TRILOBITE
Trilobite (Independent)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Song by song, Trilobite the album weaves a tale. Vocalists Mark Lewis and Michelle Collins swirl oddly sweet on "Pumpkin Farmer," Collins eerily warbling like Hope Sandoval. Lewis (a Stengar Fellow at Stanford, and an O. Henry Fiction winner) leads on a quintessential bedroom recording, one of the album's stars, "The Ledge", a song that might be called a dark cornered story, in a very dark room. Trilobite has a degree of levity as well. Try the porch friendly ditty, "Caves of Burgundy", the highly danceable "Esperanza" or the bizarre brass, hooting vocals of "Snakeriver."

In the end, there are scant few points regarding songwriting or musicianship to quibble with on the 10-track, 37-minute Trilobite. It is one of the many recently released albums of country pedigree that borrow from a twisted sense of southern gothic, turning it over and over in a churn for an overall effect, a little far of field. I'd remark that the production is uneven on some songs, and sometimes the most interesting elements are buried, but again, this is a quibbling (personally, I also think faux phone call tracks are almost often a mistake, although here, "Samsara" seems to work - a muligan).

I'd recommend this record to anyone with a soul, and an ear for the palatably strange.

© 2007 - Erick Mertz