The world from which Dan Edmonds' Ladies on the Corner hails is not our own. A former Harlan Pepper, Edmonds' psychedelically spun country tales take listeners back in time to a place where the pace is slower, the air is thick with smoke and love is much more potent.
The entire record sounds cast in sonic sepia tone. The vocal and instrumental distortion throughout is warm rather than harsh, making the record feel like a found treasure, each song a chronicle of the past. Rocking opener and album standout "To Be That Needle" is like a confession of love to the girl next door delivered through a tin can, while "Love Can Be A Tunnel" echoes off a highway bridge as a Packard Clipper rumbles overhead. On "Couches," Edmonds plunks down in front of a creaky piano to tell tales gathered on his travels to an eager audience bunched up on a ratty old couch.
By the end of Ladies on the Corner, Edmonds recasts the folk standard "Goodnight Irene," almost like a nod to listeners to let us know that although we have indeed taken a trip to the past, it's time to return to our own world. Despite its retro quality, Edmonds' debut solo album is imaginative and fresh, a trip well worth taking.
(Missed Connection Records)The entire record sounds cast in sonic sepia tone. The vocal and instrumental distortion throughout is warm rather than harsh, making the record feel like a found treasure, each song a chronicle of the past. Rocking opener and album standout "To Be That Needle" is like a confession of love to the girl next door delivered through a tin can, while "Love Can Be A Tunnel" echoes off a highway bridge as a Packard Clipper rumbles overhead. On "Couches," Edmonds plunks down in front of a creaky piano to tell tales gathered on his travels to an eager audience bunched up on a ratty old couch.
By the end of Ladies on the Corner, Edmonds recasts the folk standard "Goodnight Irene," almost like a nod to listeners to let us know that although we have indeed taken a trip to the past, it's time to return to our own world. Despite its retro quality, Edmonds' debut solo album is imaginative and fresh, a trip well worth taking.
