Search - Smoke :: Heaven on a Popsicle Stick

Americana Joy Division

K. H. Orton | New York, NY USA | 11/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this band. They're raw, beautiful & quite simply one of the most original things I've heard in years. How many acts can you name feature cello & coronet as more than occasional accompaniment?



Top it all off with a late great, eccentric frontman who sounds like a dead ringer for Tom Waits. Or imagine Nick Cave in drag backed by the likes of Lambhop. In terms of their dark tone, they come off a bit like an Americana Joy Division.



"Hole" starts things off like a bar hopping Long Day's Journey Into Night. But the beautiful, morning after rhapsody of "Awake" provides the perfect antidote. Up next is "Freak" a perfect ode to growing up odd in a small town. Hank Aaron is a true standout featuring the line, "she's sewing hankerchiefs to catch our tears". Celebrity obsession is taken to hilarious extremes with, "Luke's Feet". "Curtains" closes it all with a graceful pull of the drapes.



If you're unfamiliar with the documentry, "Benjamin Smoke", this album serves as the soundtrack. Like the film, this record verges from the raw to the dreamlike.



Now, some @$$hole is trying to sell this thing here for $72.00 used. I happen to know you can this & their other album, ANOTHER REASON TOO FAST at cdbaby.com for something like $11.99 (new)."