Gordon Gano, once the voice of the Violent Femmes, no longer sings
like a defiant, petulant adolescent. But on Under the Sun, his
debut with the Ryans, Gano still sounds a bit full of himself, and
sometimes it’s still difficult to tell if he’s singing from the heart
or if he’s being ironic or sardonic. On the downcast and reflective
“Under The Sun,” Gano sounds like a man at the end of his rope,
pensively and unreservedly summing up a life as much as Sinatra did
with “It Was a Very Good Year.” But “Home” recaps nearly every
“wandering, downhearted performer of song” cliché there is. Is
he parodying working-musician angst or wallowing in it? His band
— former Bogmen Billy and Brendan Ryan — provide versatile
spunk. They can make Balkan folk-flavored moves (“Oholah Oholibah”) and
somber, arty singer-songwriter rock (think Scott Walker or even Stephen
Sondheim) and make it sound unaffected and heartfelt. The loping
“Better Than You Know,” a pert satire on self-knowledge (maybe), has a
lilting, urbane groove recalling Katy Lied-era Steely Dan.
Non-fans of the Femmes: Sun will not likely change your mind.
Fans of the Femmes and wise-ass songsters are encouraged to dig in.
— Mark Keresman
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2009.
