V, I (MN:20)
Rocky Votolato- A Brief History
Mr. Votolato was in a band you’ve probably never heard of (Waxwing) before releasing this record of spare, haunting singer/songwriter-ish stuff. The only reason I know about Mr. Votolato’s previous band is because all of the fanzines dropped the obligatory namecheck/Fagen in their reviews. Personally, I have no stake in Waxwing, can’t even tell you what a single song of theirs sounds like. Nice and easy to be objective (for a change).
This record’s pretty good. There are some kinda poppy numbers that sound like they’d be well-suited to a full band backdrop, some more somber moody ones. Probably more charged with meaning if you’re a Waxwing fan- that’s how these singer/songwriter things usually work- but not too bad on its own. Of course, not compelling enough to avoid a namedrop-driven review, so take that as you will.
Tom Waits- Mule Variations
Two halves to the Tom Waits equation: the sensitive ones, corroded voice wrapping around drawn-out tales of ordinary love gone wrong like an indie Springsteen, and the other ones, junkyard percussion punctuating the hazy ramble of bayou state fairs at closing time.
Mr. Votolato was in a band you’ve probably never heard of (Waxwing) before releasing this record of spare, haunting singer/songwriter-ish stuff. The only reason I know about Mr. Votolato’s previous band is because all of the fanzines dropped the obligatory namecheck/Fagen in their reviews. Personally, I have no stake in Waxwing, can’t even tell you what a single song of theirs sounds like. Nice and easy to be objective (for a change).
This record’s pretty good. There are some kinda poppy numbers that sound like they’d be well-suited to a full band backdrop, some more somber moody ones. Probably more charged with meaning if you’re a Waxwing fan- that’s how these singer/songwriter things usually work- but not too bad on its own. Of course, not compelling enough to avoid a namedrop-driven review, so take that as you will.
Tom Waits- Mule Variations
Two halves to the Tom Waits equation: the sensitive ones, corroded voice wrapping around drawn-out tales of ordinary love gone wrong like an indie Springsteen, and the other ones, junkyard percussion punctuating the hazy ramble of bayou state fairs at closing time.
posted by Mike at 1:41 PM
2 Comments:
I liked Waxwing's first album that came out on Vagrant sometime in 2000. It was definitely in the screamo mode but still pretty dynamic as I recall.
Screamo = AOK.
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