The acoustic\/electric, harmony-and-melody-rich.
\nexperimental-pop\/Americana scene has grown so rich in the past
\ndecade with the likes of the Jayhawks, Whiskeytown and Wilco that
\nit’s hard to believe that another band could turn up producing
\nsongs and arrangements similar in both genre and quality. After a
\ncouple of listens to
\nHotel Lights<\/i>, though, I’ve gotta say it: I’m a believer.<\/p>\n
Hotel Lights is a quartet built around the songs, voice, piano
\nand acoustic guitar of Darren Jessee, best known up to now as the
\ndrummer\/harmony vocalist for Ben Folds Five. If you’re anticipating
\nfresh variations on either of Jessee’s best-known compositions for
\nBFF — the thunderous, potty-mouthed rant “Song For The Dumped” or
\nthe exquisite, heart-rending piano ballad “Magic” — prepare to
\nveer off-course. There isn’t a song on here that sounds vaguely
\nlike any of Jessee’s work with Folds.<\/p>\n
Instead, you get the laid-back, gauzy stateliness of Cowboy
\nJunkies married to the melodic smarts of Pernice Brothers, with a
\ntouch of alt-country experimentalism in the marriage of Jessee’s
\ngently strummed acoustic guitars with Chris Badger’s quirky,
\natmospheric electronic keyboards. North Carolina cohorts Roger
\nGupton (bass, background vocals) and Mark Price (drums) fill out
\nthe lineup. Producer Alan Weatherhead also adds slide guitar to two
\ntracks, while Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger contributes to
\narrangements on three tracks, topping off this softly sparkling
\ntreasure-trove of melody.<\/p>\n
Jessee’s is a gentle voice full of vulnerability. “What’s worse
\nthan your refusal \/ is my not wanting to” he sings in one typically
\nelliptical stanza; the meaning is obscure, but the regret and
\nlonging conveyed is palpable. One of the mysteries of this band is
\nhow they manage to be quiet and full of spark at the same time.<\/p>\n
The secret may lie in the most unique aspect of
\nHotel Lights<\/i> — the incorporation of Badger’s electronic
\ntones into the band’s sonic palette. Still, even on songs where
\nsynthesizers play a substantial role (“A.M. Slow Golden Hill” and
\n“Follow Through” come to mind, though synths are used on many of
\nthese tracks), the arrangements cast the technology as accents to
\nthe basic acoustic melody rather than flashy leads.<\/p>\n
Hotel Lights do add a rock edge on a couple of songs (“I Am A
\nTrain” and “Marvelous Truth”), but they’re entertaining diversions,
\nas opposed to the focus of the disc. More typical are the haunting
\nmelodies of “Stumbling Home Winter Blues”; the nice textures of
\nacoustic and electric piano, acoustic and slide guitar and brushes
\non “Motionless”; and dreamy, ambiguous choruses like this one:
\n“nobody saw you fall \/ nobody saw you fall \/ nobody saw you fall \/
\nmiles behind me\u2026”<\/p>\n
The perfect soundtrack for a quiet fall evening at home,
\nHotel Lights<\/i> is full of lyrical, melancholy ruminations that
\nwill hang around the fringes of your consciousness for hours after
\nthe disc fades out. It’s a very promising debut for a band with —
\none hopes — a bright future.<\/p>\n