Search - Gus :: Word of Mouth Parade

The central conceit of the singer-songwriter isn't much different from any politician's popular ethos--"I feel your pain." But recognizing the universal commonality of a personal experience and successfully translating it into a song is no mean feat; it's a narrow road that winds precipitously between bathos, pathos, and "Seasons in the Sun." This sophomore collection cuts its own path through central themes of emotional and personal separation. But Gus doesn't just ask us to feel his pain; the joyful alternative pop of "Baby Blue Airplane" and the grandiose classicism of "Trapeze Days" urge us to rejoice in it. By turns contemplative and gently defiant, Gus's songs are infused with a strong melodic sense and carried by an expressive voice that's unafraid to soar into falsetto to sell a song. If the lilting dirge of the title song carries a pop elegance that seems strangely familiar, it should; it's a rewarding, if unexpected, collaboration with Procol Harum's Keith Reid and Gary Brooker. Gus claims he's influenced by a pop pantheon that includes Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, and Carole King, but a singer who on "Please Don't Go" forges a repetitive hook out of the line "I won't fuck you over" is clearly cutting a swath of his own. --Jerry McCulley