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Edie Brickell comes back with a winner
Release expands New Bohemian's musical repertoire
b Robb Frederick
The Collegian
When Edie Brickell and New
Bohemians burst onto the music
scene with their 1988 debut
Shooting Rubberbands at the
Stars, the Texas-based group
topped the charts with a unique
blend of laid-back melodies and
lighthearted vocals.
The band found commercial
success as Brickell served up
playful, airy vocals and searched
for her identity on the candy
coated single "What I Am."
That whirlwind success
obviously affected the New
Bohemians as they prepared their
next album, Ghost of a Dog. The
release is a patchwork of fresh
experimental styles, hinting that
Brickell still isn't sure about her
true identity.
Ghost of a Dog begins with
"Mama Help Me" and "Black &
Blue," two powerful songs
written in the wake of Shooting
Rubberbands' success. Both
songs were previewed during the
band's intensive touring as a solo
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act and in opening slots for Bob
Dylan, Don Henley and the
Grateful Dead.
The first track races along
with Brickell's pressure-cooker
chorus, adding a soulful edge to
the band's musical repertoire.
"Black & Blue" maintains this
rapid tempo as the band weaves
through Brickell's childish but
irresistible nursery rhyme lyrics.
The pace slows as the band
returns to the subdued, mellow
fare that formed the bulk of
Shooting Rubberbands.
The band fades into the
background and highlights
Brickell's dreamy, carefree voice
on "He Said," "10,000 Angels"
and "Me By the Sea"
This style works extremely
well on "Times Like This," as
guitarist Kenny Withrow adds
just the right amount of acoustic
accompaniment to Brickell's soft
lyrics.
These tracks expand the sound
the inexperienced New
Bohemians debuted in 1988 and
demonstrate a new musical
maturity within the band.
* Scanning Electron Microscopy
The group discards this
seriousness on several tracks,
however, adopting a humorous
approach to the music.
On the title track, a two
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The Collegian
minute eulogy for a dead pet,
Brickell proves that making
records can still be fun. She
furthers this theory on "Oak Cliff
Bra," as her senseless lines
practically break off into
laughter.
Brickell accents the majority
of her lyrics with an innocent
playfulness, and the resulting
work swells with personality.
But Brickell is clearly a dreamer,
and she often stretches too far to
get the metaphor she wants.
Most of the time her writing
produces creative, effective
wordplay, but at times the work
lacks substance.
The Bohemians themselves
recognize Brickell as the group's
impetus, and they just sit back
and provide a loose rhythm.
Kenny Withrow occasionally
spices up a track with his
twangy, Grateful Dead-inspired
guitar, and the influence of
drummer Matt Chamberlain and
percussionist John Bush often
supplies an interesting backbone,
but the band remains too
anonymous throughout most of
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Thursday, November 29, 1990
the release.
Ghost of a Dog also benefits
from a recording quality far
superior to that on Shooting
Rubberbands.
Several tracks were recorded
on the porch of the Bearsville
recording studio in upstate New
York. The environment proved to
be quite inspiring; on the songs
"This Eye" and "Times Like
This," a light rain accompanies
Brickell's intimate vocals and
brings a frightening realism to
her lyrics.
This kind of spontaneity,
combined with the band's less
serious tracks, further establishes
the New Bohemians as an
experimental band that is not
worried about dominating the pop
charts. And Brickell, who allows
her enthusiasm to flow freely
throughout her music, continues
to carry that enjoyment into the
hearts of her listeners.
Edie Brickell and New
Bohemians will appear Saturday,
Dec. 1, at Niagara University,
Niagara Falls, N.Y.