Seana Carmody
Struts & Shocks
Kimchee
Seana Carmody fronted Boston shoegazin’ wonders The Swirlies for a while, fronted the proggish Syrup USA for a while, and then nothing for four years before this solo debut album, which is shoegazin’ proggish singer/songwriter pop with guts and heart and a great bad attitude. Backed only by drummer/keyboardist Orrin Anderson and bassist/guitarist Adam Brilla (okay, Victory At Sea’s Mona Elliott does backing vox on two songs), Carmody reveals herself once again to be a completely kick-ass songwriter and singer and guitar player and keyboardist, and a convincing solo artist to boot. “Tailgate” is convincing neo-grunge with a great fuzzy guitar riff and a vocal sneer from punk heaven; “Smoking in the Dark” sounds like an updated Phil Spector girl-group tune for lonely indie-rock women everywhere, as she sings a great song to her cigarette: “We’re all right / Now that it’s dark / Desperate nights / Drive me crazy / Until tomorrow / Tomorrow is here.” And the final track, “Stay Awake,” is 8:19 of heaven – it’s like an acid-fueled jam session between Lush and Stereolab, with guitar noises and little Farfisa touches gracing the tense and plodding drumbeats. A wonderful short little record that lingers long after it’s over… so play it often.
Kimchee Records: http://www.kimcheerecords.com
