Labels: foreign leisure
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Aha, you can’t keep a good man down. Davey von Bohlen bounces back from the shrivelled up remains of the Promise Ring to record this seemingly self released 5 song EP with fellow phoenix, Dan Didier, and a chap whose previous trade was that of planning dismemberments, Eric Axelson, plus a small supporting cast. And Maritime do a good job of helping me forget what proved to be the rather disappointing final chapter of “Wood / Water” in what I found to be the otherwise joyous existence of the Promise Ring.
Things pop right out of the gate on “Adios” with the stupidly upbeat horns and that familiar bouncy guitar and rhythm combination that appear to infect everything that Davey has a hand in. It’s damn poppy, simple and straight, bound to enthuse certain people whilst causing others to poke their fingers in their ears with a sickened look on their face. Davey’s vocals are cleaner than I’d prefer and recorded a little high in the mix, but hey. “Someone Has to Die” follows on in a similar fashion, coming on like a polished up track that was mistakenly left off “Very Emergency”, again it chirpily bounces along, inducing toe tappage. “Down to the River” is 3rd, and is a more acoustic sounding effort that would fit in well with Dan and Davey’s other project, Vermont, it’s nice and warm sounding, again fairly simplistic but good with it. “Birds of Ireland” is the longest track on here, keeps the bouncy bassline theme going, and features handclaps. It is a very repetitive tune (a hallmark of the best Promise Ring material in my opinion) but it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome with me. It’s also nice to hear the guitar sound has a little of that mid-west magic still, although it’s oft mingled up with everything else and you have to keep your ears open. Things wind down on the more musically downbeat “In Your Arms” which is a frighteningly cheesy tune at times, but not to worry. Smooooooth and fun.
Well, there you have it. I can see myself giving “Adios” many listens. This is a record that is not for the cynic, the bastard, nor the music critic, rather one for the dork, the von Bohlen fanboy/girl, and the smiler. Next output is an LP on Desoto (who I mistakenly thought had ceased existence). Dateline: end of May. Bring on the summer. Good times.