Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Larsen, Heyman, Everybody Else, Assembly, Brooklyn Rep - Page 4

The band front-loads the CD with its best songs. The jumpy, mid-tempo "Grand Decision" evokes The Band (think "Ophelia") and a bit of Boz Scaggs, while later in the CD, "Bootlegger's Advice," which slows that groove down, isn't as strong a song. The bracing "Telling Sue" cheerfully adapts its soaring hook from the Dead's "U.S. Blues," while "Truck Farm" aims for a similar, simple, goofy grandeur but doesn't quite hit the mark. Maybe Genauer just sounds too nice to represent the kind of guy who's set a fire in anger after buying a lemon vehicle.

"Zero to the Skin" and "Whistle Clock" are fully realized works. They're successful because they're not trying to be anything but what they are, and because their music and lyrics evoke the gritty, poetic, somehow-we-survive American heartland spirit.

You may serve them roses.
You may serve their delight.
But when the working day closes,
I sing you sweetly goodnight.

The climax comes in the chorus of "Samuel Aging," a nova of a song about a writer's tragic life that could be any of ours.

Well he raked his eyes and read what he had laid down.
His tongue was dry, his eyes were moist and red.
Exhausted from the work and went and laid down,
and the writing read and the writing read.
Run walk or stagger to your old life's hanging.

Next comes "40 Reasons," a pretty but not entirely convincing attempt at Neil Young's sort of minor-key pathos. The rather hollow "The Honest Hour" is notable mostly for inheriting the language of its guitar solo from Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer." And on the evidence of the aimless "Walking on Water," "Desperado"-style ballads aren't the Assembly's strong suit.

Even the less successful songs have well-considered lyrics and a sensitive soul. But what we have here is an excellent band delivering half of an excellent album.

Hear some full tracks at their Myspace page.

Brooklyn Repertory Ensemble, Pragmatic Optimism

You don't hear too much ensemble jazz any more, and when you do it's usually in an educational context (meaning, most of us who aren't in school never experience it). For one thing, it's awfully expensive to gather and rehearse a big jazz band. The musicians are hard to herd because they're always off scrabbling for the next paying job, which is usually with a smaller combo, or backing up a pop singer, or teaching.

Article Author: Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Blogcritics' Culture and Theater Editor. In addition to reviewing NYC theater, he writes a semi-regular round-up of independent music releases. By day he is a computer professional and a freelance writer and editor, and at night he's a …

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