Tangerine Trousers – Dressed For Success
The latest from Detroits Tangerine Trousers, a sextet led by the vocal-swapping husband-and-wife team of John and CJ Milroy, offers ten distinctive cups of tea, not all of them mine. Thats nothing against the bands general sound sort of folk moving toward folk-rock or their all-you-can-play buffet, which starts with guitars, double bass and drums, and ends with banjo, musical saw and cheese grater. And I certainly have no complaints about a guest list that includes Chris Stamey (credited with additional production) as well as Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell.
But when a band rolls out so many different styles, there are bound to be a few that dont click. For example, Aggies Gone is finger-snapping, beatniky pop, and Ive often wished Rickie Lee Jones had torched that template after her first couple of records. Exhibit B is One For 3, its quasi-world beat bringing to mind a cruise line commercial.
On the other hand, Sycamore Bay is exceptionally fetching and catchy, its lilting melody and expert ensemble playing imagining a meeting of 10,000 Maniacs and the Continental Drifters. Best of all are Cathedral Bells and Boy Gone Blue. The former is the albums least ornamented and most elegant track; the latter presents the band peaking both soundwise (layers of acoustic strumming goosed by accordion) and storywise (Some days youre up, most days youre out/One simple slip, youre the talk of this town). Its an unassuming powerhouse.