[MacDV] Re: The Way Of The Master

[James Asherman]

On Friday, January 30, 2004, at 03:22  PM, illovox at comcast.net wrote:

>>> done genius before?

Who would ever think of combining a psychedelic framework with a 
roots-rock sensibility? But Flint Michigan do just that on their debut 
album, playing music that is oxymoronically both earthy and cosmically 
expansive, often in the same song! Mash up the Byrds, Lou Reed, Neil 
Young, the Band, Tom Petty, Midnight Oil, and zydeco, cross-reference 
them with the dynamics of psychedelia, and you come out with Amber 
Waves. Odds are, this album would probably go into the roots-rock bin 
at the record store, but how many roots albums contain a song about 
space aliens? With Flint Michigan, such a dichotomy is commonplace; it 
is the type of whimsy that is pulled off with humor but also adds a 
certain poignancy to the album. Perhaps the band's rootsiest element is 
the vocal prowess of Dennis Katsanis, a sort of variation on the Tom 
Petty/Lou Reed aesthetic that works surprisingly well amid the spacy 
qualities of much of the music. "Passion" opens with a lost new-wave 
riff circa 1982, but mutates into a beautiful psychedelic jam. Extended 
improvisation is a part of the Flint Michigan repertoire, but it is 
rarely excessive or detrimental to the song. "Misdeed of the Wind" 
starts out with a solid groove before moving into gorgeous Middle 
Eastern guitar progressions. Part of the reason that these extended 
passages do not come apart is the straight-ahead chug of the rhythm 
section and Tom DiPaolo's lap steel guitar work -- sort of like Dire 
Straits riffing on psychedelia rather than jazz and blues. 
Instrumentally, the band is powerful, led by the double-guitar attack 
of Jim Asherman and Katsanis. Mostly recorded live in the studio with 
few overdubs, the album sounds fresh and invigorating. The only thing 
holding the album back is its thematic and stylistic spottiness: it 
moves from zydeco-flavored jams to earthy rock to nervy psychedelia 
without any sort of coherence. It ends up sounding more like a 
collection of singles than a consistent album. Still, the songs, taken 
on their own merits, are never less than strong -- and sometimes go 
much beyond that. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Not my best work either. Shoestring budget, and I wrote sang played and 
mixed it.