Magic Car
Yellow Main Sequence
Tiny Dog Records TCR003


by Al Kunz

Americana artists have to be from America, don't they? The recent success of Australian Kasey Chambers should have put that misconception to rest. Acts from all over the world are giving it a shot, sometimes adding hometown influences, but staying within the same basic parameters as other Americana artists. One of the latest to try this is British band Magic Car. Although mandolinist Hazel Atkinson takes frequent turns on vocals, Magic Car is primarily a vehicle for the singing and songwriting of Phil Smeeton. John Thompson plays double bass, and Dave Langdon pitches in on pedal steel, with several guest musicians helping out as needed. The initial cut could be described as an Appalachian ballad, although it probably owes as much to the English folk-ballads that are the roots of mountain music. Atkinson's smooth vocals soar above the sparse musical accompaniment on "Too Lonesome Cowboy."

Too lonesome cowboy
Cigarette in his hand
Got holes in his plans
Got nowhere to land

Travelin' life and faith trails
From here to god knows
Got nowhere to go
Through the rain and the snow

"Night So Blue" was released as a single that identified the band as Little Criminals. After receiving substantial radio play in the United Kingdom and Europe, the band was re-christened Magic Car. The inaugural single as Magic Car is "Three Cornered Hat," about "self protection" while embroiled in a love triangle where "only two can win."

A morose vocal on "Downtown" kicks off the story of "a junkie for the city going downtown to sing in the choir." The tale takes a slightly more cheerful turn upon arriving downtown (and getting his fix) when a choir joins in ­ backed by a Salvation Army-style brass band.

He is bored
He is moody
Gets up and turns off the movie
'cus it don't mean nothin' to him anymore

In a dream
In a car
The saints are lining the bar
St. Peter, St. Patrick, St. Paul

Smeeton's brother Simon joins the band to sing "4 In the Morning." His slow-paced and smooth-yet-resigned tone captures the message of the lyrics perfectly. Once again the very English sounds of a brass band make a brief appearance.

I've been drinking in the morning
I've heard all those warning
Could this be the reason
Why I'm so tired and blue

I've been drinking in the evening
I don't feel like sleeping
Could this be the reason
I'm so tired and blue

4 in the morning
I'm so tired and blue

The schizophrenic title track "Yellow Main Sequence" closes the album. The Tiny Dog Records web site explains that the title comes from the scientific term for our sun, "a yellow main sequence star." This is a ten-minute concept piece with three parts, representing sundown, nighttime, and sunup. Sundown is a largely instrumental (humming, no singing) mood piece. Nighttime is silence, almost four minutes of silence. This was a little disconcerting until I deduced the meaning. Finally the silence ends at dawn with a morning drinking ballad.

When you're down on the road
With nowhere to go
And the tears are like stars in your eyes
Waking up in Vegas
Feeling outrageous
With a bottle of Bourbon and Rye
Bourbon and Rye
And tears in your eyes

This disc's themes are melancholy, like much mountain music, but with smoother, more trained vocals and a touch of the off-beat. If your tastes are narrow, running from Robert Earl Keen to Rodney Crowell or Willie Nelson, skip this disc. But if your tastes are far ranging ­ if you also enjoy British Folk, the songs of Appalachia, and dabble in the avant-garde ­ this may be the album for you.

*To order Yellow Main Sequence and find out more about Magic Car visit www.tinydog.co.uk While there you can listen to a sample of "Night So Blue" and read what Phil Smeeton has to say about his songs.

Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net

 
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