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July 21,
06
Although its North Carolina roots have contributed to Roman
Candle's thoroughly inaccurate alt-country tag, it's understandable
why the Chapel Hill quintet has drawn comparisons with the Jayhawks
and Wilco (both bands that also quickly outgrew that confining
description).
Like the
'Hawks' ``Smile " or ``Summerteeth"-era Wilco, RC's
arresting debut -- originally released in 2002 as ``Says Pop"
and since re named and re worked with ex-dB's member Chris Stamey
producing -- is a smart-bomb stunner whose material moves with
cool ease and crisp authority amid multi layered hooks and moods.
``Wee Hours" is all over the place stylistically, but in
the good, engaging way that Grandaddy or Eels albums can dart
from the backyard to the bedroom to the freeway.
This is crystalline, spring-loaded guitar-pop replete with modern,
beat-savvy electro touches, vintage harmonicas, and a subtle
dose of blue-eyed soul, thanks to the warm flush of Rhodes organ
and slide guitar.
Sure, singer-guitarist Skip Matheny (whose younger brother,
Logan, is on drums) sounds an awful lot like Clem Snide's Eef
Barzelay on ``From an Airplane Window," but in fact, his
wide-mouth way with a vowel and mile-wide melodies owe as much
to the British pop of Oasis (``Something Left to Say"),
the La's (``You Don't Belong to This World"), Badly Drawn
Boy (``Winterlight"), and even the Beatles (``Baby's Got
It in the Genes") as anything from south of the Mason-Dixon
line.
ESSENTIAL TRACK: ``Something Left to Say."
JONATHAN PERRY
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