The middle Wilson brother of Beach Boys fame strikes out on his own for a solo album, and in some ways it makes a nice change from the dark cynicism of the Seventies British music that we’ve had recently. That's not to say that it's light and frothy though, by any means.
Some of it still sounds quite Beach Boys-y, especially What’s Wrong, but a lot of it is more dark and wistful, very evocative. Tracks like Moonshine and Friday Night, for example, both lush and sorrowful at the same time. Some tracks have a bit of a funk and soul feel, especially Dreamer that has a great bass line to it – probably Wilson playing the Moog bass from what I can tell from the liner notes.
And although the initial sense, coming from the back of The Stranglers and Elvis Costello this album sounds bright and sunny, it has an inner darkness and sadness. Wilson is yet another victim of substance abuse, and you can hear the damage in his voice. There’s a sense of loss of innocence running throughout, and some of the soundscapes reminded me not only of some of Stephen Still’s solo work, but especially David Crosby’s last solo album. It’s still very Californian, but California with a hangover.
Comments
Post a Comment