With all the female piano troubadours around these days, it actually seems like a bit of a novelty for a guy like Joe Firstman to come along, especially with a collection of songs that take an uncommonly mature and insightful look at relationships. Thankfully, most of them are instantly memorable, especially the rollicking "Cant Stop Loving You ("but I cant stop hating myself), and "Now Youre Gorgeous, Now Youre Gone. "Car Door has some echoes of Grievous Angel-era Gram Parsons, but mostly Firstman asserts himself as a fully-formed talent on the scale of what Jeff Buckley immediately displayed on Grace. The War of Women packs almost as much emotion into its 15 tracks, with nary a wasted note, despite Firstman sometimes veering into Counting Crows territory at his most musically bombastic. Still, Firstman is a prodigious lyricist throughout and The War of Women is one of the most worthwhile discoveries you can probably make this year.
(Atlantic)Joe Firstman
The War of Women
BY Jason SchneiderPublished Jan 1, 2006