REVIEW: Those Bastard Souls, Debt & Departure (V2 Records)
- Matthew Carlin
Those Bastard Souls are one of those mid-level all-star bands that often crop up in the alterna-rock world. Leader David Shouse's main gig is charging The Grifters, violinist Joan Wasser was in the Dambuilders, bassist Matt Fields is from Red Red Meat, drummer Kevin March was in Shudder to Think and The Rentals, and guitarist Michael Tighe played with the late Jeff Buckley. The result is they are all extremely capable, professional musicians. The problem is, that's what they sound like. By paying too much attention to the high-quality production and careful performance, much of the emotion is lost. For much of Debt & Departure, the down-home feel sounds put on.
The Bastard's album starts off strong with the nifty, but clumsily-titled first track, "The Last Thing I Ever Wanted Was To Show Up And Blow Your Mind." A fine, medium-tempo rocker, the only weak point is the lyrics -- which are pretty much summed up by the title. "Telegram" follows suit with some nice interplay between the piano and Wasser's violin and a nice, short guitar solo from Tighe, but ultimately goes nowhere. Which is exactly where the remaining songs remain. Although the tunes are delivered as if the focus is on the songwriting, the songs aren't good enough to keep the listener fully engaged. And while the players are indeed skilled, the performances likewise aren't inspired enough to warrant a really close listen.
Perhaps the worst part of Debt & Departure are Shouse's lyrics. Muddled with trite metaphors, rock and roll clichés and worse yet, images that just make no sense, Shouse's words are insipid at best, and more often than not, just plain irritating. Case in point, from "Curious State": "It's a curious state I'm in/ a curious state I'm in (x3)/ You're the sun/ I'm the breeze/ I get warm beneath your fingers/ If I dose off in the trees/ you'll come and set fire to my pillow"
Shouse even puns on the title for the Fender Rhodes-driven "Remembering Sophie Rhodes." After a shticky false start, the funky swagger of this number is all but ruined by lyrics like "She burns in my furnace/and melts away sadness" and "She works like a chemical/warm and plentiful/her madness unraveled me slowly."
Reading Michael Tighe's name among the members of Those Bastard Souls can't help but make one think about the tragic loss of Jeff Buckley. And although the comparison is completely unfair, Shouse's mediocre songs fail exactly where Buckley's soared. Never mind Buckley's angelic voice, his songs were fearless and exciting, but always approachable, commercial even-a model for current pop music. Shouse's songs are indeed commercial, but in an overt, safe way that is best suited as background music, more than likely in a big budget movie. Without even turning to Buckley's legacy, there are so many great, young songwriters like Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright and Elliott Smith that make Debt & Departure even less relevant.
