Minnesotan Mike Nicolai reserves the right to echo the cantankerous tone of two of that state’s preeminent songwriters: Bob Dylan and Paul Westerberg. His self-titled debut album has both the rogue charm of Another Side Of Bob Dylan and the hoarse irreverence of the Replacements’ Tim. His lyrics are sharper, angrier, and funnier than either Bob or Paul have mustered up over the last decade or so. When was the last time you would have expected either of those old sourpusses to attempt the clunky rhyme “Steve Miller”/”Phyllis Diller”? Been a while, no?
There is also a curious and touching turn-of-the-century feel to some of the numbers – “The Last Great Balloon Race” in particular – that recalls some of Randy Newman’s and Ray Davies’ parlor pieces from such albums as Sail Away and Village Green Preservation Society.
What is essentially one man’s album is buffered further by guest appearances by friends and family – most notably members of the Gourds and the Damnations (two of the more popular American music combos in Austin, Nicolai’s current stomping ground), who add a touch of dirt brown and denim blue to Nicolai’s many shades of gray.
