Old
STARFLYER 59
Tooth & Nail
The elements of California outfit Starflyer 59's beautiful, immaculate pop have always remained pretty much the same: a love of lush, swirling late-'80s British shoegaze, a knack for classic American pop arrangements and a healthy dose of slow-surf reverb straight out of Twin Peaks' aural backdrop. The proportions have varied with mastermind Jason Martin's fancy, but that's the foundation upon which he's built worthy output for a decade.
And Old is no exception. The new album does, however, fuck with the formula to an unprecedented degree, alternately stripping and embellishing the songs, and occasionally evincing a disturbingly proggy bent. It isn't some kind of self-indulgent experimental mess or anything, but its periodic left-field changes derail perfectly good songs far more often than they render them more interesting.
Opener "Underneath" gets a cool Golden Earring guitar-throb going, only to be kneecapped by a 180-degree shift into a big, crashing and utterly unnecessary bridge. The same happens in the closer "First Heart Attack," which would be one of Old's finest moments were it not for the ostentatious, spacey Queen/Yes intermission.
When Martin's not second-guessing himself, he's creating hauntingly simple yet ambitious pop gems — "Loved Ones," "Passengers" and the amazing "New Wife, New Life." Everything but "Unbelievers" and the aforementioned bookends scores.
Old isn't quite on a par with 2001's marvelous Leave Here A Stranger, but it's close, and some of these tunes are truly timeless. It's perfectly natural for a songwriter who's been at it as long as Martin to get a little antsy about repeating himself. At the same time, however, he would do well to take to heart the adage about not fixing it if it ain't broke. 
1/2—Scott Harrell
Starflyer 59 plays Ybor City's Orpheum on Friday, July 25.
Everyone Deserves Music
MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD
Boo Boo Wax
Back in 1995, when his song "Hole in the Bucket" was gaining respect and selling records, Michael Franti seemed on the verge of a major trend. But like an El Nino of hip-hop, socially conscious R&B is a phenomenon destined to come around only once every few years, ultimately to be devoured by its more commercially successful counterparts. On Everyone Deserves Music, Franti/Spearhead engage subjects ranging from urban homelessness to spirituality and what seems to be his current preoccupation, Bush War II. Earnest but never melancholy, the message rarely imposes upon the songs themselves as Franti is the rare pop artist who manages to speak his opinions so subtly that, by the time you manage to understand what the song is about, it is already stuck in your head. Unfortunately, though, it will likely go unnoticed by the mainstream at all, regardless of what message it carries. And that is exactly what makes Everyone Deserves Music such a vital album, aside from being well written and heartfelt. While one eye-candy artist after another dictates record store traffic, Franti is out there writing the songs and performing them in his unique, honest way. Ironically, it is probably better anyhow. After all, if he weren't always the underdog, would he have as much to sing about? www.spearheadvibrations.com —Mark Sanders
Scorpio Rising
DEATH IN VEGAS
BMG
England's Death in Vegas continues to feed us the fruits of simplicity on Scorpio Rising, their third studio album and follow-up to 1999's impressive The Contino Sessions. Their sound, borrowing in part from old Jamaican dub records and '60s-era distorted guitar rock, is sophisticated enough to appeal to more audiences than the techno acts with which they're usually (and most unfortunately) grouped. The diverse cast of characters on this album, featuring Oasis's Liam Gallagher and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, keep the music from sounding too repetitive or insincere while maintaining the dark, menacing quality that has become DIV's stock in trade. But perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Scorpio Rising is the simple layers which give these songs the freedom to be intellectual while still sounding incredibly catchy. It's a difficult task, but Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes, the production team behind this, are obviously devoted to the wide range of styles from which they borrow. "So You Say You Lost Your Baby," written by former Byrd Gene Clark and sung by former Jam frontman Paul Weller, is perhaps the most upbeat (or at least non-evil) sounding track on this album. Also notable is the title track, sung by Liam Gallagher, which almost redeems the typically excessive singer for his past transgressions. The new wave-inspired "Hands Around My Throat" and the folk-tinged "Killing Smile" are further testimonies to how a group that insists on breaking boundaries can still entertain us in the process. —Mark Sanders
Population Me
DWIGHT YOAKAM
Electrodisc
What does country music's favorite mainstream maverick do after 15 successful years? Why, he becomes a critically acclaimed supporting actor, naturally. OK, what next? Apparently, he starts his own label, and announces it with yet another solid album that owes far more to honky-tonk tradition and roots-rock aesthetic than it does to Nashville's fabricated-star machinery. Cool. Population Me swings, literally, from Cali country-rock ("The Late Great Golden State," "Fair to Midland") to playful wood-slat dance-floor bounce ("An Exception to The Rule") and acoustic balladry ("The Back of Your Hand"), hitting all the right notes along the way. Other highlights include a bluegrassy cover of Burt Bacharach's "Trains and Boats and Planes" featuring the legendary Earl Scruggs, and a duet with Willie Freaking Nelson ("If Teardrops Were Diamonds"). The whole thing may be a little too slick for the alt-country set, but it's miles ahead of the C&W mainstream. Fun, heartfelt and inventive. —Scott Harrell
Guitar Bones
ADRIAN LEGG
Favored Nations Acoustic
Acoustic finger-style guitar, when done well, is a certifiably enchanting sound. The elfin Brit Adrian Legg does it as well as anyone. Guitar Bones showcases the virtuoso in a tight solo collection of songs that hop genres: Celtic, old-style British folk, jazz, blues, country, Appalachian and pensive ballads that defy categorization. Legg's 10-finger, orchestral approach is extremely song-oriented, but guitar fanciers who like players to rip will get an earful of his extraordinary technique. —Eric Snider
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2003.
