Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham

Dean Wareham
Dean Wareham
10 March 2014
Sonic Cathedrals

3 stars out of 5

 

Former Galaxie 500 and Luna front man Dean Wareham presents us with his first solo LP, titled, aptly enough, That Guy from Galaxie 500. Ha! I kid. It’s called Dean Wareham, and I’m going to type a few words about it in the space below. Some of these words will be adjectives, and many of these adjectives will not be positive.

The first five songs on this record are dull. Uninteresting. Boring. “But!” sayeth thou, “I don’t think you get, I mean really get, the whole magic of Galaxie 500, Mr. Review Man!” Actually, I do get it. I fucking love Galaxie 500. And, no, I didn’t expect nine remakes of “Blue Thunder” here on Wareham’s initial solo LP. But I did at the very least expect some sort of spark. Or at least a sign that the man was awake during the writing and recording process. So, to minimize my negative adjective usage, on to track number six: “Holding Pattern” is a happening good tune. It’s got a great melody, that great Wareham forlornness, some great G5C-style guitar soloing, and—WTF?!—a great beat. “I Can Only Give My All” cleverly outlines Wareham’s (symbolic?) relationship with a woman as personified by a Roland 808. This song almost rocks. “Babes in the Woods” continues the winning streak, bringing an almost Neil Young-like vibe to an extended adventure in fuzz-out guitar textures. “Happy & Free” rounds things out with a relaxed but nicely noise-filled ode to two things that my unpaid student loan debt doesn’t allow me to be at this precise moment.

It this album wasn’t top-loaded with filler it would be a keeper. Unfortunately, you have to wait through five very substandard tracks before you are given any rewards for your efforts. My advice would be to get the last four tracks and treat it as an EP. I also recommend a nice mug of hot coco and a plate of oven-fresh chocolate cardamom cookies. Mmm!

reviewed by Richard Krueger