David Browne
David Browne is a contributing editor of Rolling Stone and the author of Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth and Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Spin and other outlets.
He is currently at work on Fire and Rain, a book that will track the lives and careers of The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young during the pivotal year of 1970.
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The former Grateful Dead drummer incorporates sampled sounds of the cosmos in "Who Stole the Show?" -
What transports "The Water" into its own stratosphere is the accompaniment of Laura Marling, whose sweet, high delivery recalls Jacqui McShee of Pentangle. Marling's gorgeous harmony tags along like a sad-sack friend, while imbuing the song with a tangible sense of hope and beauty.
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Seahorse and the Storyteller is a true concept album, which tells the story of "two mythical creatures who meet, fall in love and begin piecing together the mysteries of each other's past." One of its key songs is "The Story of Echo Lake," sung in the voice of the Seahorse character as he embarks on a search of his family's origins.
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It's wintertime, and a young woman's thoughts turn to summer. Veirs' "July Flame" is a litany of warm-weather imagery: kites, lemonade, fireworks, a "sweet summer peach." All very indie Normal Rockwell — until she arrives at the simple, five-word chorus: "Can I call you mine?"
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"In Your Heart" feels like a glorious throwback to the cathartic new-wave singles of decades past. With it, A Place to Bury Strangers returns rock to where it sometimes belongs: to the claustrophobic basement clubs where volume, sweat, passion and a couple of drinks make for an intoxicating world of their own.
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On a pivotal night in March 1967, Buckley brought along a clutch of new material he was about to record for his expansive second album, Goodbye and Hello. One of those songs, "Troubadour," never made it to the finished record, but it's indicative of the ways in which Buckley was already pushing the limits of so-called folk-rock.
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In jaded times, getting swept off one's feet isn't what it used to be. Tracyanne Campbell, lead singer of Glasgow's Camera Obscura, seems to know this better than anyone. But "French Navy" is such a rush, emotionally and musically, that it's the farthest thing from gloomy.
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"Death by Perfection" breaks little musical ground. Sharp's warm, honeyed voice recalls Bonnie Raitt's, and her producer, Don Was, mines the comfortable adult-rock groove he's used with many artists before. Raitt herself, in lovely vocal form, even pops up for a cameo.
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As Three Fantastic's "Hot Summer Day" revs up, the band unleashes a litany of environmental disasters: Trees burn to cinders and oceans boil; even the air conditioners are at loose ends. In other words, this is a warm-weather ode to global warming.
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Over a period of months, Spearin recorded his neighbors in Toronto as they talked about their lives and counted their blessings. He then recorded music to accompany the voices, playing off the cadences and rhythms of their speaking voices. The result, heard in "Mrs. Morris," feels more like jazz than documentary.
