Mark Roebuck
The World and All Within
(Fear of the Atom)
In 1980s Charlottesville, The Deal was a shining power-pop group poised for success: a Musician magazine conferral of “best unsigned band,” a contract with Bearsville, sessions at Ardent Recording Studios with help from Big Star’s Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens and recordings with a pre-fame Dave Matthews (yielding enduring DMB fave “The Song Jane Likes”). But things fell through the cracks, and The Deal was never quite consummated.
Related Links: Dave Matthews Band celebrates 25 years with local fans
Bandleader Mark Roebuck returns with The World and All Within, and it’s tempting to tag the yearning vocals as a comment on the fates that visited his band. But power pop has always lived on yearning vocals—and buoyant harmonies and chiming guitars. All elements are present, and Roebuck adds others via the countrified “One Bad Day” and cello-anchored “Holden.” Some don’t work—namely, the incongruous ’90s butt-rock guitar on “King William County’s the Place.” But “Billboard Blue” and “Gratitude” are righteous stompers that should make for a joyous night when Roebuck and company play the Southern July 9.
Those Pretty Wrongs
Those Pretty Wrongs
(Ardent/Burger)
Speaking of Jody Stephens, he has a new album that doesn’t shy away from Big Star comparisons, a collaboration with L.A. musician Luther Russell called Those Pretty Wrongs. The opening acoustic chords of “Ordinary” recall the celestial tones of “Give Me Another Chance,” and Stephens’ vocals sound like Alex Chilton before coffee hits, mellow and a bit creaky (he was the drummer, after all). When the soaring backups arrive, it’s obvious Those Pretty Wrongs know where their bread is buttered. And after all, Stephens’ right to pilfer Big Star’s salient markers is inviolate. So how does Those Pretty Wrongs hold up next to the band’s ghost, so clearly hovering above the grooves?
It does okay. But perhaps inevitably, the most interesting moments find Stephens and Russell straying from the script, like on “Empty City,” which reaches beyond Big Star to Tin Pan Alley and the music hall side of the British Invasion, or the noir-ish “Thrown Away.” Necessary? Probably not, but Those Pretty Wrongs could start a new chapter for one of rock’s nicest legends.
Steve Gunn
Eyes on the Lines
(Matador)
Equal parts folkie and shredder, Steve Gunn has been one of the most prolific and versatile guitarists of the past 10 years, releasing collaborative albums with British lap-steel legend Mike Cooper and laid-back indie hero Kurt Vile, in addition to many others. He’s also released three rewarding solo albums in four years: Eyes on the Lines, his Matador debut, is the latest.
A virtuoso instrumentalist, Gunn plays down his voice; his vocals often have a spoken quality, and his range is limited—but that just means normal people can sing along. Anyway, lyrics don’t seem to be the point; tasty, simmering jams do. Intertwining guitars dance and ride on hazy waves of drone—it all goes down real easy without becoming smooth jam. Gunn is backed by a band of understated masters, notably British guitarist James Elkington. In the live setting it’s getting way more than two for the price of one. Find out for yourself July 11 at The Southern, and read more about Gunn on page 27.—Nick Rubin
