Album Review, Delusions of Adequacy (www.adequacy.net) --
Seemingly all of Americas cherished 18-34 demographic is walking around with an entire catalog of CDs wired into its noggins by two tiny white buds. Every hipster in Christendom can now instantaneously to skip over those tired Beatles CDs they burned from their parents and cue up some rocking indie band they heard on last weeks One Tree Hill. In todays disposable musical climate, Warhols 15-minutes has been scaled back to roughly the fraction-of-a-chorus length of an Ipod commercial.
Hear Me Out, the solo debut from San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Joel Streeter, just so happens to be the quintessential anti-disposable album. Like many of his less talented contemporaries, Streeters primarily interested in an exercise in a certain type of retro aesthetic. But, Hear Me Outs vintage sensibilities extend to its sonic complexity and depth and a seemingly conscious return to the dogged studio mastery and songsmithing more common to late 60s and early 70s pop than to todays latest retrofitted rehash acts.
Formerly of Gettysburg, PAs Fizgigg and, more recently, of Washington, DCs, Spy Cellar, Streeter is nothing less than an avowed melody junkie. Streeter has a keenness for the bittersweet and pathos-laden melodies practiced by McCartney and Badly Drawn Boy, the kind of humable tunes whose darker corners are covered in silky, professional pop.
The albums ascendant opener, All or Nothing, cuts expertly with Spectorish glockenspiel and multi-layered five-part harmony vocals by producer Jerry Becker, perfects this formula by sounding simultaneously mournful and triumphant. Becker, whos worked with former Train guitarist Rob Hotchkiss and veteran drummer Eric Kurtzrock (whos backed David Byrne among others), seems to have developed the ideal support system for Streeters rare pop sensibilities. At various times surrounded by upright piano, acoustic and electric guitars, and accordion, Streeter comfortably updates everything from the darker tones of Wilco to the lighter moods of Elliot Smith.
On the mid-tempo shuffle of One More Reason or the breezy modern lament of Stay Living, Streeters uncannily successful at creating contagiously singable power-pop with purpose. On the eminently catchy Stay Living, Streeter, quite slyly, could be commenting on either on his songs political pundit or the state of pop itself, Another Monday on cable now, the capital brigade / Whoah, I think I know him / Like I know my cereal, my clothing brand, myself on a bad day.
Streeters melodic gifts seem to always be intermingled with the emotional maturity of his songs. Sure, he wants us to Hear Him Out. But Streeters rightly got no easy sonic or lyrical answers, and he is intent on escaping pitfall of countless debuts that usually succeed in doing only one thing really well. Hear Me Out seems to do everything really well from the acoustic intimacy of One More Reason to the offhanded OK Computer reference on the albums closing track, to the anthemic, zero-irony buoyancy of Pavement (Everything is Alright)" and Always So. Clear evidence of an indispensable songwriting talent, Streeters debut is as likely to propel Streeter into the O.C. soundtrack category as it is to win over a sizable cadre of grizzled indie-pop fanatics.
