CD Review

Mike Doughty has been a lot of things in his life so far - music critic, doorman at the Knitting Factory in New York, front man for the post-grunge act Soul Coughing and now a solo artist. Haughty Melodic is Doughty’s first proper full length since disbanding with his former group in 2000 – he had previously self-released two EPs and a live album. While it would be easy to lump him into the growing pile of singer/songwriters, Doughty brings more of a hipster cred to the genre then your usual coffeehouse folkie.

The twelve tracks on Haughty Melodic display Doughty’s knack for vivid imagery in his songwriting – often of the everyday mundane. While some of these songs have been a staple in his solo sets in recent years, they get a full band treatment here for the first time. Don’t expect this album though to sound like his former band, this is a straight-ahead roots rock album, with flourishes of pedal steel throughout, rather than the jazz-funk from his Soul Coughing days. Doughty relies on singing then the beatnik jazz delivery of his older work. His deep croaky voice is endearing and lends on heir of credence to the oft-personal lyrics heard throughout the album. His ATO label boss Dave Matthews even lends his vocal skills to a duet on ‘Tremendous Brunettes’, with their deep voices complimenting each other, making it one of the standout tracks on the album. While it’s sometimes hard to move out of the shadow of your former band, Doughty does it quite well with an extremely accessible album.