Search - Brazzaville :: Rouge on Pockmarked Cheeks

Music for a place where time does not matter

J Lee Harshbarger | Ypsilanti, MI United States | 06/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe I like this album at all, let alone that it is in my top 20 favorites of 2003. But then, considering the images in my head that the album draws up, I can. The album kicks off with the song "Motel Room," which is an apt title, for the whole album gives the kind of feel in staying in some old roadside motel with the ancient flashing neon sign, somewhere out in the desert of Nevada or southeastern California or Arizona. There you are, on a hot desert day, too hot to do anything even if you did have the energy. You feel kind of blah but also kind of pleasantly relaxed...actually enjoying doing nothing. That's the picture and feel I get from this album.The songs are all very slow, with the main instrument being acoustic guitar, played in a kind of mild bossa nova fashion. Scattered throughout the album are appearances of other instruments. The second song features a muted trumpet played with the hand, making a wah-wah sound, plus a trombone. A fiddle appears in one song, played slowly. Other instruments that appear are saxophone, accordian, and harmonica. One song begins with a musicbox playing "Sakura, Sakura." Throughout many songs on the album is what I call a western or cowboy electric guitar; I don't know how else to describe it, but when I hear this kind of guitar, it often makes me think of the West. This kind of guitar is used by Starflyer 59 and Bon Voyage also.Speaking of Starflyer 59, the vocals on this album sound very similar to the singing of Jason Martin, lead singer of Starflyer 59: sung in low register, softly and lazily, or perhaps with a pensive mood. I think the combination of the singing, the western guitar, and the overall mood of the album makes this a summer album for me all the way. This is for late summer, when it's hot and humid and you don't feel like doing anything but lazing around.There must be some Asian connection in the album, either in the group's experience, their fascination, or some Asian members, because there are several references to Asian culture. Song names include "Samurai" and "North Koreatown." In one song I hear the word "Taiwanese." In two different songs, there is mention of the fruit mangosteen, a fruit I enjoyed when I lived in Taiwan but have not been able to find in the United States, even in Asian markets. (And when I hear it mentioned in these songs, it makes me want to eat some again!) An inside picture of the CD package is of a city street in Asia with lots of neon lights. (One sign is in Japanese and English, other signs look like Chinese, and one says "Hong Kong Arts," so I'm not sure where it is.) The front cover has a picture of mountains in the American west desert with an old motel sign and a McDonalds sign in the background, with an Asian-looking girl in the foreground. The back cover has pictures of what look like fishing boats in Asia, with skyscrapers in the background that look like apartments. And as I previously mentioned, one of the songs begins with a musicbox playing that famous Japanese song about cherry blossoms.But despite the Asian connection in lyrical references, titles, and photos, the album feels very much Southwest U.S. to me. It also has a strong lounge feel. The lyrics of one song mention "pink champagne and donuts on the beach" giving even more of a loungy feel. This album is definitely adult music. The album ends with a hidden track that features loungy piano and pretty female vocals (as well as the lead male singer) with some PA announcement going on in the background. As this song fades out, ocean sounds fade in. The last four minutes of the album are just ocean surf, a perfect ending to the album. Before, I said it feels like I'm in a desert when listening to this, but by this point, it's like I'm in some rundown beachfront town, still at some retro motel, but taking in the smell of the salt air and the feel of the ocean breeze. Still doing absolutely nothing."

A Great Escape

Greg Cleary | Marquette, MI United States | 02/03/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Brazzaville album is mellower than the first two, and the songwriting is not quite as strong, but it is still quite remarkable. The band has expanded their sound a bit, with more keyboards than usual and even a violin and an accordian on some tracks. Bandleader David Brown has played saxaphone for Beck, and a couple of other musicians here--Smokey Hormel and Nigel Godrich--have also been associated with Beck. I think this album blows away Beck's new one, however, as it is just as downcast yet somehow still lively. And as on every Brazzaville offering, the musicianship is tremendous, with a mixture of jazz, reggae, folk, and pop, played with warmth and affection. (Caution: The bonus track sounds an awful lot like "Riders on the Storm.")If you are a newcomer to this wonderful but underappreciated band I suggest starting with either "Somnambulista" or "2002." But if you REALLY want to capture that vibe of lying flat on your back with a hangover in a cheap motel room in some godforsaken third world country, "Rouge on Pockmarked Cheeks" is the answer to your daydreams. It's a great escape."