Robert Lusson bigs up his role as a song-writer as that of "an objective reporter who chronicles the social, political and personal stories of our time without prejudice or judgement" - a kind of musical investigative journalist if you will.
The trouble is, you won't find too much revelatory detail about the human condition here. Perhaps his approach is just a little too detached since there is a distinct lack of conviction to the ten songs on this album. If the aim is to document topical issues there surely needs to be a higher level of emotional engagement.
To his credit he doesn't shy away from sensitive topics as evidenced by the dirty blues of the title track; a sinister tale of a wealthy man from Texas who sexually abuses his daughter. But this begs the question of whether it is appropriate to treat such subject matters neutrally. I would argue that it isn't unless you want to come across as flippant or opportunistic.
The majority of the other songs don't touch on such controversial subjects but instead focus mainly on tales of unattainable women who are by turns wicked, two-faced or just plain scary. These provoke strong feelings of desire, anger, lust and regret which demand a wider vocal range than Lusson possesses.
For example, the wistful love song, Fit Me In Your Dream, has the right late night feel but his imploring vocals are weak and the track drags on far too long. Similarly, on Lust Never Sleeps, there's not real sense that passionate lines like "my blood is burning and you're to blame" are truly heartfelt.
|
This record marks the end of a self-imposed 10 year break for Lusson caused by general disillusionment with the music industry and his decision to devote time to raising his two sons.
On the breezy 'Egalitarian Cafe' he name checks his backing band who help evoke the "fragrance of equality" - these are John Carfi on bass, Hector Rivera on drums and Mona Seda on trumpet. It is the latter instrument that dominates the group sound to provide a restless blend of folk-roots, cool jazz and lively mariachi.
Probably if more tracks had been pitched at this easy going sing-along level the album would have turned out better all round. As it stands, it ends up as an album that I'm sure was a lot of fun to make but fails to make an impact.
|
