Originally released in November 1989 but it didn't gained notoriety until the "no Myth" peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was the debut album by US musician Michale Penn, the album spawned three singles "No Myth", "This And That" and "Brave New World" the latest ones peaked at No. 10 and No. 20 respectively on Modern Rock Tracks.
But what really happened about this artist that seemed it has paved all the way to success back then, 35 years later, people seemed to re-discovered this alternative rock masterpiece from forgotten, even thought "No Myth" still get some airplay nowadays. But what happened with Michael Penn, probably he's more renown for being Sean Penn's brother and for this marriage with singer Aimee Mann ('Til Tuesday) than from his own work and this stellar debut, but back in 1990 the panorama was different, for a slightly moment, Michael overshadow his brother with this fantastic indie pop album, thanks in huge part for the mainstream success that the single "No Myth" gained thatn eventually led him to win the 1990 MTV Music Award for Best New Artist.
Unfortunately, the grunge and alternative bandwagon was around the corner, and this unfairly turn Penn's carrer into a short-lived despite he continues recording throught the decade, "March was definitely a taste of his talent and brilliant ability to write fantastic songs filled with literary inspirations and everyday situations, thus Tony Berg production with several session musician aided to developped his sound a combination of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Crowded House stuff that aided to achieved mainstream chart success not only on alternative radio.
The album opener was the fantastic "No Myth" an intense catchy intelligent indie rock tune, especially for its addictive chorus and that catchy guitar sound and sparkling organ that made of that tune timeless giving the listeners the reason why it was so addictive and constantly played by radio and the MTV back then, "Half Harvest" was both equally harmonic and
insightful as it examined humanity's penchant for style over substance, another song that sticked with listeners too.
Next is the intense and second single "This And That" a song that describes someone who has jumped through every hoop to win
over a love interest and still is unable to seal the deal. Now this tune was full of intense energy that helped to highlight the lyrics and with an strange and lovely video too, next was "Brave New World" whit vivid lyrics and a curious sound that felt like a curious combination between Chris Isaak, The Beatles and Crowded House sound into one feeling.
"Innocent One" comes next and changes up the tempo of the record with
a folk-tinged bittersweet ballad. The song conveys all the regret of
meeting someone at the wrong time and letting them slip through your
fingers. The intricate organ and accordion provide all the pathos of the
narrative as perfectly conveyed with Penn’s touching lyrics. "Disney’s a Snowcone/Bedlam Boys"
displays Penn’s ability to craft a panoramically, stunning track painting a narrative and supports it with inspired structure and nuanced
accompaniment, about the sound the track delivered a certain pop sensility such as XTC and Tears For Fears, "Invisible" has a great
guitar riff that underpins Penn’s examination on the crush of obsession
and the cruelty of being too shy to act upon desire. Another paired song is "Cupid's got a Brand New Gun". The
narrative of this song shows that Cupid has gotten an upgrade in
weaponry but still is as inaccurate as ever in hitting the right mark.
this fully captured in this torch song is the ache of love when it is
unreciprocated.
With "Big House"
you can notice the reminiscence of Crowded House's debut album, this uptempo rock tune could have come straight
off that release, but what makes it especially Penn's own is its pithy
insightfulness. And finally we have "Battle Room"
which is a melancholy offering laden with sensitive observations with a Beatlesque in structure and sound, this is yet another song that gets under your skin and you find yourself humming it for days and the last track "Evenfall"
provided a fantastic ending to the release, a 50’s inspired
rocker is loaded with jaunty horns and sax.
Critics concluded that the luscious textures, mystical atmosphere and cryptic
lyrics recalling the Beatles' psychedelic period, and the sound of other outfit such a Crowded House, the album had a strongly as any pop
music recorded back then, unfortunately the changes in the direction of the music environment
left Penn outside the pop world, he later would release
another critically acclaimed album, "Free For All" in
1992 and then seem to vanish from the music world. However he moved into an acclaimed film composer career and
continues to periodically release singer/songwriter projects.
March Track List:
1. No Myth
2. Half Harvest
3. This & That
4. Brave New World
5. Innocent's One
6. Disney's A Snow Cone/Bedlam Boys
7. Invisible
8. Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun
9. Big House
10. Battle Room
11. Evenfall
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario