COCONUT RECORDS – DAVY
Jason Schwartzman has a band – that actor of various Wes Anderson flicks, among other things, yes the same guy – or, more correctly, he is a band, since Coconut Records is ostensibly a solo effort. Davy is an album by this band-thing – their second, actually. You might recall Schwartzman played drums in a band called Phantom Planet – the band that wrote the O.C. theme-song, yes – well, there’s a song about that on this album, called Drummer, of all things. The drumming is actually pretty great; and the album is actually beautifully arranged (the incomparable Mitchell Froom producing), with upright piano, acoustic guitars, glockenspiel, strings, auto-harp, Mellotron et. al. – I hope it’s not a total reduction to paint it as the soundtrack to some non-extant Wes Anderson picture. It does in fact sound like a synthesis of baroque pop, classic hits and popular alternative – The Beatles, Elliott Smith, gesturing towards The Shins or the alt-folk of Blitzen Trapper – but where Schwartzman borrows he mostly makes his own. Lyrically, he’s on the simple side – guy sings about his feelings, about girlfriends, stuff he’s nostalgic for – but without cliché. Schwartzman proves to be a singer-songwriter of some significant talent, writing great pop songs, channeling some excellent influences into a satisfying product.
***1/2
