4Play

Aug. 16, 2006

The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues Collector’s Edition - Capito

The band’s fourth album, now beautifully repackaged in reissue format complete with a bonus disc of previously unreleased tracks, marks a bit of a departure for the London band, helmed by Mike Scott, who served as the band’s only consistant member since all the way back in 1981.  In addition to The Waterboys’ ever-changing roster of supporting players, they’re also joined on this release by several traditional Irish musicians, including Dave Ruffy (drums), Guy Chambers (keyboards), Marco Weissman (bass) and Steve Wickham on the fiddle, tweaking the band’s songs into more rootsy, earthy territory, and away from the arena-leaning sound they’d previous pursued.  The results are welcome and pretty, from the opener, “Fisherman’s Blues,” on through the reminiscent “Jimmy Hickey’s Waltz,” the catchy “Strange Boat,” and “When Ye Go Away” - the second disc adds more memorable tracks like “Carolan’s Welcome” and “Killing My Heart.”


Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Stranger Things - Fantasy Records
The original New Bohemians - Brad Houser, Kenny Withrow, Brandon Aly, and John Bush - are all in on this effort, which, of course, features the airy and honest Edie Brickell herself on lead vocals, plus new keyboardist Carter Albrecht.  The first studio record from the band in a whopping 16 years, they’ve nonetheless managed to hold on somehow to their trademark sound, throughout the disc’s entire tracklisting of 13 songs - it’s like they either never stopped playing, or somehow traveled forward without missing a single beat.  The R&B-meets-folk-meets-jam band feel is intact, best showcased on such songs as “Buffalo Ghosts,” “No Dinero,” and the playful title track;  perhaps influenced by Brickell’s husband, Paul Simon (yes, that Paul Simon), all of the songs are fairly impressive in both their concise yet image-filled lyrical content, and their breezy, quirkily enjoyable arrangements.  Welcome back, Edie and Crew - our only question is, why did you actually leave? 


Sound Team - Movie Monster - Capitol
Loaded with complexity and diverging almost with each song into a different set of influences, Sound Team’s latest is somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Spoon, Randy Newman, and even a little of the Flaming Lips, at least in melody; but the unique thing about them is that they meld those indie-pop influences, plus so much more, into a fresh sound that’s iced with electronica and ambient noise.   In the solid pop department are tunes like “No More Birthdays,” “Get Out,” and “Born to Please.”  Techno is visited on “Movie Monster,” experimental pop is dabbled in via the monophonic, cell-phone reminiscent tones of “Back in Town,” and a veer into retro ‘80s/Franz Ferdinand territory is even successfully attempted on both “Shattered Glass” and “Handful of Billions.”  You’d have to check out 10 bands in order to treat your ears to as much diversity as is presented on this one Sound Team album - and, given the variety, it’s surprisingly cohesive, which must mean that this Team is indeed learning the meaning of teamwork.

Vienna Teng - Dreaming Through the Noise - Zoe Records
Piano-based singer songwriter Teng shows off her lyric/poetry writing skills on this set, which was produced by Larry Klein to solidify Teng’s chamber-folk-pop sound.  The influences of her musical peers can be heard here, as she’s really not doing anything all that different from those who came before, but she does have a way with lyrics, and invests so much detail in them that it often takes several listens to pinpoint the meaning.  Her polished, precise voice interprets her own songs quite well, and she steers her piano to veer slightly into both jazz and country at times as well as her signature sound; but one gets the feeling that there’s more that could be done. It’s definitely pretty, but almost too derivative of such similar artists as Sarah McLachlan (who bests Teng in the vocals department) or Tori Amos (who Teng one-ups by downplaying the angst);  so it will be interesting to see what Teng does once she’s focused in on her own sound a little more.