Chris Bathgate - Cork Tale Wake (CD)

All Music Guide

Ann Arborbased singersongwriter Chris Bathgate sounds deeply influenced by Neutral Milk Hotel in some ways. In particular, the quirky mix of A Cork Tale Wake, artificially emphasizing his vocals and acoustic guitar while keeping almost all the other instruments (trumpet, electric guitar, minimalist drums, etc.) squashed well in the background, occasionally bursting forward a bit in a compressed, hissy blast, will sound very familiar to devotees of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Vocally, Bathgate's flat affect and unapologetically nasal tone recalls British folkie Bert Jansch, and as a songwriter, contemporaries like Iron and Wine and Okkervil River sit comfortably next to Neil Young and Jeff Tweedy as points of comparison. A Cork Tale Wake's best songs, most notably the bracing folkrock of "Every Wall You Own" and "Smiles Like A Fist" and the moodier sulk of "A Flash of Light Followed By" and the twopart "The Last Parade On Ann Street," have an emotional resonance that overcomes Bathga...te's often impenetrable lyrics and his occasionally mushmouthed phrasing. Other songs just sort of sit there in a haze of altfolk chords and mumbled lyrics. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less