When
Bruce Springsteen
released
Nebraska
in 1982, it proved that the lowly four-track recorder, beloved by altruistic and introverted songwriters worldwide, was destined for more than just testing out dual harmonic guitar leads and capturing off-the-cuff moments of frenzied lyrical inspiration. Bedrooms, garages, and basements (in the right hands) are more than capable of producing quality music, a notion that Seattle-based
David Karsten Daniels
gives resonance to on his fine sophomore release,
Fear of Flying
.
Daniels
may not possess the strongest of singing voices, but he knows how to wrap it around words with the confidence of a seasoned performer, echoing everyone from head
Mountain Goat
John Darnielle
to
the Violent Femmes
'
Gordon Gano
. On first listen, sparse tracks like
"Wheelchairs,"
"Caretakers,"
and
"In My Child Mind You Were a Lion"
seem almost Luddite in their lack of sonic affections, but they supply the breath between the chilly, inventive, and occasionally lush
pop
vistas that are
"Martha Ann,"
"That Knot Unties?,"
"Falling Down,"
"Oh, Heaven Isn't Real."
The latter of the three, with its raucous chorus and not-so-subtle hoedown backbeat, may scream "novelty," but it's a
Stephin Merritt
-inspired singalong classic for the secularly inclined that makes the album closer,
"Evensong,"
which is simply the Lord's Prayer sung over gently fingerpicked guitar and strings, so lovely and odd. ~ James Christopher Monger