Composition Book

Since he started making records in the early 90s, Richard Davies has made some great lo-fi music that joyfully splits the difference between whimsical psychedelia and scrappy indie rock. Composition Book finds him using the Moles name again and shifting from the approach of the previous album, Code Word, which used a series of bands from around North America to create something more concentrated. Recorded at Davies house on computer, the LP utilizes the skills of drummer Malcolm Travis, pedal steel player/vocalist Sue Metro, bassist David Gould, and vocalists Caroline Schutz and Katherine Poindexter. They eschew the full band sound of Code Word for the most part, aiming instead for something very homemade, rough around the edges, and off-the-cuff. Some of the songs feel like first takes, with stray guitar bits, fun musical quotes, and rambling basslines popping in and out of the mix as Davies delves into a lyric book thats both observational and nostalgic. Its all great fun, and quite a few of the tracks deserve to be considered among his best. The lilting, midtempo rocker "Chimes" is reminiscent of Moles tracks of the past, only with most of the orchestration stripped off; "One Day" is a lovely ballad with nice violin work, nifty acoustic guitar, and an affecting vocal; "Had to Be" is a warped indie pop gem that could have been on Flying Nun in 1987. Actually, it was, becasue this and "Tragedy" are very well done covers of songs from the Bats Daddys Highway album. Other highlights are the hooky drone rocker "Feel Like a Dollar," the rambling rockabilly-gone-to-seed lark "Rattlesnakes, Vampires, Horse Tribes and Rocket Science," and the overdriven "Lost Generation," where Davies taps into some deeply buried angst while the band makes a racket. Sometimes the ramshackle playing and recording give the sense that the album wasnt fully cooked, but those reservations are easy to brush aside when the songs are so heartfelt ("Since I Dont Know When") or hooky ("Alvin Hollis"). Even the songs that could have used a few more minutes in the oven, like the almost-too-clever "Blow Yer Mind," where Davies and band do imitations of some of the bands they love, are still worth hearing. Indeed, no matter what guise hes making music under, Richard Davies is guaranteed to come up with something fans of left-field guitar pop need to check out, and Composition Book is no exception. ~ Tim Sendra