Tired Pony's strong debut came as something of a surprise. The individual members of the so-called supergroup are certainly talented in their own right (Gary Lightbody, Peter Buck, Richard Colburn, Jacknife Lee, etc), but their proposed collection of "country" songs--something Lightbody has always wanted to record--failed to garner much enthusiasm from critics or The D Man. Turns out, shame on anyone who didn't pick up this excellent set of somewhat dark, mellifluous tunes.
The Place We Ran From contains an assortment of Americana: late-night scorchers ("Get On the Road," recorded with indie-darling Zooey Deschanel), strong alt-country rockers ("Dead American Writers"), catchy sing-alongs ("I Am a Landslide"), early R.E.M.-sounding outtakes ("Point Me at Lost Islands"), and tracks that belong in late-night-drive movie scenes teetering between bewilderment and self-pity ("The Good Book," "Pieces"). Ultimately, the best thing about this record may be Lightbody's jump from the mainstream, and his ability to use his brilliant voice in entirely new contexts.
No comments:
Post a Comment