Tuesday, December 02, 2008

CD of the Day, 12/2/08: Your Gracious Host-Your Gracious Host


Flint, Michigan has been synonymous with documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and as ground zero for the economic blight that has hit the manufacturing sectors of the United States, but there is a flower in the dirt: Your Gracious Host, the new project from Flint singer/songwriter Tom Curless. YGH has fashioned one of the most audacious tricks in the music industry book - the double-disc debut album - and has pulled it off. Curless mixes indie pop and power pop to fine effect, and fans of Teenage Fanclub, The Shins, XTC and a host of other similarly minded and sounding bands will enjoy this generous offering.

The uptempo "Minutes=Hours" begins the proceedings, and it has a TF vibe; the densely melodic "Admit to Myself" recalls Elliott Smith; "Changed So Much" sounds a track off the Pernice Brothers' Yours, Mine & Ours album; The acoustic guitar-driven "The Big Leap" has a breezy, 70s feel; the power poppin' "Time to Spare" brings Robert Pollard to mind, while "Reaching Stars" is positively Posies-esque. And that's just the first disc.

Disc 2 rocks a bit more and features "I Feel Alright", a rootsy power pop number in manner of Marshall Crenshaw; the driving "Why You're Here"; the dreamy "Taking Time Away", which also channels The Posies; "Really Too Late", which brings a bit of Bob Mould into the mix; and closes with the lovely "Cloud In The Sky" which has a bit of a High Llamas/Cloud Eleven feel. All in all, there's 21 tracks here for the price of a single disc, and if they all don't work for you, odds are at least 2/3rds of them will. You'll want to RSVP to Your Gracious Host.

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Your Gracious Host - Your Gracious Host

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