Review: Acoustic Alchemy - American English

Hopefully this will be the first of many cd reviews I'll do. I just love going to Barnes and Noble and talking to all the good looking girls behind the music desk. The last time I was there I bought Metheny's latest and had a 5 minute conversation with a Noble hottie afterwards, then yesterday another good looking girl from the counter knows that what I'm buying is Acoustic Alchemy's latest....wha???

American English:

I am not going to completely bag on this album, I promise, but it is unambitious. I am not of the school that thinks an artist or musician should progress skill or talent-wise with each album but for whatever reason this release reminds me of standing still. When I initially listened to it I was only intent on about a couple songs before I could skip to the next track. It definitely has the tint of Radio Contact B-sides with regard to the subtlety of the music but there's a lot of over-sequenced drums/effects-heavy scat. Not that there's a problem with that...

Now to the good things: I definitely like them introducing new players to the fold and it gives them a chance to open up to a wider audience. In 'The Crossing', a pan flute dictates much of the song structure and therefore doesn't indicate that it's AA you're listening to. I also really like how Gilderdale and Carmichael love Steely Dan and how it influences 'She Speaks American English', the title track of the album. The chord changes are definitely reflective of Dan and the song reminds me of 'The Last Mall' from Dan's last effort 'Everything Must Go'. 'Lilac Lane' and 'The Moon and the Sun' are also great tunes. 'Lane' opens with a great swirling Rhodes line and 'Moon...Sun' lets Tony rip out some good ambient synth sounds. I know that AA is all about the acoustic and nylon guitar rips but hopefully they'll introduce more experimental material in their next release. They already have their hardcore fans (myself included) so they don't really need to worry about being exclusionary.

Acoustic Alchemy - American English - ***