Lanky

Last Chance For A First Impression

BY Michael EdwardsPublished Jul 1, 2004

The biggest problem with Inner Onwriter, the debut album by Lanky (the moniker chosen by New Jersey native Frank Stabile) was that the good songs were almost exactly balanced out by unmemorable songs. And while an EP is the perfect way to compensate for having some weaker songs in an artist’s repertoire, an acoustic live EP might not be the most convincing showcase for the stronger material either. Therein lies the problem with Last Chance For A First Impression — the songs aren’t bad, but the combination of Lanky’s voice and his strummed guitar is too sparse for material which ends up sounding unfinished. The most successful element of his debut was the multiple layers of instruments that kept most songs sounding interesting, and that simply doesn’t happen here. Naturally, there’s a cover version just so the audience didn’t feel completely lost by the new songs, and Lanky picked U2's "Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” — not a terrible version, but hardly a revelation either. This is the kind of EP that will keep the fans who caught him playing live happy, but everyone else will have to wait until he gets back into the studio to have their ears opened.
(Imposter)

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