Joe Pernice is an immensely talented songwriter, but he's not necessarily one of our most literary, at least not as the word is most commonly invoked. Unlike writers such as Ray Davies or Elvis Costello, Pernice isn't known for his tricky wordplay, tight character studies, or flights of fancy. Rather, as an erstwhile solo artist and the leader of the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline, and, most prominently, the Pernice Brothers, he's focused on the big picture: the swoon of strings, the subtle interplay of chiming guitars, hook-enhancing harmonies, the whole slightly out-of-time chamber-pop package. Lyrics included, of course, but rarely are they specifically so clever or incisive to call undue attention to themselves.
That's a tad ironic, since Pernice, unlike 99% of his peers, actually holds an MFA in creative writing from U Mass, but up until now one of the few documents of his fiction was his 2003 33 1/3 novella inspired by the Smiths' Meat Is Murder. Now comes It Feels So Good When I Stop, Pernice's debut novel, and it, too, features its fair share of autobiographical elements, an aspect which Pernice has cannily amplified by recording a companion "novel soundtrack" to the book containing several covers of songs referenced therein.
It's a smart way for a songwriter-turned-novelist to break the fourth wall without distracting from his prose, complementing the story (some snippets of which, as read by Pernice, appear interspersed through the disc) while emphasizing his parallel musical background and prowess. To that end, the covers here are particularly diverse, ranging from Sebadoh and Plush to Tom T. Hall and Todd Rundgren. Pernice's instinct for assembling the whole package comes in handy, too-- not just in the music's connection to the novel but how Pernice takes this eclectic slate of source material and fits it to his established melodic métier.
Del Shannon's "I Go to Pieces", for example, undeniably reflects its 1960s rock'n'roll origins, but Pernice polishes it up and contemporizes it enough that it wouldn't sound particularly out of place on one of his more conventional records. The same goes for Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's "I'm Your Puppet", a hit for James & Bobby Purify and here a laid-back jangle-pop breeze. On the indie rock tip, the jagged guitar lead of Pernice's wistful rendition of Sebadoh's "Soul and Fire" is the only nod to the skuzzier origins of the original.
Elsewhere Sammy Johns' smooth 1975 hit "Chevy Van" and Tom T. Hall's malleable new standard "That's How I Got to Memphis" are reminders that Pernice's career began in alt-country, while the Dream Syndicate's "Tell Me When It's Over" reminds us of the college rock and punk roots that made so many alt-country acts "alt" to begin with. "Black Smoke (No Pope)" hones closest to the novel, credited as it is to the Young Accuser, the name of the band featuring Pernice's page-bound protagonist. It's an easy-going instrumental that, in an instance of life-imitating-art-imitating-life, is getting its own separate 7" release (as a B-side) via Sub Pop, the label that gave Pernice his first break back in the Scud Mountain Boys' days. (Sub Pop calls it "the non-fiction version" of a fictional single).
It bears mentioning that It Feels So Good When I Stop, the book-- which begins with a quote from Elvis Costello's King of America-era "Our Little Angel"-- also references such acts as the Pogues, the Clash, Naked Raygun, and the Chills (among many, many others), bands that might have pushed Pernice further outside his comfort zone. Even if as usual said comfort zone is nothing to complain about, Pernice's way with a pretty tune is pretty well documented. If It Feels So Good When I Stop expands his abilities as a writer, it'd be at least interesting to hear a record of his that does the same for his skills as a musician.
