Turn Your Back on Me Again
It was almost noon before I was finally able to sweep all the cobwebs out of my head, and all the poison out of my creaky knees. I'd been out late at the Thee More Shallows show (Their cover of the Al Green version of "I Can't Get Next to You" was some of the most inspired takes on Motown I've yet seen), and I was pretty damn tired today. Maybe even a little blue. Who knows. Doveman was clearly the perfect soundtrack for my day.
At times it reminds me of Lambchop, at least the ...Is a Woman record, with quiet instrumentation and whispered vocal delivery. But Doveman isn't as drenched in summer heat and river water as Lambchop, settling instead for a clean, autumnal feeling. With a muted trumpet stolen from Tom Waits, and a lackadaisical pace, he strikes me as a much more successful Jack Hayter -- one with a better sense of melody and overall pacing.
Anyway, I keep hearing about Doveman. This friend tells me that. That friend tells me this. The Fader shoots a mouthful on 'em. I better catch up. I mean, they have a wonderful collection of mp3s on their site, well worth perusing. Many of them are covers, all of them mostly excellent. Their album, The Acrobat came out in July, and you should definitely track it down. You can buy it from the Swim Slowly Label Store for a mere 10 dollars. Swim Slowly is the tiny label run by the fellow from The Robot Ate Me, and they will be touring together this fall.