Restless moon

Jenny Don't and The Spurs - Fire On The Ridge (2021) **

Nominated by: G 'Yee Har' K 

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Queen Of The Desert

I want to be charitable here and say that Gee Kay's slavish devotion to this record is because the lead singer, Jenny Don't, flashed her pearly whites in his direction, okay, okay - deliberately at him, during a gig (I'm assuming he was sober, but we all know about assumptions don't we).

Live (and with a few Budweisers on board) this outfit would be another thing entirely, I suspect. The sawdust on the floor, the spittoons, the spilt beer, Greg yee haring, the chicken wire fence in front of the band, the fist fights, and any number of loud American good ole boys would definitely add a certain je ne sais pas to proceedings. 

Unfortunately, all I have is the music to review. From that point of view, I have to say, at best, Jenny sounds like a gifted amateur and the band are competent. I'm no expert but she often sounds off key to me.

GK described this as cow punk music, but it doesn't sound like cow punk or outlaw country, in that it's not remotely dangerous or threatening. Actually, it's more like old fashioned country and western. At a push, I'll concede that the sound is retro country cowboy in that I picture males wearing Stetsons and arrowhead bolos and the gals all dressing like Jenny Don't.

Choosing a playlist addition was tough. The best impression of Ghost Riders In the Sky that they come up with on the album (there are a few contenders) would be Queen Of The Desert.

All up, this was a struggle, but I'm still glad I put a tentative toe in the sawdust. 

It's just not my sort of thing and it's good we all like different things. BTW: Kev will love it!

Strange beauty

Ed Harcourt - El Magnifico  (2024) ***

Nominated by: Lew

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Seraphina

Full disclosure here: while I like this album, I don't get it like Lew does. I like Ed's voice, but for some reason, I don't love it.

I'm also not very clued up on his career. The only album of his that I own is Lustre, which I like, but it didn't prompt me to search out others by him.

In a curious tilt for me, I appreciate the quieter, slower numbers more than the up-tempo ones on El Magnifico. Repeat listens drew me more and more towards songs like Seraphina (with a Hallelujah resonance), The Violence Of The Rose, Ghost Ship, My Heart Can't Keep Up With Mind (again with a Leonard Cohen-esque vibe to my ears), At The Dead End Of The World.

There are more, in fact these quiet ones vastly outnumber the faster ones. 

Death, grief, ghosts. The whole album has a moody, sad, lonely feel to it, but it's not a depressing listening experience. I don't know his personal history, but he must have lost some friends and family along the way. Seraphina must be drawing on something personal, right?

Lyrically speaking, I find myself nonplussed at some points and intrigued at others - often in the same song.

Seraphina is a case in point - Fly to the moon in a row boat/ and they'll cheer your fall = nonplussed reaction. What is he on about? Fly to the moon in a rowboat?? I can't grasp hold of that.

But then he produces a great sequence - Dancing like narcissists trapped in a carnival's/ Looking glass/ Smash it all up seven years of bad luck will disappear/ Into the past.

He obviously is very talented, and so, I feel slightly disloyal not being able to engage with it like Lew obviously does. Probably because of my limited exposure to him and I bet the rest of MNAC have seen him perform a few times and have formed an attachment that I can't.

Never mind, even if feeling late to the party, I still really enjoyed the experience of playing this album on my commute.

Thanks for sharing it Lew.

Last man down

Last Man Down  - State House Kid (1985) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Edmond's Sure To Rise

I can hear GK's voice already - comedy songs are tricky. These songs by Ross Mullins are as Kevy says - 'witty and poignant sketches of New Zealand urban life'.

The problem with witty (a.k.a. comedy) songs is that you run the danger of producing limited shelf-life songs that outwear their welcome after a couple of listens.

Ross is cunning though. He marries these vignettes of Kiwi life to cool jazzy laid-back grooves. So, he almost gets away with it. 

Given it was done in 1985, it almost seems to be celebrating/ commemorating a kiwi way of life that had already passed on by 1985. The rugby, racing, and beer side of NZ's culture and talk of TABs, Dawn Raids, Edmond's cookbooks, and anachronisms like Foodtown, RSAs are certainly passé in 2024. Just saying. 

That past culture may be quaint in many ways (Kiwiana), but there is also a whiff of unpleasantness about it too - an underbelly of NZ society if you will. Racism (casual and otherwise) and a male dominated perspective are two aspects of that culture.

I mention it because while Last Man Down like the quaint aspects, it does bring to mind a lot of other stuff. Again, just sayin'.

Favourite tracks: I enjoyed the Steely Dan-ish instrumentation on opener Uncles, and the lyrics to that one also holds up more than elsewhere; the aforesaid Edmond's Sure To Rise is fun; Featherston - where he channels Tim Finn's vocal style; and The Bay is fine too - some lovely sax work from somebody.

I definitely prefer him when he plays it straight.

The bits I wasn't so hot on: the smoking references annoy me (they always have - I can't help it. This is an idiosyncrasy peculiar to me alone I suspect). It feels like every song has a reference to smoking, fags or roll yer owns. Yuck.

I also don't tend to enjoy songs that use very young girls as protagonists. Goal Attack and State House Kid focus on young girls and it feels a bit pervy and icky.

The unrelenting referencing to Kiwiana, place names etc became too much at times. I'll again be alone in this nagging feeling, I'm sure. One or two local references on a Kiwi album seems judicious. Five or so references per song is a bit try hard and a bit jarring.

Those are minor quibbles. The strengths (the music) outweigh the negatives. Almost.

Lost Indian

Chris Rodrigues & Abby The Spoon Lady - Working On Wall Street (2017) **

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Lost Indian

With stripped back instrumentation comes increased scrutiny of the component parts. There are five things to comment on for this album: Chris' guitar, his harmonica, his singing, his songs and Abby's percussion.

One of those components was really good, three were okayish, and one was plain annoying.

First the positive - the guitar and, at times, the harmonica. The boy can play and could carry off a really good instrumental guitar album à la Leo Kottke. I would have given a much higher rating if he had stuck to that blueprint.

The okay - his vocals and, at times, harmonica. It's a passable delivery but he doesn't appeal to me that much. The hoedown style of Boil Them Cabbage Down, Lost John etc does not appeal at all. 

The songs are sometimes interesting, but often repetitive (Angels In Heaven just goes on and on). 

The negative - Abby and her annoying spoons often got in the way of my enjoyment. I found myself enjoying the starts to some songs, but then Abby enters. Maybe live, in the flesh so to speak, it might be wildly exciting as Noel Crombie's cameo on spoons was once per gig, but she appears on every track. 

If I came across this on a trip on the London Underground, I would definitely throw some coins into the open guitar case (I always do with guitarists who are any good), and I would stop for a song, maybe two because it would be quite a spectacle (although the no teeth thing would be a downer). but then I'd move on - nodding away to the rhythmic strains on my way to the trains.

Best moments: Lost Indian; Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down (even though it goes on a bit, the change of pace is welcome).