Crystal
Brandt
"Bessie's Last Stand" CD
Mungler
Winslowe
Genres: folk pop, singer / songwriter
artist
website
Nov 29 - Dec 5 2004 |
Folky singer/songwriters are a tough type. There are tons of
them, and for every good one, there are hundreds of duds to sort
through. While at first I was a bit skeptical, I rapidly warmed
up to Crystal Brandt's Bessie's Last Stand - her debut
for the Brooklyn-based Mungler Winslowe label. Limited almost
exclusively to guitar, piano, percussion and vocals, Brandt
records charming, country-influenced folk-pop tunes that occupy a Dylan-esque
mindframe comparable to Badly Drawn Boy's Damon Gough. The key to this album is its unrelenting accessibility - every song
here is pleasant, well-recorded, and positively catchy. While
folk-haters aren't likely to dig it, this should be more or less
universally appealing.
Grand successes include "Like Water" and "Pier
Side", while the rest of the album occupies a similar space -
catchy and endearing pop music, with few moments of mediocrity
("Fire and Brimstone", "No It Doesn't".) If
you haven't heard Crystal Brandt already, consider checking her
out. This type of music has been done before, but be assured
it's well worth hearing again (and again).
86%
Fun Fact: There really are no fun
facts about Crystal Brandt I could unearth. Which in
itself is a pretty fun fact...
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
13 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |