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GREENWICH
VILLAGE GAZETTE
INDIE NIGHTCAP: THE
SCOLDEES
by Ernest
Barteldes
Ever since I
began to review music for this and other publications many indie
musicians(or their publicists) have contacted me for a review - something
I try to oblige, depending only on my own time constraints. Much of the
stuff I get is, let's face it, mostly musically poor, which can be
discouraging when I sit at my PC to write about them. Sometimes, however,
some of those CDs are very good and get (at times too much of) my
attention .
Such is the
case of the Long Island-based The Scoldees, whose second CD,
"Nightcap World", hit stores nationally this week.
The sound of
the band is what I would call quality pop - the musicians seem to
know what they are doing, with well-played instruments, nice harmonies and
- intelligent listeners thank you - clever lyrics.
The Scoldees
tackle many styles on Nightcap World: from rock to folk and country
music, which they seem to do well (some of those 'eclectic' bands might be
able to perform a thing or two, but many fail when attempting something
different - ever heard Brian May playing the blues?).
One of the
best tracks is "American Tonight", a Dylan-inspired country and
western tune which is a spit in the face of the conservative establishment
that will go to any means to get what it wants under the fa�ade of
patriotism:
"Oh,
you're an American tonight/You've pledged your allegiance/But you've lost
your pride/Oh, you're red, white and blue tonight/You will kill for a hot
dog/But are you willing to die?/ Does your head ease your mind?/ Does your
sympathetic head have a segregated eye?/The true American knows how to
survive/With his heat-seeking missiles and his truth-seeking lies."
I also felt
that the funky Mama Was Right was a hilarious song. It tells the
story of a woman who finally admits her mother was correct about her
relationship as she suffers about its loss: "My mama was right about
that jerk/She said, "Get back to work and forget that jerk" .
Quite normal
until you realize who the guy's seeing now.
Another great
moment is their heartfelt rendition of Joni Mitchell's A Case of You,
which received a respectful acoustic treatment and a soulful vocal from
singer Nancy Sirianni.
Also worthy of
mention is Just Like Rita, a song about the conflicts everyone
experiences in life. In the lyrics, the confusion receives the name of
different women, as if each issue had a life of its own - many women
residing inside the soul of a single woman (a theme also explored by Shania
Twain in "Juanita", a track from her latest album,
"Up") , even though you see the same one on the outside.
There are
hardly any duds on "Nightcap World", but I would say that there
are two songs that I could have lived without. The first one is "The
Valley". Co-lead vocalist Jack Hoffman does not deliver the song
with enough drive (which he does on other tracks he carries). The
pseudo-deep lyrics (Through the haze of desert heat/I see a distant
place/It has alluded me/It keeps a distant face) don't impress me much
either.
The only other
bad moment is Better Day, which doesn't really go anywhere and
which also becomes a bit tiresome after so many repetitions of the chorus.
The album
closes beautifully with Lullaby For Greta, a slow, acoustic tune
sung softly by Nancy Sirianni with a nice backdrop given by a ceremonial
drum and a harmonica.
Nightcap World
is a very listenable album that doesn't become "old "after
repeated hearings (as I write this, it must be at lest the eighth time I
spin it), which is reason enough to include it in your collection.
website
www.scoldees.com
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