[rating=3.50]
Rolling Stone’s recent blurb on Lowell Thompson shouldn’t build false preconceptions or wayward expectations. The Vermonter’s self titled first album with the band Crown Pilot is a remarkably mature, self-assured piece of work .
"Last Girl," for instance, is a raunchy track the Rolling Stones would’ve been proud of in their early days (or even today). Thompson’s voice carries a half-sneer,albeit a good-natured one, while Steve Hadeka’s drumming impatiently pushes the whole band along. "The Love You Had" features similarly edgy guitars, played by Thompson and Bill Mullins, fitting a song of forlorn regret for an insistent urge to get on with life.
On "Green Doors," the electric chords chime in a way that mirrors the slightly smoother harmony vocals and a molten lap steel guitar by Mark Spencer that twangs ever so slightly. "Sleep" has an acoustic foundation that recalls Thompson’s solo work and the winsome way he sings fully communicates his hurt as well as his devotion. Meanwhile, "Pictures" is its electric counter-part, with Mullins’ quick guitar fills being the definition of economy. The track’s over almost as soon as it begins, or so it seems, making you wish LT & CP would let themselves stretch out a bit more, if for no other reason than bassist Kirk Flanagan’s contributions might be more evident – you don’t so much hear his playing as feel it.
A couple notable sit ins occur during the course of this unfortunately all too abbreviated eight cut album, but each one adds earthy realism to the music. Grace Potter’s unusually understated presence on "Pauses" renders an already ghostly track even more haunting. And Phish’s Page McConnell assumes an equally unobtrusive role in the arrangement of "Play That Part:" the organ he plays flows almost surreptitiously in and around the other instruments the same way it does during "Julianne, Don’t."
There might appear to be a certain sameness to the material here, if you don’t notice the slight swagger to that final track. That’s just one of a few subtle signs of confidence that Lowell Thompson has every right to display in this self-produced (with Rob O’Dea) collaboration with a band that shares his sense of conviction.
