Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Compulsive Cadences

Graeme Todd (alt.Country-Rock)
Track: Blows My Mind (2007)



Somewhere in darkest
Kyoto - at the mysterious Gojo Studios to be precise - maverick alt.country punk-rocker Graeme Todd quietly continues to weave his peculiar brand of magic.

I like Blows My Mind a lot, and not only because I'm acquainted with the artist and producer. Its hooks and raggedy driving guitars remind me very much of Bobby Dylan circa 1965, and there's a lot worse you could say about a pop song.
Not only that, it's a tune with a message, and its lyrical intelligence is matched by a charming and lugubrious vocal: on this recording Todd sounds like the missing link between Johnny Cash and Mark E. Smith.

There are a lot of things wrong with our world these days, and Todd’s latest conundrum wrapped in an enigma (or is it an enigma wrapped in a conundrum?) is a celebratory lament for those unrelenting, unalterable facts of life. Is he singing about love, hate, war, money? Maybe all, maybe none - you decide.

Whatever the answer, a musician who can effortlessly incorporate lines like “Fruitless and compulsive as the cadence of simple sentences” into a pop song obviously has something going for him. The man has talent, and his steam train blows my mind. Play LOUD.

MP3 Blows My Mind: Listen

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I listened to the song. Rustic and idyllic! I love the top notes of the intro, which is very short but comfortable sound.

Shiffi Le Soy said...

Thank you, Cushion Meg. I wonder if Mr Todd realizes how rustic and idyllic he is!?

Anonymous said...

Hi shiffi, do you mean his rylics are quite different from being rustic and naive? My impression is by the sound.

Shiffi Le Soy said...

Not all, Cushion Meg. I think you have a point about the sound. There's definitely a touch of Robert Johnson in there, in my opinion!

Anonymous said...

It's a nice song. he have a good voice and nice guitars.