Published on May 13, 2005
You never know what it is about an artist that’s going to catch
your interest. Yes, in her cover note Meghan Hayes revealed we’re
both Springsteen fans, but what most piqued my curiosity about this
album initially was the name of Hayes’ music publishing company.
Cranky Heartburn Music? Okay, this one’s gotta be worth a listen or
three.
And so it is. Hayes is an Arlington, Virginia-based
singer-songwriter who blends a variety of styles together to create
one that’s all her own. Take Mary Chapin Carpenter-style
country-folk introspection, spice with early Sheryl Crow
gritty-pop, fold in the musical eclecticism and oblique lyrics of a
Suzanne Vega, and you have the intriguing jambalaya of sounds Hayes
fuses together on this, her sophomore independent release.
It’s a disc full of songs that feel simple on the surface but
grow more complex and full of shadings with every listen. Kickoff
track “I’m Not Leaving” — an appealing, upbeat slice of acoustic
country-folk that features piano from longtime Carpenter bandmate
Jon Carroll — feels at first like yet another clever kiss-off song
(“I’m not leaving / I’m just not coming back”), but ends up leaving
the door wide open for other interpretations.
This trend of obscure meaning layered over bright, interesting
arrangements continues throughout the rest of the disc. I won’t
even pretend to understand what “Constantine” is about, but I know
good poetry when I hear it, and the choice to embellish this
mid-tempo number with flugelhorn is brilliant. Similarly, the
meaning of the words to the meditative “Three O’Clock” is unclear
to me, but the use of accordion to lend warmth to its generally
somber tones is perfect.
“Nothin’ Doin'” is one of the more straightforward cuts here, a
song about a night on the town with a friend in which they seize
the moment by simply enjoying each other’s company. It features an
upbeat, somewhat country-rock arrangement and a catchy chorus:
“Nothing is the only thing worth doing tonight / Nothing’s the only
thing that’s right.”
For more evidence of musical variety we turn to “Voice Like
Mine,” whose funky, percussive opening section bursts out into a
straight-ahead rocker. It actually sounds a bit like the Go-Gos in
their prime, if you manage to ignore the fact that the lyric is a
bizarre collage/barrage of disconnected images and clever rhymes,
punctuated by a blistering guitar solo.
Down the line we find other notables in “Branson,” an amusing
laundry list of second-rate vacation spots leading into the
punchline of “Take me to Branson”; “Four Tables And A Chair,” whose
r&b/hip-hop rhythm track bounces along under lyrics that read
like an odd poem and Hayes’ distinctly
Tuesday Night Music Club Sheryl Crow vocals (favorite line:
“I strain for what you say / You get more done when you mutter”);
and the closing “The Brighter They Come,” a poignant acoustic
number about a woman in love with a man with a habit.
Go And Give The Guard A Break — whose unwieldy title is
taken from a line in “I’m Not Leaving” — is a great introduction
to Hayes’ original and appealing style. Meghan Hayes is a
prodigious talent, both an imaginative, original songwriter and a
singer with a gift for wrapping her voice around a song. Highly
recommended, cranky heartburn and all.
[
For more information or to purchase this disc, visit
www.meghanhayes.com
.]