Garage folk for the disenfranchised. Second
album from West Sussex based songwriter.
Fifty years after
Jagger's dissatisfaction it appears there's still plenty of reasons
for today's young man to feel distanced from wider mainstream
society. Paul Messis' second album Case Closed is a case in
point. Across the album's twelve tracks Messis lets the listener into
his worldview, expressing, loneliness, alienation, disdain for
society's hypocrisy, along with a defiant yearning for a freer,
kinder, more open-minded world.
Messis has as much
contempt for the mores of the modern world as he has for modern
production values. Like his previous releases, Case Closed
sounds like it it was recorded in the mid '60s, with Messis striving
for and achieving a convincing take on his beloved Minnesota garage
and Sunset Strip folk rock.
Messis sets his stall
out from the off, “I Hate The World Around Me” has a stinging
lyrical attack coupled with a frantic pace. It's the album's
gentler, more melodic moments that work best though. “A Matter Of
Opinion” and “The Tables Have Turned” being the strongest
tunes, the latter further enhanced by a biting fuzz guitar solo.
Part Byrds' jangle,
part Americans imitating the Stones circa 1965, and part C86 feyness,
the resulting album is not your average garage rock re-hash, mainly
due to Messis' abilities as an introspective singer songwriter.
Though not a great vocalist, (a couple of vocal re-takes wouldn't
have hurt), you do believe in him, there's a sincerity in his voice
and lyrics which wins you over.
Once again the
authentic attention to detail that State Records are getting a
reputation for is present. Not only does the album have an
impressively varied array of guitar tones, the limited LP version is
on 180gram vinyl with a front-laminated flipback sleeve. Nice!
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