REVIEW: Travis Pickle, Travis Pickle (LunaSea)
- Michael Van Gorden
What's in a name you ask? Well in this case nothing. And please don't let the name Travis Pickle fool you.
I almost let the silly name taint my opinion of this record. But fear not - as soon as you hit the play button, all prejudices will disappear.
Travis Pickle is a New York City quartet made up of talented, passionate music lovers, with a semi-warped sense of humor. "Motorcycle Man" opens the self-titled disc, but don't let the sweet vocals of Carla Capretto surprise you. She may sing with a breathy quiet voice but lines like "There's a time as least once a day when I want to kiss you / And a time, at least twice a night I'd like to kill you" let you know that there is a bite to that voice.
There is also a bite to the lyrics; as the rest of "Motorcycle" unfolds, you realize that this is no healthy romance that is causing this pain. The band are well educated musically, and this can be seen in how easily they switch styles without sounding forced or awkward. Songs like "Better" and "Mr. Boyfriend" has the band venturing into the lounge-pop sound that is currently popular.
While songs such as "One More Time" and the aforementioned "Motorcycle Man" have more of a guitar crunch to them, "13X's A Day" and "Deaf Dumb and Blind" lean more to the pop end of things. There is nothing more beautiful, other than the harmony of siblings, that rivals a male and female voice that can harmonize so perfectly. Add the fact that both can play the guitar well and you get a better idea of what Travis Pickle are all about.
You can't help but appreciate how well the voice and guitars of Carla and Pete Min work so well together. Reminding you at times of the tortured romance of X and the bittersweet sound of the Reviers, adding a dash of the Cardigans' Nina Persson for good measure. The music is song driven pop music, beautifully crafted melodies that stay with you gladly. Yet the subject matter throughout the CD - while being about love and relationships - takes a darker turn. "Better" contains the line "I won't forget the words you wrote that I found, so save it for someone else cause it's better when you're not around". On "Mr. Boyfriend", Carla's wistful vocals tell a tale of infidelity as she looks on sadly at the other woman sitting beside her man - all the while standing up for herself by singing "you're not the only game in town".
The pop sound of Tonya Donelly surfaces in "It's not U, it's me". Wherein what is usually a man's line, Carla tells her soon to be ex, they can "still be friends I hope and it's been fun but gotta run". If your still not sure where this band is at, a line from the last song on the CD "Deaf dumb and Blind" should clear things up: "I have dreamt for the day my skull is rid of you".
This is the of music you will want coming from your car stereo or boom box over the next few months. Get it now, and avoid what will hopefully be a Travis Pickle rush.
