So many massively popular American rock bands have
drawn deep gulps from the Americana canon and evolved
into something transcendent, like R.E.M., Camper Van
Beethoven and Tom Waits, not to mention younger acts
like Ryan Adams, the Decemberists, Jolie Holland, Bright
Eyes and the many freak-folk groups out there. And
Ten Cent Howl flirts with a similar transcendence on Dreamscape
Americana (a title that evokes some sort of untouched,
new sub-genre - maybe Ambient Electro meets rustic
Country instrumentation?), without ever truly committing
to the unifying aesthetic that could create a fresh
musical identity.
At the edgier, more daring outskirts of Dreamscape
Americana, Ten Cent Howl manages to evoke sounds
similar to (at different moments) My Dad Is Dead,
Cracker, the La’s and early Replacements, but
never quite nails down a singular mode.
Less Americana, than early-Nineties college rock,
the album starts out with a stunning opener, “Take
My Love.” The song steeps an unending barrage
of acoustic guitars, handclaps and spindly lead guitar
lines into a simple and extremely catchy indie rock
anthem. The slightly bent and distorted vocals act
like another instrument, adding to the throng of percussive
joy, especially as the climactic chorus swings into
high gear with voices and instruments melding together
from every angle as the group’s songwriting,
lead-singing leader Bill Smith spits out the song’s
titular demand, “You awake me and you take my
love.”
On “Tranquility,” Smith allows his band’s
drunken, stagger-step rhythms to flow throughout his
country-fied, Michael Stipe yelp as he belts out a
surreal white trash narrative: “Crazy babies
calling for you and the police calling for me.” Elsewhere, “Evidence
At Hand” finds the band enjoying a playful rock
narrative, dropping its own zany mix of religion and
philosophy over a solid rock track. “For A Long
Time” is a delicate dip into acoustic melancholy
and “The Fad” delivers a rock-out closer
that could have anchored a stellar EP. But over the
course of a long-playing disc, Ten Cent Howl falls
upon to many uneven steps to warrant reverent return
listening.
“Face Of An Angel” falls into a chronic
slumber and progresses without an inkling of surprise. “Are
We Fine” breaks itself with amateurish lyrics
(“The clock is turning / the engines churning…”)
more impressed with rhyming meter than meaning anything.
As small missteps add up, it becomes obvious where
Ten Cent Howl is heading and Dreamscape Americana never
quite delivers the needed jolt to push the group out
of formulaic posturing. The band has developed a solid
set of rock skills, now it’s time for a bit of
evolution for Ten Cent Howl to become a group that
sounds like no one but itself.
Favorite Track: “Take My Love”
