by Michael LelloWeekender Editor
If you listen hard enough to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s two albums, you can make out some appealing pop moments. But, with layers of noise and jagged edges, the magnificent songwriting prowess of CYHSY main man Alec Ounsworth could often float by unnoticed. No so, however, on “Mo Beauty,” his strikingly straightforward solo debut.
CYHSY, one of the first “blog bands” since the explosion of mp3 sites and portals like Pitchfork, might have felt some pressure to live up to its indie street cred, leading to some obscure-sounding music. Maybe Ounsworth needed to escape his band’s name — and his hometown of Philadelphia — to make this album, which he recorded in New Orleans with a crack team of that city’s musicians.
Los Lobos keyboard and saxophone player Steve Berlin’s production infuses “Mo Beauty” with the swampy atmospherics of Bob Dylan’s Daniel Lanois-helmed “Oh Mercy” and “Time Out Of Mind,” a perfect marriage for Ounsworth, who has often hinted at an affinity for Dylan through his style on a few CHYSY tracks.
Three songs in, Ounsworth gives us “Holy Holy Moses (song for New Orleans),” an understated ballad supported by Robert Walter’s piano and Ounsworth’s dreamy synths. Later, “Me and You, Watson” resides in a spooky groove you might find on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ recent collaboration, and “Obscene Queen Bee #2,” another ballad, is one of the more arresting and emotionally impactful songs that’s come down the pike in quite some time — from any artist operating in any genre. Matt Sutton’s pedal steel and Ounsworth’s nasally vocals, blanketed by Walter’s Wurlizter and peppered with the soft drumming of Stanton Moore (Galactic) make for an arresting four minutes. Ounsworth follows that song with the impassioned album-ender, “When You’ve No Eyes,” Berlin’s baritone sax adding a touch of melancholy and regret.
With “Mo Beauty,” Ounsworth has crafted an album that bears some, but not many, resemblances to the band he’s known for while paying discreet homage to classic influences without simply cutting and pasting. He’s also managed to incorporate musicians he’s never worked with previously into the mix, playing to their strengths while still retaining the direction of his music. If this is just the beginning of Ounsworth’s solo career, his future — whether or not the in-limbo CYHSY returns — is quite bright.
Rating: W W W W 1/2
