REVIEW: Mysteries of Life, Come Clean (RCA)
- Daniel Aloi
Positively catchy, unabashedly romantic and ultimately honest, Jake Smith's heavenly songs seem to hit me on an alternate plane. I hear them coming out of the radio only in my mind. They also serve to remind me of all the vagaries of love, usually the upside of same, in my real life.
This kind of pop songcraft doesn't do much in the marketplace these days, but the Mysteries of Life's rootsy pop songs have the potential to be spilling out of real radios everywhere, at least in a better world. (Aside to RCA promotion execs reading this review: make it happen!)
Anchored by singer-songwriter/guitarist Smith and his wife, drummer Freda Love, this Bloomington, Indiana group continues in earnest with a masterpiece of sincere sentiment, equal to the winning 1996 RCA debut, Keep a Secret . That album's lyrical intentions were simply stated, with some innocent, almost adolescent expressions of yearning and lust. This new one mostly carries on, as in a truly committed relationship following the rush of courtship, with the day-to-day ups and downs of love. And yes, the album titles address one another.
Aided and abetted by some Bloomington/Indianapolis scene musicians -- including Lisa Germano, singing on the closing track "Southdowns" -- Mysteries continues to explore the hope and promise, drama and tension inherent in love. The music, laid-back but insinuating and satisfying, is integral to Smith's straightforward lyrics (as in the chorus "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, kiss me goodnight...").
He brushes his guitar (usually an acoustic) as softly as he can, singing sotto voce so as to gain attention. The band finds its groove behind him, keeping the arrangements a little loose but always focused. Think of the '50s Sun Sessions sound applied to melodic indie rock technique, and you have Mysteries' musical m.o. -- Smith seems to have found a sense of purpose to underscore his already capable approach to conveying heartfelt emotions. Many of the songs, especially "That's How Strong My Love Is" and "A Year Ago Today," and a seamless fit with previous work.
This is the second version of this album, with 8 of the 14 songs coming from earlier recording sessions. As a fan, and an obviously biased one at that, I wouldn't mind hearing what ended up in Smith's closet.
Last winter, after The Mysteries of Life had completed what was going to be their second album, and some advance copies went out to promote a tour that culminated in a SXSW showcase. Some brand new songs were so well-received, the band went back in the studio, enlisting producer Brad Wood to record new songs and revise old ones for a new Come Clean (they kept the title song).
Of the newer songs, "Downhill," the first single, and "Caught Up" are insistent (with electric guitar!) while "Hey Kate" is the type of song you could have heard two years ago.
On Keep a Secret, the band was Smith and three women. Two years, two independent EPs and much touring later, it's four guys who outnumber Love. Bassist Tina Barbieri is gone, but cellist Geraldine Haas is on both albums -- even on the newer "Hey Kate" -- but not in the current lineup.
Despite all this, and some obvious growth/shift in direction, there is, as I've hinted, a smooth continuity between the two recorded phases of Mysteries. They are still romantic, genuine, timeless -- a band you can love, and fall in love to. Recommended most highly to fans of Howard Jones, Crowded House, Marshall Crenshaw, and the acoustic side of Neil Young.
A few words on the band's alt-rock pedigree: The members have figured in the Blake Babies (Love), Antenna (Smith and Love's band from 1991-94), the Vulgar Boatmen (keyboard player Dale Lawrence, who also sang backup on "Keep a Secret" and sings on "Tell Me" here) and Velo-Deluxe (bassist Kenny Childers' band also has Antenna/Blake Babies alum John Strohm, and Smith as an occasional bassist). Childers also sings and writes on this album. (Underscoring how identifiable the scene apparently is in Bloomington, Smith says he considers Mysteries and the Boatman as part of "a school of music.") Kim Fox, who moved to Indiana from New York City and has her own solo DreamWorks deal, was also in an interim touring lineup (on keyboards and vocals) in 1996-97.
For more clues to Mysteries, go to their web site at http://www.bugjuice.com/mysteries .
