Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Free and legal MP3 from Liz Durrett (engaging, inscrutable, vaguely Fleetwood Macky)

"Wild as Them" - Liz Durrett
     Liz Durrett returns to Fingertips with an immediately engaging, slightly off-kilter piece of gently chugging pop, like some lost Fleetwood Mac hit funneled through the Twilight Zone. The lyrics are elusive and strange--"I look for your bones in the woods" is surely one of the more arresting opening lines of recent days (although she may be saying "words"; and it's still odd). The music is comforting melodically--rolling along without a chorus, featuring a blues-like repetition of each opening refrain--but a touch unhinged instrumentally: guitars squeak, horns gather in increasing multitudes, and some other sounds I can't quite put my finger on fill in along the way.
     Accentuating the F-Mac-ishness is the way Durrett's mellow alto brings Christine McVie to mind, although somewhat imprecisely. McVie sings with a smoky clarity that Durrett avoids; her voice, although doubletracked, is mixed down a bit. We know she's singing but the words often elude recognition, adding to the tune's inscrutable aura.
     "Wild as Them" is a song from Durrett's forthcoming CD, Outside the Gates. The Athens, Ga.-based singer/songwriter has enlisted a spirited crew of fellow Athenians to help out on the record, including members of Olivia Tremor Control, Tin Cup Prophette, and Elf Power, along with Vic Chestnutt, who happens to be Durrett's uncle. Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf) produced and arranged the album, scheduled for release in September on Warm Electronic Recordings (based in Athens too, of course).

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