Arthur Dodge: The Perfect Face

Arthur Dodge
The Perfect Face
Remedy
2007-03-20

Arthur Dodge has been releasing albums with The Horsefeathers as his supporting cast, but he’s branched out on this solo effort. Dodge sounds like he’s been reared on Neil Young’s soft, thoughtful acoustic albums judging by the warm, inviting and lovely “She Wants a Cowboy”, recalling “Harvest Moon”. The singer remains in this Americana foundation during “Million Year Muse” that strolls along with a slightly jazzy gait while “Waiting for the World” would fit perfectly on a Tim Easton album. Perhaps the first real jewel among these golden tunes is “Black Blue Jeans”, featuring some great harmony work throughout. “Sidewalk” paints a simple but grin-inducing picture as some guitar accents the end of each line a la Blue Rodeo or early Wilco. Add a hypnotic quality to it and you have another winner. The praise should be high for this record. While it’s a style that has been done before, Dodge ups the ante further with a cover of Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade”. He might not have a perfect face, but this album is damn near perfect.

RATING 8 / 10