I am an admittedly biased critic when it comes to Soltero. My housemates nearly had to wrest the CD from me and hold an intervention after I bought it...and put it on 'repeat' for the next 4 days.
Tim Howard is the axis around which the Soltero universe revolves. A rotating cast of musicians play live and record with him, so every show is unique. His first widely-released album, Science Will Figure You Out, garnered rave reviews from all corners, particularly for "Communist Love Song", one of my personal favorites. Howard's voice has been compared, favorably, to Lou Reed, Frank Black and other gravelly indie icons. His insightful lyrics combined with dynamic song structures and creative recording techniques — for example, the electronic additions to the album version of "The Priest," my pick for best song on Science — make every song exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.
Coming out in early 2003: Defrocked and Kicking The Habit, featuring "The Moment You Said Yes," the most perfect lovesong ever. (MP3 / lyrics) Angst, hope and love. My kind of song.
Seeing Soltero live (and if you're in the northeast, check out the website: several new shows have just been announced) is brilliant, but don't despair if you're far from Boston! On Tuesday 10 September, Soltero plays live on MIT's WMBR 88.1 around 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and there will be a webcast.
Buy the album. You won't regret it.
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Article comments
1 - Mike Smith
Anyone who recognizes the genius of Soltero is someone I consider cool.
Hence, I consider you cool.
Check out my guide to Soltero's music.
I'm trying to get a lot of people to view and vote positively for it, so that it will be in the Top 10 of Amazon guides, where many potential listeners unfamiliar with Soltero will have a chance to see it.
2 - Shannon
Thanks, Mike. I reposted part of this review to Science...'s page on Amazon -- hurrah!