(Elektra)
This is the fourth album by the pride of Vancouver, Canada, and it's great to watch a band mature into an unselfish, cohesive unit. The Odds are blessed with two gifted yet diverse songwriters who blend their vision, swallow their egos, and let the whole band cook up the goodies. Building upon last year's stellar Good Weird Feeling, which juxtaposed heart-wrenching ballads with classic pop, nest is another sampler platter of melodic, harmonic, creative songs that should garner them some long overdue recognition in the United States.
The Odds are fuller and fatter this go-round, adding snippets of trumpets and keyboards along with inventive background vocal arrangements. As I was trying to settle on a word to describe the overall sound of this record, I remembered the first time I heard The Beatles (a.k.a. the "White" album) and was struck by the fact that such a potpourri of music was still somehow linked by a common thread. Couldn't pin that one down, either.
Now I'm not going to hang the Beatles mantle on these guys; Oasis can live with that albatross. There are a few tips of the cap, of course. Check out the Harrison guitar leads and Macca-like rhythm piano of "Suppertime", or the Lennon-ish closing piece "At Your Word". Crowded House fans will savor the beautiful vocals, acoustic guitars and organ wash in "Heard You Wrong" and "Nothing Beautiful Lasts". Maybe even a little vintage Squeeze in "Hurt Me"?
There's a lot going on here - the call-and-response vocals of "Say You Mean It Wondergirl", the in-your-face guitar riffs of "Tears And Laughter", the rock-meets-rumba beat of "Night's Embrace"...not a duff track in the lot. But for the essence of the Odds, just slip this disc into the player and listen to the killer 1-2-3 punch that starts it off. "Someone Who's Cool" is the prototype ear grabber - chunky guitar, killer backbeat, and a sing-along chorus that will have you blowing out the car speakers. The fact that it's also funny, literate and self-depreciating despite it's la-la-la chorus just takes it up another notch. Bang - track two's slide guitar and pleading vocal slides you into mid-tempo heaven, more manna from Canada! By track three's snap-snare intro and ringing guitar, it's too late - you're hooked for the ride.
There's no doubt that these guys are solid and versatile musically - they can rock the house with anyone or play with restraint, and the production and arrangements (kudos to Steven Drake) are top-notch. But if you coast on the melodies alone you might find yourself humming the infectious refrain from "Nothing Beautiful Lasts", only to realize later that it's written from the perspective of a cockroach! But don't let that "odd" perspective throw you - gloss past the wordplay and you'd miss such gems as "out come the stars, pinholes of light in a moth eaten blanket held over the night" ("Out Come Stars"), or this cautious confession from "Make You Mad": "When I call you beautiful /It's cause I can / and when you think I'm sucking up / I sort of am..."
Craig Northey and Steven Drake, the guitarists and vocalists, are a powerful tandem, but don't sell the rhythm section short. Bassist Doug Elliot's vocals are a key ingredient in the band's exquisite harmonies, and drummer Pat Steward is solid and vibrant without ever sounding "busy". Here's the topper - as good as they are on record, as a live band they step it up a notch.
Do I have any complaints about this record? Well, after the last song, it ends...
