Customer Reviews

Caught In A Trap And I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby

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Some key dates in U.S. history: 1776-Wealthy American colonists declare independence from England. 1861-1865-The American Civil War. 1995-Singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel disbands seminal sadcore band, American Music Club. While most struggle to spot England on a map, and the Civil War lingers only in isolated pockets of the Deep South, the repercussions of A.M.C.'s demise continue to daily bombard the collective psyche of the nation.

Fortunately for the faithful, on Caught In A Trap... Eitzel delivers his finest work since A.M.C.'s epochal Everclear. Joined by former Bad Seed guitarist, Kid Congo Powers, Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Eitzel nixes the piano lounge atmospherics of prior release 60Watt SilverLining in favor of a much sparer sound, making his way through much of the album accompanied only by his own inventive acoustic strummings. Eitzel's vocals have never been stronger or more emotive.

Given the green light by Warner Brothers to record this side project on the condition that it have little commercial appeal, Eitzel was freed from the pressure which has always plagued his career: the pressure to create pop hits. While the tracks `Queen of No One' and `Cold Light Of Day' are pure pop genius, they typify what always kept A.M.C.'s music from widespread acceptance- they're simply too damned smart. Happily, on this Matador release, Eitzel was given license to freely expose his genius.

the emotional intensity and honesty of the record is astounding. it's like reading an open journal. mark eitzel holds no emotion back. "go away" is jaw dropping. the electric guitars are very atypical mark eitzel. almost noise, ala slowdive or MBV. but the lyrics are the most impressive part of the song: "all i've got is the last look you wore upon your face, and even if i live to be 1,000, that's one thing i'll never replace." possibly about the loss of his great love, to a herion overdose. "cold light of day" is also quite raw, but in a beautiful way. for the most part, the album is just mark and his acoustic guitar, which lends this intense emotional fragility that goes amazingly well with his equally fragile voice. the last two songs, despite their simplicity, just really get to my heart. every song is better than anything that was ever on the radio. honestly. at any rate, GET THIS ALBUM! give it time, though, but you will be impressed. he is the greatest songwriter, living or dead.

Eitzel runs the gamut from urban folk (Xmas Lights Spin) to this-is-a-single (Cold Light of Day) to actually whimsical (Sun Smog Seahorse), which is his usual gamut, but a fine one nonetheless. The recording of this album is sometimes intimate; it sounds like he's in the room with you on the acoustic solo numbers. The five songs with band accompaniment left me wishing there were more, but on quiet afternoons I'm glad that he left things as they are. As usual, I'm waiting for more.

This album is an amazing collection of beautiful, poetic, well crafted songs. If you're familiar with Eitzel and his former band, American Music Club, I don't think you will be disappointed with these songs. If you've not heard any Eitzel or AMC, then you definitely should and this album is just as good as anything else he's done. For those that might find comparisons to other artists helpful, I'd say that if you like the Sundays, David Sylvian, Jeff Buckley, Billy Brag & Wilco, or Son Volt then you'd probably like Eitzel or AMC as well.

If you love sparse, lo-fi, acoustic, sadcore music along the vein of Smog, Cindy Dall, Ida, Idaho, Red House Painters, Mark Kozelek, Dakota Suite, etc. then this is the CD for you. If you've never heard of any of these artists, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.
Anyways, this album has a very distinct sound. Each song was recorded in such a way that you feel like you can hear the room ambience (or whatever you'd like to call it) around Mark as he performs. You feel like he's in your living room performing for you. Very haunting.
Solo acoustic tracks open the CD, and they're very good; raw and free of any effects or superfluous filler instruments. "Auctioneer's Song" and "White Rosary" are definite solo highlights.
Track 5 marks the beginning of the full band songs. The minimalist drums, bass, and electric guitar provide a bit of a change-up to the CD and variety to Eitzel's guitar and deep, droning, baritone voice. Highlights here include "If I Had A Gun", "Goodbye", and "Go Away".
The majority of the lyrics on this CD are very despairing and will be loved by any depressive sadcore fans. "If I Had A Gun" is a perfect example of this (as if you couldn't tell from the title). The last two lines of the song: "If I had a gun/I'd give you you're freedom". Enough said.
Buy it! I'm sure Mark would appreciate the support. Also, make sure to check out all of the American Music Club CDs. (AMC is Mark's former band who just happened to be the best sadcore band of all time!)