I moved offices this
week and as a result I’ve added an extra 5-10 minutes of walking time to my commute.
Weirdly, this makes me happy. I have more time for music listening.
This should also make
you happy, dear reader, as it means new reviews will appear here with greater
frequency. Unless you don’t really like the reviews, but in that case what the
hell are you doing here in the first place?
Disc 1348 is…Stranded
in Suburbia
Artist:
Melissa
McClelland
Year of Release: 2004
What’s up with the
Cover?
Melissa McClelland sits in the middle of a field looking…now what’s the word
for it? Oh, right: incredibly beautiful.
How I Came to Know
It: I knew Melissa McClelland
for a while, but this particular album proved hard to find. I eventually found
a used copy of it at a local record store a few years ago.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Melissa
McClelland albums. I used to have four, but McClelland’s self-titled 2001
release didn’t grab me, and I parted with it before I ever got to the reviewing
process.
Of the three remaining, I must regrettably put “Stranded in Suburbia” in third
place. It’s still a bronze medal. This means the best is yet to come!
Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3
Melissa McClelland’s music ranges through pop,
rock and folk and every one of her albums is different than the last. This is
generally refreshing, although on “Stranded in Suburbia” it also means that she
sometimes goes in directions that feel a bit forced, as though McClelland is
still finding her voice as an artist early in her career.
“Stranded in Suburbia” is first and foremost a
pop record, and unapologetically so. McClelland has folk elements here and
there, but these songs are written and produced from a very pop-centered place.
Long time readers know I have no issue with pop music; I often bemoan that so
much of what is best in pop music never charts. What causes the masses turn one
song into a hit and not another is beyond me. I guess if I knew I’d be one of
those Soulless Record Execs, sleeping fitfully and guiltily…in my giant
mansion.
Many of the songs on “Stranded in Suburbia”
feel like they are striving to be pop radio hits, but this makes many of them
feel stretched and overproduced. On “White Lies” there are oddly placed
synth ‘laser’ sounds at one point that add very little to the song and jarred me
out of the tune. “Jaded” opts to start with a synthetic drumbeat which
didn’t appeal. It feels most like the “single” (another clue: it appears again
later on the album as a remix, this time with even more synthy sounds than before).
Both versions reminded me of what I don’t like about radio pop.
Lyrically it is strong (McClelland is a first-rate songwriter) but those lyrics
are wrapped up in a lot of unnecessary to-do.
For all that, the record still has many bright
spots. “Glimpse Into Hell” is a stripped down track featuring guitar and
a string section, which showcases both McClelland’s amazing voice and her talent
for storytelling. McClelland’s sing-song delivery is a clever juxtaposition to grim
sequences like this:
“There’s a sickening smell to
this room
Of whiskey stained breath and the
cheapest perfume
There’s a girl in a bra
And sex in your pants
And she’s sucking a straw as she
begs you to dance.”
“Picture Postcard” is a thoughtfully
composed crime saga, again featuring McClelland’s talent for painting a scene
in a few lines:
“In a San Fernando Valley pool hall
He caught the eye of some young
broad
Turns out the girl is only
seventeen and thinks criminals are cool.”
The album also features a gritty, sexy, reverb-laden
version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Factory.” The song features McClelland’s
amazing vocals peeling out and does what every good cover should do; take a
classic song and make it your own.
And while I find a lot of the record’s
pop-production distracting, there are even places where it works well, such as
on the upbeat “Little Birds” which was so infectious it made me want to
dance around the living room. All the stuff that bugged me on other tracks –
the dance-club drums, extraneous bells – here come together to give the song some
great energy. The song’s lyrics are pretty dark, which is one of the record’s
best features; it’s ability to mix a manic pop vibe with songs with somber
topics. When it works as it does on “Little Birds”, it’s great. I only
wish it worked a bit more often.
Best tracks: Glimpse Into Hell, Factory, Picture Postcard,
Little Birds
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