With
a wood-paneled ambiance and layered, ringing hooks to spare, Wood and Wire has
the strangely logical feel of a collaboration between George Harrison
and Squeeze, with Eric Clapton anxiously waiting in the wings to
offer a solo or two. In other words, von Sneidern makes the kind of warm,
mature pure pop that's instantly hummable and mysteriously absent from the
radio these days. That's a shame, as most of these songs could kick Jakob
Dylan's ass with one guitar tied behind their back.
von
Sneidern has a seemingly endless supply of comfortable, rolling melodies and
wry lyrics: "Lines" is a concoction of world-weary vocals and
circular hooks that stops just short of being dizzying, while "I Can
See" sports crunchy guitars, multi-layered harmonies and ponderable lyrics
like "Take a hint from Heloise/Don't put your honey in with bees and lie
around..."
Of
course, sticking to tried-and-true pop formulas and lovelord lyrics means von
Sneidern recycles a few clichés along the way; there are more than a few Beatles
echoes here, and I swear "Like Me That Way" starts out just like Bob
Seger's "Against the Wind." But over all, von Sneidern is a
smart, likable pop craftsman who doesn't deserve to stay unsung.
(Mod
Lang, Box 10111, Berkeley, CA 94709)
-
Lisa Gidley