TODD SNIDER – EXCITEMENT PLAN

Observational humour. It’s not laugh out loud, nor side-splitting and up-roarious. It’s wry humour, eliciting gentle smiles of recognition when it manages to nail its target in a way perhaps others have not – “I found a four-leaf clover in my yard today / It had one leaf missing off it, but that was OK.” Observational humour – that is Todd Snider’s territory and he mines it further here as he celebrates a decade of albums with The Excitement Plan. Mind you, this is no big, brash or loud celebration; he uses the same acoustic guitar and folk ‘n’ country approach that has served him so faithfully for the last 15 years, lashing out with the odd party guest like the Loretta Lyn who shares vocals duties on Don’t Tempt Me Baby, the bar-room rollick that is the albums most up-tempo moment. It’s hard to work out if Snider took his tongue out of his cheek long enough to enjoy some birthday cake, but ten albums by anyone is worth a nod of recognition these days. Perhaps someone could suggest he might cheer up a little on his next one.

***