It's rather hard to believe that a Tony-winning actor can record an album of indie rock this affecting and heartfelt, but that's exactly what Michael Cerveris manages. A featured actor in several successful musicals, including Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Assassins, for which he got the Tony, Cerveris is probably more known for that vocation, and less known as the lead singer of the band Retriever. Along the way in his career, he has also performed with Pete Townshend and Bob Mould on albums and tours. All of these experiences inform his debut solo album, a global-jaunt recording project with all the musician friends he's made over the years. And where his vocal stylings onstage are more presentational, on these songs he sings from the heart more than from the lungs and diaphragm.Low Heat
It's almost typical troubadour stylings at first: let the music and the imagery do the talking, but understate the vocals. Surprising, given Cerveris' other job, and the soaring notes he presents there. Then, "SPCA" hits, and everything changes. There's bombast, there's agression, and there's projection of a pure emotional state. The song is a moment that defines the record, even though there's nothing else like it to be found. While some might call this a "break-up" record, and "SPCA" certainly supports it — as do other songs — the vinettes here have a more general view on love, as well as feelings on other subjects. Sometimes it's outside looking in, sometimes it's after the fact looking back, sometimes it's before the first kiss; and sometimes the imagery is too heavy-handed, too saccharine to handle. When Cerveris hits on all levels, though, it might be necessary to stand back. One part that confuses me: there are actually twelve tracks on the CD, and they are all listed in the liner notes, though the back of the CD only lists ten. These are not "hidden tracks" in the typical sense, then, and the music in both don't actually seem to fit with the rest of the record, though "Eleven" is one of the best tracks on it. Why Cerveris wanted to keep these somewhat a mystery is part of the puzzle, I guess, and the next piece could be the one that brings it all into focus.
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