from Opus by Joel Calahan - 2003-09-06

Rob Crow - My Room Is A Mess

A Mess Indeed

The only discernable items in the photos of clutter from "My Room Is A Mess"' jacket are as follows: two "Star Wars" posters, a poster of Harpo Marx, a strategy guide for "Diablo II", and Pere Ubu's box set "Datapanik in the Year Zero". This is what songwriters are made of, it seems. With the unashamed cultish indulgence of computer gamers and Star Wars fanatics, the beauty and over-the-top humor of a Harpo, and Pere Ubu's refusal to conform, Rob Crow has duly presented us with his second solo album, an unpredictable and delightful mess.

The man is a force. Probably most acclaimed for his role as one half of the wintry-cool pop duo Pinback, Crow has also driven bands/projects such as Heavy Vegetable, Thingy, Optiganally Yours, and Goblin Cock, not to mention solo projects. With more hands than Shiva in as many different pots, it makes sense that Crow needs to clean his room once in a while.

And we're supposed to take the title that way, of course. Though not skeletons from the closet, these are the dust bunnies from under the bed, the slices of pizza that are warm from accidentally sitting on them for an hour while you're playing video games, the half-finished poems that got lost under a stack of clean laundry. "My Room Is A Mess" is the sonic equivalent to John Cheever's short story "Some People, Places, And Things That Will Not Appear In My Next Novel"; less a throwaway than a slapping together of moments that should be experienced, melodies that ought to be heard, goofiness that just feels right somehow. He proves to us, in fact, that he really can't write a throwaway tune, or at least that a Crow cast-off is magnitudes brighter than most artists' polished silver. He is a lo-fi musician self-recording in hi-fi, and his records show that those who have the desire really can coax polish from a track recorded in one's bedroom, though given the self-deprecation of this project he might disagree.

Lyrical content takes on that same faux-depression, as in the slick, groovy "Helicopter" ("I know the point is absent/I'm talking to myself"), or "Over The Summer" ("I'm good at being alone/But I'm tired of being alone"), or the self-righteous barbs of "When You Lie" ("[It] starts with Santa/Ends with Jesus/It's still lying to your kids". In moments, Crow isn't above poking fun at himself or the pop game; "Jedi Outcast" reveals his inner nerd, a rogue heavy metal fuzz complete with the speed metal solo slathered over with Star Wars references and a quote by Yoda.

All the while, we almost forget that Crow is a master musician, spinning complex beats around his simple lyrics, changing tempo and dynamic level in assorted ways that make sense. With most tracks involving a simple guitar line following the melody in tandem, and the occasional atmospheric plink of a tuned piano, Crow is at heart just a singer/songwriter, but with "My Room Is A Mess", he proves once again that his lo-fi offerings are slick, inimitable, and brilliant.