Tuesday, January 3, 2017

CD Odyssey Disc 953: Daniel Romano

Happy 2017!

I’ve had a lovely holiday, during which I had a chance to read a lot of “best of 2016” music lists. I didn’t agree with any of them, so before our next review, here’s mine.

I bought 23 albums released in 2016, so here’s my top 10 so far. I've already reviewed #6, 5, 3 and 1 on the list so feel free to check out those links. I'll talk about the other ones when I roll 'em.

10.  Conor Oberst “Ruminations”
9. Marlon Williams – Self Titled
8. Sturgill Simpson “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth”
7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Skeleton Tree”
4. Angel Olsen “My Woman”
2. Eleanor Friedberger “New View”

I don’t technically own Conor Oberst (#10), but I’ve listened to it and it is definitely top ten for the year.

And now here’s a review of a 2016 album that did not make the top ten but still had a few good moments.

Disc 953 is….Mosey
Artist: Daniel Romano

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? With his loose afro, Adidas track suit and defiant stare Romano looks like a cross between Bob Dylan and a low level mobster.

How I Came To Know It: My coworker Sam introduced me to Romano and this was me just buying his new album on a whim.

How It Stacks Up:  I have three Daniel Romano albums, and this is my least favourite so…third.

Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3

Daniel Romano’s passion for trying something new and his evident zeal for avoiding being pigeon-holed is admirable, but there is a danger that the resulting record can come off sounding either disjointed or self-indulgent. “Mosey” is a bit of both, but there are enough high points to counter the missteps.

The record opens with “Valerie Leon” which sounds like something from 70s a.m. radio, with a horn section that would fit right in as background music in a chase sequence from Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy. It still kind of works, which is a testament to Romano’s innate understanding of how to write a pop song.

Sadly, Romano’s efforts to marry indie folk sensibilities to seventies schmaltz more often results in songs that are overblown and self-conscious. On “Toulouse” he recruits Rachel McAdams to make sexy “famous actress” quips over the song, but doesn’t improve it noticeably in the process. When adding Rachel McAdams doesn’t make something better, you’ve made a serious wrong turn. I can think of a long list of situations where the addition of Rachel McAdams makes things better, but this song isn’t one of them.

Other odd decisions include a number of songs with strange instrumental tails (“I’m Alone Now”, “Maybe Remember Me” “Mr. E. Me”) that relate tangentially or not at all to the original melody. Romano seems to want to to shake us loose from our musical foundations, and maybe to give us a palate cleanser between songs. Instead the effect is like one of those appetizers that Tom Hanks samples in Big; it looks fancy, but tastes terrible.

Mr. E. Me” is the worst offender, with a title that is (I assume) deliberately cheesy. With its crazy string section and groovy beat you can almost see a guy in a red leisure suit and flare pants walking down the street. As the soundtrack to a seventies spy film, it might work, but it isn’t something I want to chill out and listen to.

Maybe Remember Me” is a pretty song, with Romano’s high and airy vocal calling out, frail and honest, supported by pretty imagery and sharp imaginative rhymes. Hell, this song is so pretty and pure it holds up despite the pointless tail tacked onto the end.

The record’s best song is “Hunger is a Dream You Die In” which is a beautiful country track, with exceptional and understated guitar work. When Romano sings:

“Hunger is a dream you die in
Dreams wake when you’re done deciding”

You think this song is a warning not to spend your time in listless desire. However on repeat listens, lyrics like this come more to the fore:

“I’ve been hungry all my life
And nothing feeds my appetite
Hunger is a dream you die in
When the best of it comes true
There’s always more I need from you.”

The title refrain is repeated multiple times in each verse, and then conspicuously replaced with a guitar run right when you’re expecting it. The music, like the song’s warning, leaves you hungry for more yet forever unfulfilled. This track isn’t a roadmap out of the Dreamlands, but rather a lament of someone trapped within it. It is a brilliant, thoughtful and emotionally evocative song and I wish this record had more like it.

If one song sums up “Mosey” it is “I’m Alone Now.” As I noted earlier, this is one of the many songs with a disjointed ending tacked onto it. It also features a mix of brilliant poetry and a jangling and tinny production and an eclectic mix of instrumentation that sometimes works and sometimes fails.

It reminded me heavily of Leonard Cohen’s album “Death of a Ladies Man”. That record marks a strange point in Cohen’s career. He was near the end of his light and frail poet croon, and not yet into the deep-throated gravel and groove that would define the end of his career. “Death of a Ladies Man” is full of horns and orchestration and songs that sometimes work and sometimes don’t.

Transitional records are sometimes like that, and “Mosey” shows enough promise and ambition that I’m excited to see what Romano will do next. But outside of two or three tracks, it would be an overstatement to say I’m excited about what he does here.


Best tracks: Hunger is a Dream You Die In, One Hundred Regrets Avenue, Maybe Remember Me

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