 Hudson
Bell
"Captain of the Old Girls" CD
Upperworks
Genres: indie pop, folk-pop, lo-fi
Upperworks
P.O. Box 2738
San Francisco, CA 94126-2738
July 15 - 21 2002 |
While
Hudson's singing may be somewhat abnormal and uncomfortable,
and the guitar playing may seem slightly tense and mechanical, there's
something very pleasant about Captain of the Old Girls. While
originality is what makes the indie scene so appealing, Hudson Bell's
brand of innovation may be too different for some ears; at
first, the "traditional sounds gone topsy-turvy" style of
this seemed foreign even to my senses. And I'm the kind of guy who had
no problem with Merzbow upon first listen! But, slowly but
surely, I warmed up to Hudson Bell - and Captain proved
to be quite a rewarding listen. Hudson's songwriting has a
strong Tim Pollard-esque quality to it, except, unlike the GBV
frontman's output, his songs rarely go into rockin' mode, and most of
them fall into folk territory. And while the songs may not seem to
flow correctly right off the bat, after a few listens, songs like
"New World" and "Vicious Circle" will be firmly
planted in your head. This sense of gradual appreciation
reminded me of Pedro The Lion's It's Hard To Find a Friend
debut, which proved to be one of the better indie albums of the
nineties, despite its lo-fi leanings. While Captain may never achieve the acclaim
that Friend enjoyed, it will be interesting to see how Hudson
will hold up when it comes time to record again.
While it may take more than a few rotations, Captain of the Old
Girls will grow on you. And, when you find yourself humming the
melody to "Halcyon Days" in the shower, you'll realize that
this really is a good lo-fi album. Here's to the next full-length!
82%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
35 min 37 sec; 10 tracks; distributed by the
label and Carrot
Top; released 2002] |
