Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song is Amos Lee's fifth studio release, and although there are elements that I really enjoyed, overall the listening experience was a bit disappointing.
The good: Amos Lee does depressed really well. Tracks four through six are all mournful tunes, but with either such a well-set mood ("Indonesia,"), poignant lyrics ("Dresser Drawer"), or both ("Chill In The Air"). I'm not saying that Lee should only write sad songs, but the songs that surround these stellar songs make for a choppy listen. "High Water" sounds like a Black Keys B-side, "Loretta" features some really cheesy lyrics, and "Plain View" is Lee's soapbox song, but the muddled vocals make it more annoying than profound.
Lee also seems to be shooting for a country twang and a throwback sound on MoS, but a song like "Tricksters, Hucksters, and Scamps" doesn't sound natural for him. "Stranger" is lively as well, but again doesn't sound entirely believable coming from Lee, although it does feature some nice guitar. Luckily for Lee fans, there are three great songs here. I'd recommend grabbing those three and skipping the rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment