Kevin Kinsella

Firestick

(I-Town, 2003)

Before playing this I didn’t know whether to expect some fine reggae rhythms from the leader of John Brown’s Body or simply a superfluous amount of talent. The slab draws a bit from two disparate roots musics: reggae and bluegrass/country. An odd spattering (i.e. Almost Acoustic). What we’ve got here is Ti Ti Chickapea (a jarringly atypical acoustic band) accompanying Kevin Kinsella. First, there’re alotta covers, but there’s a reason. Kinsella’s previous endeavors repeatedly reference the past and interpret it. This project is no different. He references two styles that are not considered complimentary. A talent can accomplish the melding of these two musics though. There are pitfalls, but there are also rather impressive high points. We got the traditional American folk instruments on each track. One may not expect the mandolin to mesh with the down beat style of reggae. Two similar rhythmic techniques are utilized in each music: ostensibly creating the same music with drastically different cultural backgrounds. The track “Roots Mansion” delivers, in an overly sensitive manner. Covers and more love songs follow. It appears that the lyrical content varies from John Brown’s Body. The last song, “God is in Control” is pretty interesting. Perhaps the vocals and the instrumentation end up unintentionally sounding like Elvis Costello, but Kinsella sounds urgent. He pulls it off, aiming in another direction.

Tim Kinsella

Crucifix Swastika

(Record Label, 2005)

Another EP from the smugly named Record Label, doesn’t really get the juices flowing.  At least on this offering there’s some really interesting guitar playing.  But, couple that with the contrived poor singing and this slab ends up in the used section of my local slab dealer.  Some clever titles are too clever and end up making me want to set fires.  “Fondu or Don’t” is one of these.  But you know, the list of drugs that pass as lyrics for this track make up for it.  The guitar picking too adds an element of entertainment to this outing, but the vocals take it all away by sounding a bit to vulnerable to fit with the music that spews forth from mine speakers.  The second track begins with my least favorite drumbeat; the disco beat.  At least it’s compensated for by tossing in more interesting guitar work, which seems to be the only saving grace of this EP.  An instrumental follows, which isn’t engaging enough for me to recall.  Finally track five flows into track six and peters out.  The silence between the end of the album proper and the radio interview with a crazy gentlemen focused on converting to Islam is the most pleasurable time during this entire affair.  So, if you’re in Chicago and this gentlemen, Tim Kinsella, is playing somewhere, try to find a good movie to see.