Home
| Terry Eason - Sentimental Vanity |
|
|
| Written by Steve McPherson | |
| Friday, October 12, 2007 at 11:29 AM | |
 Terry EasonSentimental Vanity Go Johnny Go/Jam/Garage D'Or myspace.com/easonic terryeason.com There aren't a lot of artists out there as wantonly eclectic as Terry Eason who also boast such a sharp ear for pop and melody. When he wants, he can layer bizarre soundscapes underneath abstract guitar textures with the best of 'em, as he did on 2005's vinyl-only Pronounced Eggtree, but on Sentimental Vanity he crams in a frightening quantity of hooks while pounding them out on guitar or piano with equal facility. "Megalomaniac" fairly explodes out of the speakers after a short string intro: Once it gets rolling, it's half country hoe-down, half doo-wop pop jam from some alternate universe. "Miracle Man" kicks off with a Beatles-esque harmony part that gives way to a breezy piano-driven verse whose dark lyrics about a terminally ill father belie the sunny proceedings. That Eason manages to make this kind of jigsaw puzzle approach work time and again is a testament to his skills both as a composer and an arranger. When he settles in for a straight-ahead pop moment, as on "Beginning of the Sun," he recalls Canadian superstars The Tragically Hip at their most cheeky. It's a clean, simple song about a glass-is-half-full approach to the coming of worldwide Armageddon, whether through environmental change or war. "It's not the end of the world, man," he croons. "It's the beginning of the sun." When he turns his sharp wit to a hopeless man named Bucky—a loser who got pushed around in school, turned cool, then started a band—in "Bucky and the Foregone Conclusion," his acerbic storytelling turns what could be a sad tale into a kind of anthem. After Bucky discovers that there's already a band called Foregone Conclusion, he hangs himself, unwilling to simply change the name. It would be easy to simply play it for laughs, or sink it with a weepy arrangement, but Eason smartly plays up the ridiculousness of the idea in the front half before turning the song over to a heroic string section midway through. It's a dash of black comedy leavened by a smidgeon of hope. If there's any knock on this disc, it's that it's simply an exhausting listen. Eason has clearly forgotten more about the many varieties of pop than most musicians ever learn, and occasionally there's the undeniable feeling that he's approaching a Matrix-esque level of musical competency, putting the audience in danger of being left in the dust as far as seeing how it all fits together. He wisely pulls it back on the touching but somewhat bitter ode to a lost father on "Never Knew You" and the epic and oddly-titled ballad "Kohlrabi Dreams." Even these songs obviously share some connection; they both have references to an ocelot, of all things, but that's just business as unusual for Eason. He's a seasoned pro who's managed never to lose his fascination with how pop gets made, and Sentimental Vanity is more evidence that he's one of the Twin Cities music scene's unheralded gems. Listen to "Miracle Man" below: COMING UP: Terry Eason CD Release Show for Sentimental Vanity with Sam Keenan. Friday, October 12. 331 Club . 8pm. 21+. FREE. |
|
| Last Updated: Friday, October 12, 2007 at 11:40 AM |
Featured Concerts
