All around the world, mannish bar rock is stretching its legs and purring contentedly. Among its key participants, the National transform Jack and Cokes into rich, detailed closing-time "heartcore," Australian trio the Devastations traffic in humid sex and mayhem with a Nick Cave pompadour, and sexy senior Greg Dulli has trained his Twilight Singers to sweat piss, bristle infectious machismo, and snort darkly urbane chorus bumps. Sporting an appropriately male-specific name, the Favourite Sons are Brooklyners easily linked to the cartel.
Favourite Sons' Irish-born vocalist Ken Griffin fronted mid-90s J.D. Salinger-quoting art rockers Rollerskate Skinny, who issued at least one classic album in 1996's Horsedrawn Wishes. After Rollerskate Skinny disbanded, he relocated to NYC, formed the short-lived Kid Silver, released Dead City Sunbeams in 1999, and then took a job tending bar. Members of the ex-Philadelphia band Aspera, who'd recently moved to the Big Apple minus their singer, spotted him at work in 2004. Anyone who's watched "Behind the Music" can see where this goes: They joined forces, pulled glory from pain, and after a GSL 7-inch and an EP on UK-based Loog Records, they've released their full-length debut, Down Beside Your Beauty.
Structurally, the capably tame sounds have a certain a Silver Jews amble. And while the choruses are catchy enough, the playing is rote. As those familiar with his past projects will attest, Griffin has a great, bourbon-rich voice; with age, it's accrued even more Iggy deeps and Ferry trills. Occasionally he saves a song, carrying it to shore on his quavers, as when he dictates a baroque caterwaul on "Down Beside You Beauty" or hoots and howls on the side-winding, sorta punkish opening to "Rise Up". Whenever Griffin works himself up to these escalations, the stuff's pleasing, but he doesn't cut loose often enough.
Maybe we can blame the production. The chorus of the above-mentioned "Rise Up" is a pancake flatline when it needs to be all sweaty and aching with oomph. Often, though, the vocals and the instruments don't really mesh and it sounds like he's singing over a karaoke backdrop. The misfired recording is confounding, since it was overseen and massaged by Victor Van Vugt, who's responsible for work by PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Billy Bragg, the Pogues, and the Fall, among others.
Word-wise, the album starts out with it's best image: "Dead bodies piling up like garbage in the sun/ It makes me feel so strong, because the mountain came to me and my baby." The song that houses the words is some classy Roxy Music rock. "The Tall Grass" has a rousing, romantic chorus-- "And If I can, I'll kill a million birds for you/ And if I die in the tall grass dreaming, I hope I'm dreaming of you/ And if I die in the tall grass bleeding, I hope I'm bleeding for you"-- that lathers into a rather gorgeously Bono-fied ending: "Your beauty calls for silence." Sweet. The plodding "Beautiful Smile" includes a tiny dagger: "It makes me want to tear the room apart/ When I think of you dying." And Griffin does an excellent job when he flexes on the title track: "You're my woman, don't you ever call me out."
As has been mentioned in various Favourite Sons stories, designer and Project Runway judge Cynthia Rowley soundtracked her Fashion Week showcase with their tunes. Not much of a fashionista, I looked at her designs and took an informal straw poll to see what's what. Okay, I'm no clothes horse, and still think Will Oldham has the best style imaginable, but her wares seem like pretty basic duds: Not especially bland, but not especially not bland. Right? Black. Some flowers. Pretty. A few things with almost wacky cuts. Likewise, Favourite Sons are capable but dull-- Down Beside Your Beauty needs a bit more specificity and piles of dirty chutzpah (like garbage in the sun). As of now, the quintet come off enjoyably boring-- not "favorite" sons, but pretty decent kids you don't mind visiting on holidays, if Greg Dulli and Matt Berninger aren't returning your calls.
