Haughty, melodic
This one is kind of tough for me to reconcile, but I’m loving the opportunity.
In my mind Mike Doughty will always be idealized in Soul Coughing’s el Oso phase. Coming off like the mind-freak’d jazzbo he appears to be, hip-hopping his way around the wildest collection of samples, synthesizers, and stand-up bass you’ve ever laid ears on. His free-associated/freak-out inspired lyrical whirlygigs were frequently dizzying and constantly confusing, but there were bizarre hooks a-plenty and enough bass to rattle the windows of my parents Chevy Malibu for an entire summer strong.
His latest album, Sad Man Happy Man is not that. Not even at all. He performs most of this material himself, deftly handling acoustic guitar, programmed beats and percussion, and some keys. His long-time bassist remains intact, further colouring the bare-bones tunes with some bottom-end and the occasional bowed parts to lend some texture to the soundscape.
He appears to be closing a circle of sorts with this release. The overriding acoustic nature of the record falls in line with his first post-Soul Coughing solo album; since that release he’s dabbled in increasingly-complex arrangements and taken aim at writing pop songs with mainstream appeal (”I Hear The Bells” from Haughty Melodic was featured prominently on not only Veronica Mars, but also Grey’s Anatomy). That effort seems to have faded into the background; these performances feel natural and comfortable, like Doughty is either truly following his muse or his muse just happens to be doing something a little more in line with his own history.
There are some shared elements between his former self and his current existence, namely on songs like “(He’s Got The) Whole World (In His Hands)” and “Pleasure On Credit.” Here he speak-sings his lyrics with a very Soul Coughing-esque delivery that’s worlds away from much of his solo output of the last decade or so. The rambling, stream-of-conscious tone of his Soul Coughing material is more prevalent here. The tone and instrumentation of the songs are worlds apart, but when combined with a track like the el Oso sound-alike (or at least as close as you could get on what is essentially an unplugged album) “(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)” you get the feeling that Doughty has reconciled his past and future selves and is no longer chasing every new and different tangent he can dream up.
But it isn’t “Rolling,” it isn’t “Super Bon Bon,” it isn’t “Casiotone Nation.” It isn’t my idealized version of Mike Doughty. But as far as his work as a solo performer goes I think it’s going to be hard to beat Sad Man Happy Man. I’d recommend this baby if you want to get a little dizzy for a while.
Mike Doughty - Laura Zauberberg [3:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Mike Doughty - (He's Got The) Whole World (In His Hands) [2:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Mike Doughty - (When I) Box The Days (Up) [2:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
