The Sewing Circle
Self-titled CD
self-released
Genre: pop/rock, country rock,
alternative
Midwest USA
May 16, 2009 |
I suppose, as a critic, I'm not supposed
to like music as "pedestrian" as this (har dee har),
but there are moments on The Sewing Circle's debut album that
just revel in joyful melody. With a Counting Crows inspired
immediacy, these folks craft Americana-tinged good-times rock/pop, the
sort of stuff that dotted the airwaves in the nineties but has since
moved out of the spotlight.
Like most
self-released, self-titled debuts, the major
knock on The Sewing Circle's effort is inconsistency. There are
some serious anthems here, as well as some equally serious filler.
Let's tackle the bad news first. Opener "The Only Good Hippie is a
Dead One" (yuk yuk) doesn't cut it. Beyond its vague eighties rock
vibe is an utterly malnourished melody -- not the type of song you
want to kick off your debut with. Other flat
songs include zippy but unmemorable "Blood for Oil," Cracker-esque
ballad "Great Cosmic Divine" (sans Lowery's melodic
assets), and shoddy "All the King's Men."
I could go on, but
let's spare ourselves the muddiness and move on to the positive
findings. Crafty sing-along
"Local Motel" sees the band in a completely different form, expertly
weaving seamless build-ups capped off by joyful releases. The
Counting Crows influence here is particularly obvious. Equally
arresting are toasty party bouncer "Alpha/Bravo" (reminds me of "Hanginaround"),
and expert country rocker "Great Big World."
There are other aspects to this release,
certainly (song title "Blood for Oil" encapsulates much of the lyrical
content here), although the focus ultimately
appears to be on fun, cheerful country-rock. Several of these songs
will keep you coming back, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that the
band pares down the filler for their next
installation.
the sewing circle's myspace
73%
youuuuuuutube:
"alpha bravo" in studio,
"great big world" in studio
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 12 tracks, distributed by
the band,
released 2009] |