Howie Beck – How to Fall Down in Public
I’ve never really listened to Howie Beck before. I mean, I have listened to him before, I’ve seen him open for Hayden at least once, maybe twice, but I’ve never heard a Howie Beck album. I guess I always just assumed it was kind of generic singer-songwriter fare, but after seeing him on the cover of the National Posts’ Arts section I made a mental note to check it out, then, of course, I promptly forgot about him. But, I got an email from a PR company which included his name, I emailed them, they got me the CD and here we are…
How to Fall Down in Public, Beck’s 4th album, I think has hit me just at the right time. The weather in the past week has turned and become really nice (except today), and HtFDiP has been a terrific album for walking up to the library (although, I suspect that leaves a little to be desired in terms of description). The album is a little reminiscent of M. Ward’s post-War inasfaras the production kind of takes you to a ‘golden age of radio’ sort of place.
That said, the album is sonically deeper than post-War, where pW relied exclusively (as I remember it) on the acoustic guitar to drive its songs; HtFDiP mixes the keys, horns, and guitar up and generally has a more complete sound. This kind of variety is evident on songs like the instrumental ‘Fin’, the synth in ‘La La La’, the clip-clop on the smooth, cool ‘If I Ever Come Home’ really differentiate this album from the thousands and thousands of singer-songwriter albums that come out every year. And while the CD boasts a great deal of depth and variety, its also a lot of fun.
The executive summary: How to Fall Down in Public is certainly one of the better singer-songwriter albums released during this (2008-2009) Polaris calendar. It has a kind of nostalgic, golden age sound that reminds me of driving up to a beach with my parents in the 80s.
[mp3] Howie Beck – Watch Out for the Fuzz
[mp3] Howie Beck – If I Ever Come Home
“Don’t Be Afraid”
Last week’s pick: The Black Hat Brigade
Tags: album
