Bright Eyes/Son, Ambulance - Oh Holy Fools
(Saddle Creek)
When listening to Bright Eyes records, I find myself waiting for that
one special song that will warm my cold, cold heart and invoke bushels
full of sympathy for the troubled soul of Bright Eyes front man Connor Oberst.
Oberst's last full length, Fevers & Mirrors, did not have that type
of song, or at least I never found it. This split CD, Oh Holy Fools,
does have such a song, which makes it a must for anyone so deeply affected
by this wilting flower of a flutter-voiced singer-songwriter.
Oh Holy Fools is the second split CD featuring Oberst's Bright Eyes and
his roommate Joe Knapp's Son, Ambulance (formerly Ambulance). The first
such CD was a God awful Insound Tour Support EP. Knapp's songs were
simply, empty pop songs, and Oberst's were unrefined demos of leftovers.
This CD, at least, shows a lot more effort. Knapp's songs are still simple
but are at least sometimes pretty, with a fuller band and piano segments,
and Oberst's songs are no leftovers.
The problem is, though, that Knapp is just not that good of a songwriter
and not that good of a singer. This being the second split record between
the two bands, it's painfully obvious what they
and Saddle Creek are trying to do here--trick Bright Eyes fans into following
Son, Ambulance--but such tricks are worthless when the coattail rider is
of so little talent. Knapp comes off like a cross between Kenny Rogers
and Christopher Cross, alternating between piano Cali-pop ballads and
country-ish acoustic guitar ballads. Knapp's lyrics are very conversational;
he sings like he is reading from a notebook of scribbled dictation from the
latest fight with his girlfriend. It is all very unaffecting; his songs
are not bad enough to be offensive, but they certainly
are boring to sit through.
Bright Eyes' four songs are rather good. Fevers & Mirrors is somewhat
overly orchestrated, so these songs are more appealing since they still
have pretty little flourishes but are far from overdone. That one great
song on this release is "No Lies, Just Love," Oberst's resolution to clean
himself up spiritually before his brother's first child is born so that he
is not hiding behind the facade he's made for himself when they first meet.
The music is spare but effective, using organ, piano, trumpet, and crackling
percussion, emphasizing the emotion of the pieces but not trying to
overtake the limelight from Oberst's words and voice.
To force the sale of Son, Ambulance to fans of Bright Eyes, the tracks
of the two bands are mixed together, not separated, so unless you are
smarter than me and can actually use the programmable part of your
programmable CD player, you really do have to sit through Son, Ambulance
songs each time you listen to the album. Someone should tell Knapp that if
you put too much weight on someone's coattails, eventually they won't be able
to move forward.
|
