Ben Vaughn plays the guitar. You might think that you don't know him, given that he hasn't a huge discography to date. He put out Mono U.S.A in 1993, on Bar/None as well, and a few albums out Restless/Enigma back in 1986 through 1992.
All the same, he has produced or co-written an impressive amount of material with such people as Arthur Alexander, Alex Chilton, Marshall Crenshaw, Kim Fowley and Alan Vega, to name but a few. He has also written a number of soundtracks and songs for the cinema and television. I have it on good authority that Instrumental Stylings sounds a lot like The Raybeats circa 1980, a band featuring Alan Vega, though I haven't been able to check this out myself.
Few people would be daring enough to put out an album recorded in glorious mono, but that's just exactly what Ben Vaughn did with Mono U.S.A.. His new album, Instrumental Stylings, is in stereo, and, while it's not going to dislodge anything from the Top 50, there are definitely some worthy tracks to be found on it.
The opening track, "Aqua Blue" is pure Wall of Voodoo, back in the days of credibility and Call of the West. The second track, "Gumpstumper", veers over into zydeco territory, and from then on it's a ride from send-ups of spaghetti westerns ("Enfermo", "Toestubber") to dystopian surfie rock ("Pipe Bomb") winding up with both of the above with a little psychedelia thrown in ("Battery Acid") and so on. "Heaven above" is just what it feels like when the weather is stinking hot and no breeze in sight. You can almost smell the heat haze coming out of the speakers. In this hot (northern) summer, his music is perfect company for just sitting around, waiting for the cool change. A guitar sound somewhere between the Byrds and Ry Cooder.
Ben Vaughn (btw, no relation to the late, great Stevie Ray -- that's Vaughan) is a person reconciled with his music. He's not out for technical mastery like Adrian Belew, nor, perish the thought, after the FM clarity of Mark Knopfler. He just writes songs from time to time, in between hanging out with friends and drinking a few beers to pass the time. The JJ Cale school of thought, if you like.
In this day of artist push and label pull, it is pleasant to come across an album evidently written for fun, not profit. Plus, if he ever rolls into the place where you live, you'll have half a chance of seeing him perform at a decent venue, where there's always a vacant chair or two at a table with an excellent vantage point.
