Or post to:
SoundsXP,
30 Somerville Road,
London, SE20 7NA, UK
UK releases only.
Please note: If submitting demos or self financed releases - we currently
have a backlog of such material. It could be some time before your item
is reviewed.
On recent UK tours the Decemberists’ frontman has bagged a solo spot in the middle of the band’s set for a couple of acoustic songs. In the US though, he’s gone off on solo tours and here’s the recording of his 2006 jaunt (complete with that annoying whooping that you get from American audiences). You get a good indication of where he places himself from the two EPs he sold on his tours (which are now Ebay gold): one of Morrissey songs and one featuring Shirley Collins’ work. He combines the self-regard and mocking wit of the Smiths frontman with a folkier, storytelling tradition.
You’ll know most of the songs from Decemberists’ records, and there’s one from his earlier band Tarkio (‘Devil’s Elbow’) plus a couple of new songs. He describes ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ as “the worst song I ever wrote” and he’s not kidding as he dissects the song in a sort of masterclass on bad songwriting, but his other new song, ‘Wonder’, is a beautifully sweet ode to new fatherhood. The choice of Decemberists tracks means that there isn’t a lot of difference from hearing those songs in band or solo format but one of the best reasons to hear this isn’t the singing but the talking; Meloy’s a natural showman and if you’ve ever liked his interjections with his band, there are more and better ones in his solo show. It’s fun, too, to hear snippets of Fleetwood Mac, REM, Pink Floyd and the Smiths (‘Ask’), that he drops into the start or ending of songs.
Like most live albums it probably means most to those who’ve experienced him live but he has an irresistible charm and the whole experience ends up as insubstantial as, but no less fun than (in his words) “a campfire singalong”.
RSS | MESSAGE
BOARDS | SEARCH
Calling
all music fans based in the UK... Do you want your views to be read
by 5000 people a day? Contact 
Related link(s): 
What
people are wittering about on the SoundsXP forums right now...
