Mojave 3
Excuses For Travelers
Albumreview
Uitgebracht: 2000
Albumreview
It is one of the most tired devices in the great big book of love: the letter marked RETURN TO SENDER. Yet Neil Halstead, the primary singer and songwriter of British sad-core specialists Mojave 3, can't resist it. On the band's spectacularly sullen third effort, he wrings every drop of purple pathos from the conceit. By the third verse of "Return to Sender," Halstead has even turned to a priest for consolation: "He said, 'God will take care of those that help themselves/But you look pretty screwed, send a letter.'" Halstead's particular genius is timing: arriving on the scene in his songs just in time for the twist of the knife, the moment when the bittersweet turns pathetic. Excuses is a diary of such finely wrought situations, from "She Broke You So Softly," a Nick Drake-ish chronicle of rejection, to "When You're Driftin'," an exploration of listlessness. Halstead employs a delicate-soul whisper when he sings, but, as compelling as his vocals are, it is still refreshing to hear band mate Rachel Goswell take over on "Bringin' Me Home," a transcendent bit of shot-through-the-heart sadness that makes you wish Halstead shared the microphone a bit more. (RS 850)