffing the CDs in the cases.

Instrumentally, the CD is strong. Difranco has truly mastered
the art of finger-picking. Her style is very unconventional, but
she pulls it off. On tracks like “Swim” and
“Bodily,” the music borders on the line of eerie but
portrays her love of the acoustic guitar and her willingness to
experiment with the unexplored possibilities within the
instrument.

Also, the CD is a work of art. Included in the case is a booklet
of lyrics and art work by Difranco. The photographs and drawings
used in this booklet are amazing.

This CD is most lacking lyrically and melodically. Difranco is
strong as a poet, but throughout the CD, one is left with a feeling
of insincerity. Her melodies sometimes drift off into odd places
and don’t land were one would expect them to. — Dante
Schmitz
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