Search - Herman Jolly :: Mad Cowboy Disease

A Dark Hillbilly Fantasy

Andrew Hansen | Chicago, IL USA | 11/24/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In a far and distant time I knew this guy named Jason who made a very silly movie in which everyone was named Dave but that really isn't relevant to the discussion is it?Mr. Jolly is full of word play expansions of everyday phrases along the lines of "90 proof aint proof enough for me" and "drunk as a skunk who drank liquor". There's more, of course, but this kind of thinking is central to the verbal component of these songs.Musically, what you have is a splendid dark western sensibility along the lines of but more detailed and less obvious than Mazzy Star. The songs show an advancing, developing musical mind willing to try compositional techniques usually avoided in popular music. The song "Gin Kicks In" is a series of observations first from a rebellious youth and then his drunken father. The transition/distinction between these two sections is entirely musical - no studio tricks, no silly voices. Jolly changes key from one section to the next via a series of ascending repetitions of the basic "gin kicks" motif. The change is so effortless as to be invisible. Maybe not Bach worthy but the Beatles weren't trying stuff like that at the beginning of their careers. (Assigning them credit for pioneering musical adventurism is to deny 900 years worth of music history.)Jolly's songs are often funny, sometimes dark, always witty, completely odd, childish (in a good way), sarcastic, experimental, and entertaining. Perhaps I've said too much. But I had to find some way to thank that friend I mentioned earlier for sending me one of these in the mail. I love it."