Owen - At Home With Owen

[mitchables]

Okay so I don't know how many of you are familiar with the work of the amazing Mike Kinsella (of American Football/Cap'n Jazz/Joan of Arc/Owls). If you are not acquainted with his work, then you should know his solo project, Owen, has just released a new CD and now would be the time for you to amend it. "At Home With Owen" is beautiful, scathing, uplifting, and depressing all at once. The CD is pretty much entirely acoustic, so this is a definite must for anyone who generally likes acoustic stuff or wants to hear more (Trips, I'm looking at you here). Kinsella's restrained instrumentalism maintains a relaxed atmosphere throughout the album, and his politely quiet, hide-in-the-corner vocals provide a misleading contrast to the general content of the lyrics; a lot of the time, the lyrics are very self-aware, honest and bordering on self-deprecation, which always makes everybody feel good, right? For example:

one of these days I'll make some money
and buy myself those things that I want:
acrylic paints, acoustic guitar strings, a new bicycle seat
for my ride over to your house each night
and one of these days I'll get a real job
one that actually pays
like my dad had

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Another real treat on the album are all the little musical nuances he uses to flesh out the songs. At the end of the opening track, Bad News, there's a really nice, drawn-out coda with pretty little triplets underpinning the whole section. It's a really subtle little addition but it makes the entire section. Gold.

Basically, download or buy this album if you like your acoustic/indie/folk-esque. It is a surprising treat in a field of mediocrity. It upsets me that Fall Out Boy's Infinity on High can top charts but legitimately excellent CDs such as this can fall by the wayside.

ANYWAY. Get this album. It rules. That's all I really need to say, now that I've said way more.