Consistently brilliant and criminally under-appreciated, Joe Pernice is one of the finest pop songwriters of the past 15 years, a true craftsman who delivers album after album of beautiful, impeccably constructed songs and intelligent lyrics, all delivered in his sweet, angelic voice. Like one of his primary influences, The Smiths, he's a master at coupling sadness with beauty, cloaking heartbreaking or anxiety-ridden lyrics in some of the prettiest tunes imaginable. This record is another gem -- chock full of smart, lovely songs as always -- but also marks a return to the more slickly-produced and orchestrated sound of Joe's first album under the Pernice Brothers name, 1998's Overcome By Happiness. Neat hooks abound (opening track "Automaton" has enough for 3 songs) and strings swell and punctuate Joe's beautiful melodies in all the right places. Loveliest of all, perhaps, and most surprising, is the closing track, a lushly re-worked version of "Grudge F***," one of the finest, most heartbreaking songs Joe wrote for his old Americana outfit, The Scud Mountain Boys, over a decade ago. Given his personality and temperament, not to mention the vagaries of the modern music business, and despite his tremendous gifts, Joe Pernice will probably labor in relative obscurity for his entire career, with only a devoted cult of fans and a modest living to show for his efforts. You'd be well-served to join the lucky few of us who get treated, more or less every year, to a beautiful record like this one.LISTEN / DOWNLOAD: Conscience Clean (I Went To Spain), a patented Joe Pernice break-up song, full of telling little details -- "We split up time and time again / So I threw a dart at Europe, she hit Michigan" -- and set to a gorgeous melody.
No comments:
Post a Comment