If there was even the tiniest bit of comfort to be wrung from Johnny Dowd's singularly disturbing debut album, Wrong Side of Memphis, it was that the record's stark, homespun tales of murder, misery, and malice seemed light years removed from reality, evoking a backwoods dementia so completely over the top it often threatened to veer into the ridiculous. Pictures from Life's Other Side ups the ante considerably: Complete with full-band backing, crisp production, and a broader musical spectrum, the effect is much more chilling, as within this more conventional framework, Dowd's obsessions manifest themselves in new and sinister ways, cloaking his fixations and fetishes behind the subterfuge of a suspiciously listenable blend of country, blues, and pop. Where Wrong Side of Memphis immediately revealed itself as the ravings of a madman, Pictures from Life's Other Side is much sneakier -- at first glance, "Hope You Don't Mind" appears to be a heart-wrenching ballad of unrequited love, but on closer inspection the object of the middle-aged Dowd's affection is a schoolgirl; likewise, the hauntingly atmospheric "No Woman's Flesh But Hers" is a testament to undying love, in this case a husband's pledge to his comatose wife. Sick, twisted, and undeniably compelling, Pictures from Life's Other Side delivers where countless shock rock and gangsta rap records fall short, capturing a musical vision that's genuinely disquieting.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts of the Week
-
History They originally called themselves The Reactionaries , with additional band member and singer Martin Tamburovich. According to Watt, ...
-
Velvet Revolver is a rock supergroup with three former members of Guns N' Roses--Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum--with Scott Weila...
-
The Bachelor is set to be released by Universal Records on June 1. New record sounds authentic and poppier than previous Patrick Wolf albums...
-
New ep is recorded by two good musician John Darnielle and John Vanderslice, this EP is a concept album about organ harvesting colonies on t...
-
To say that Warner/Rhino/Sire's 2006 four-CD, one-DVD box set Pirate Radio is for the die-hard Pretenders fan may be stating the obviou...
-
Disc 1: Bullet with Butterfly Wings 1. Bullet with Butterfly Wings 2. ...Said Sadly 3. You're All I Got Tonight 4. Clones (We...
-
Sin After Sin is the third album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest , released in 1977. The album was remastered in 2001, wit...
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment