The Observer, February 22, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 18
Mike Doughty pleases acoustic-pop fans with Golden Delicious
Like many of the artists to come out of the mid-1990s, when grunge was fading and the music scene was again under a massive metamorphosis, Soul Coughing spliced a wide range of genres like hip-hop and funk with mainstream rock to achieve moderate success commercially while gathering a large cult following. Yet, out of such a rangy concept with such a limited circle came Mike Doughty, whose last hit single "Looking At The World From the Bottom of a Well" has been featured on such popular TV shows as Grey's Anatomy, Veronica Mars, and Bones.
The reasoning behind Doughty's choice to move toward pop in his solo career is accentuated on much of his new album, Golden Delicious. When he hits the right combination of lyrics and production, his songs sparkle and jump, perfectly reflecting the title of his album.
"Fort Hood," the opening number, begins things with a stumble. Doughty's weakness is his politics, which muddle his otherwise delectable ability to create harmony between poetry and music. Considering this is presidential election year, it's forgivable to begin on such a polarizing subject. Still, on an album that contains little deep commentary beyond this number, it feels out of place.
The album continues with a rhythmically similar but noticeably lighter "I Just Want The Girl In The Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing." It is here that Doughty starts to show signs of his lyrical ingenuity, with fantastic combinations of consonance and assonance in phrases like "I assess the essence of the mess/The perfect hourglass of my loneliness." Here, Doughty hits a stride.
The following two songs are an interesting mixture of experimentation (harkening to his days in Soul Coughing) and likeable acoustic-based pop. "Put It Down," a ditty about love, bounces to the dactylic prose and repetition of the chorus, while "More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle" teeters uncomfortably close to the line that separates unappealingly weird and uniquely inventive, utilizing forms of rap, jazz, and prog/psychedelic rock, in addition to the album's standard pop.
One of the later songs, "Nectarine (Part One)," a haunting ballad to a love of Doughty's, stands out as one of the better production experiments on the album, highlighting producer Dan Wilson's creative gifts of combining a full orchestral sound with synthesized tinges. Still, it does little to separate itself from other pop ballads of the past, a problem Doughty encounters repeatedly on the latter portion of the album.
By far the highest point on the album is the redone version of an older song, "27 Jennifers." It is in this song where both Doughty and Wilson reach their full potential, creating a song where Doughty's poetic base and bluesy, laid-back delivery meet the jazzy sound that Wilson contributes, creating a shinier update to an already fantastic song and a clear standout for the entire album.
It's unfortunate that the album isn't a tighter product when looked at completely. Because of the many bland holes that are left between radiant numbers, the album is difficult to listen to as a whole. Still, for pop fans looking for a lyrical fix, as well as fans of the vocal stylings and subtle swing of Dave Matthews, there are enough peaks to overshadow the valleys.
