CRAZY MARY
Knucklehead (Humsting Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Knucklehead is Crazy Mary's fifth album, a landmark achievement for any indie band. Actually, it's a landmark that most indie bands are better off never achieving, since so many of them seem to run out of ideas somewhere around track four of their second release. That's hardly the case here, though. Knucklehead is, among many other things, Crazy Mary's coronation as the kings (and queen) of creativity.

I haven't always loved everything about every Crazy Mary release, but that's really part of their charm. They take real chances on every album, mixing and matching genres and playing on a musical tightrope stretched between genius and failure. Sometimes they end up closer to one end of the rope than the other, but when you're constantly exploring new territory a few false leads are bound to come along. What they do well they do so well that simply repeating their most successful ideas a dozen times on a single disc would give them the kind of cohesive, polished effort that the dull normals of the world crave. Crazy Mary is rarely normal, and never dull.

This time around they call on help from avant garde violinist Walter Steding, mandolinist Jason Spittle and the The New York Horns brass and reeds unit. Thus fortified, they attack everything from the flower power pop of "Let's All Have A Party" to "When The Shit Hits The Fan" with a hint of Memphis soul, from the Ali Baba on hash mood of "Land Of The Jagged Mountains" to the 12 bar blues of "Still Water," with stops along the way at points familiar and points found somewhere past the 'here be dragons' markings on the mainstream musical map. In other words, the music is all over the place, but you'll want to visit all of the places it's over.

Over the course of five albums, Crazy Mary has progressed from an "I wonder what they're up to this time?" band to a "I can't wait to hear what they do next!" band. They keep moving, sometimes forward, sometimes sideways, sometimes in directions uncharted, and if there's a spark of adventure in your soul, you'll want to follow along.

Track List:

Invisible * I Wake Up Dreaming * Brian Jones * Let's All Have A Party * When The Shit Hits The Fan * Knucklehead * Angel In Disguise * Land Of Jagged Mountains * Still Water * Designer Dog * Duck And Cover * Carpool * Nick Not Talking

[Pick this up at CDBaby.]

© 2003 - Shaun Dale