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Super XX Man X
Hush Records
Super XX Man, better known as Scott Garred, currently spends his days at the maximum security wing of the Oregon State Hospital. Working as a musical therapist, of course. And it’s easy to see why he was chosen for this job, because if the voices in your head did tell you to do it, then nothing will put them to sleep better than acoustic-folk. That is, until the talking cat convinces you to seize that nice boy’s guitar and wreak your vengeance with it. But Garred has the charms to soothe the most savage soul with his delicate and particular brand of folky-pop.
Track listing:
01 Collecting Rocks
02 Up Up Up
03 Usual Way
04 Garage Apartment
05 I Can't Figure Out These Bottle Caps (I'm A Lonely Guy)
06 Hearts And Stars
07 Grace
08 Coulee City
09 Generosity
10 Stroll On Through New Orleans
11 See You In The Evening
Lighter than his side project Silver Scooter, Super XX Man thrives on good vibes and sunshine – so normally it’d be enough to make this reviewer ill. But thanks to a strong backing band and tunes like “Usual Way” (with its quiet religiosity) and “Collecting Rocks” (which hinges on a breathless repetition of “My darlin’, darlin’, darlin’”), it’s more
Garred has a voice like a broken-down Willie Nelson before he started ironic appearances in The Simpsons and Dukes of Hazzard and a soul that’s clearly been through rough weather. This, his 10th recorded work, sounds as fresh as his debut – which is precisely the problem here. Garred hasn’t really progressed since then; sure, the sound’s a little tighter, but the lyrics aren’t anything we haven’t heard before (especially the clunky “Garage Apartment,” with its repeatedly muttered “I need another chance to be with you”). After a decade as an artist, Super XX Man should have more to show for it.
Thankfully the angelic “Coulee City” puts us back in our happy place, and X closes with the accordion-propelled, country number “See You In The Evening.” Further proof that if the drugs don’t work, the cure is pop music.
