You don't have to tell me, I already understand...She smokes cigarettes but ends up smelling like roses...

12 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Acoustic, ROCK: Americana



Details:
"When I get music for review that was recorded by the artist, I usually wince and brace for the worst. That goes double for albums that trumpet their garage origins. But Andy Padlo's new album, Love's Dark Satellite, while recorded in Padlo's garage, is a pleasant surprise.

Padlo's guitar playing sounds like the part-time work of half a lifetime fretting the five string. It always provides a solid foundation for the rest of the music on the album, and occasionally it claims the spotlight in solo work ("You Don't Have to Tell Me" and "Fire in My Belly" are notable examples.). Another nice surprise on this album is a good waltz ("She's Already Made up Your Mind"). Between the slower songs filled with yearning and the git-up-an-go tunes ("Fire in My Belly"), this well-done waltz makes me want to grab my wife and make small circles in the living room.

Padlo's singing is always good, though his voice sure ain't always pretty. He's got a homespun, slightly gravelly, nasal thing going. Sometimes he slurs his words together, or kind of fades out in the middle of a word. But you know what? That's cool. Padlo's got an honest-to-goodness, real-life voice. You know there's no voice coach, no cadre of controlling suits, and definitely (please, God) no spandex. The flaws in his voice sometimes remind me of the flaws in my life (yeah, I'm a little rough around the edges and sometimes fade out in the middle of things, too) and let me make a closer connection to his work.

Padlo's lyrics aren't anything earth-shattering. He's got songs about love won and lost, chances that have passed him by, and regret and longing. This is all solid, standard fare for the artistically examined life, and easy for an audience to connect with, so I suppose it's to be expected. However, a couple times, Padlo's pen hits some pay dirt. From "When She Goes By:"

Sidewalks roll out to meet her
And the streetlights bend down to see her
There's a living light inside her
Nothing in the world is any brighter

And even better, is the song "My Grandfather." The whole song is great, but the refrain is universal:

And he'd say I lost track of time
But time left these tracks on me
The years go by but here in this heart of mine
I'm not one day over seventeen

Overall, I like Love's Dark Satellite. Some good music, real singing, a few toe-tappers and a nice waltz will definitely put this album in rotation in my permanent collection." By AJ Van Beest, Indie-music.com