SOUNDCHECK

Ray LaMontagne; Bowling for Soup


Ray LaMontagne


Trouble (3 stars)


This disc blows in on a big gust of enthusiasm ("a stunning introduction to an enormous talent"—Esquire). Not to go against the wind or anything, but let's agree it's "pretty good" and leave the jumbo superlatives on the ground. These 10 songs about love and hard luck are affecting and honest—the producers must've wiped down the studio to remove any traces of irony—but the second coming of Van Morrison they ain't.


Morrison has been name-checked by way of comparison, but the late Jeff Buckley seems LaMontagne's more proper antecedent. Like much of Buckley's work, LaMontange's spare, string-backed, slow-tempoed songs (I've just described most of Trouble) have loose structures that give his heartfelt voice plenty of room to chase his demons. (Not much on this album could be described as upbeat.) That works to fine effect on songs like "Trouble," "Hannah" and "Shelter," where his breathy tenor turns ache into art. But not even the electric-guitar skitter in "Come On" and "Narrow Escape" prevent the songs from eventually running together, as if life's bummers only happen in one tempo. And if you can to listen to "Hold You in My Arms" and not wonder why he's singing "hold you in my orms" and then lose track of whatever the song's about, maybe you should be doing this instead of me.




Scott Dickensheets



Bowling For Soup


A Hangover You Don't Deserve (4 stars)


This power pop-punk quartet from Texas is back and kicking ass on their third album.


Every one of the 17 tracks here is catchy, with strong hooks and creative lyrics, primarily crafted by Jaret Reddick, who does duty on guitar and vocals. He's joined by Chris Burney on guitar and vocals, Erik Chandler on bass and drummer Gary Wiseman.


Certainly, some critics will blast into the group for not living up to some musical Valhalla, in which beats are experimental, melodies are cosmopolitan and lyrics are poetic. And that's fine—they're not invited to the party.


Because that's what BFS has come up with. A party album. Full of songs about girls who are stuck in the '80s ("1985"), girls who have left the Lone Star state ("Ohio") and girls who should be your next ex-girlfriend ("Next Ex-Girlfriend"). Oh, and one song about fashion ("Trucker Hat"). It's a bonus that the lyrics are intelligent, with references to parachute pants and pretzel stands, double-negatives and Celine Dion.




Martin Stein


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