REVIEW: Todd Thibaud, Favorite Waste of Time (Doolittle)
- Arabella Clauson
Perhaps the most striking facet of Todd Thibaud is his optimistic, warm tenor voice, something quite inspiring from yet another victim of the ruthless music industry. Relativity Records signed and dropped the former Courage Brothers songwriter within six months after changing to an all-rap format. Left to his own devices, Thibaud wrote, financed, and recorded his own album, releasing several thousand copies in the Boston area.
Thibaud comes into his own on Favorite Waste of Time, merging pop, rock, blues, and folk into something entirely his own creation, perhaps surprising after his Americana rock band days with the Courage Brothers. He elicits comparisons to Tom Petty, a less raspy John Hiatt, and Steve Earle, whose "Copperhead Road" appears as an improvised bonus track. Thibaud released the self financed album in Boston last year, before shopping around for a record label, finally signing on with Austin's Doolittle Records last summer. Returning to the studio, Thibaud and producer Kevin Salem (Freedy Johnston) recorded two new songs, "Cold," which sounds like something straight out of a Robert Rodruiguez film, and "2 a.m." a twangy, heartfelt ballad about self-reflection. The result is a finely tuned, extremely balanced collection of Southern country-rock tunes, no doubt a reflection on the songwriter's talent and life experiences.
"Sweet Destiny" calls for some Toad the Wet Sprocket comparisons, boasting a mellow acoustic sound and smooth vocals. Kathleen Wilhoite makes a cameo appearance on "Give My Heart Back," an unromantic, yet still rather sad, duet. Thibaud also wrote the standout track "That Wasn't Me" soon after the drop from Relativity, resulting in a bitterly ironic, yet somehow still upbeat lyrical self-examination with "I don't know where I went wrong I guess I just lost track/lately all the ones I love are the ones that I attack." He seems fiercely self-critical, but perhaps through personal experience, Thibaud found the sheer determination required for a struggling artist to keep faith in both the industry and his own music.
