 Budhi
Brown
"The Time or the Place" CD
Green
Room Records
Genres: indie rock, "rock noir"
Jan 10 - 16 2005 |
Budhi Brown's logo proclaims that the band is a "rock noir"
outfit, and it doesn't take long to figure out what that means. The Time or the
Place, the band's full-length debut,
evokes imagery of dusty alleys and smoky barrooms that could have been
ripped directly from any cheesy black-and-white detective movie of
your choice. The atmosphere of the album is fostered by Budhi
Brown's
unique arrangement: the band eschews the usual contemporary guitar
orchestration in favor of saxophones and a two-string slide bass. The
arrangement is unusual but still sounds complete. It works. Frontman
Jon Vegas' vocals are reminiscent of the Tragically Hip's Gord
Downie:
soulful, mysterious and compelling. The two saxophones and frequent
rhythmical shifts give the band a decidedly groovy sound. The band is at its best in its most melodic tunes.
"Death is a Flower," the first single, is an infectious
damnation of a treacherous lover containing a quintessentially noir
chorus ("Death is a flower / And it smells like you").
"Viewmaster" and "Barcelona," meanwhile, are just plain
catchy. The album's slower, more straightforward songs, like the
opener, "Don't Scare Me None," are generally nondescript.
But more often than not, Budhi Brown is very successful in blending
the noir style with a certain gritty energy - making for an appealing,
one-of-a-kind sound.
83%
Alex Obal [Vitals:
12 tracks, distributed by CD
Baby, released 2004] |
