‘Golden Delicious’ lives up to its name
By Susan Pugh on Feb. 28, 2008
For fans of ’90s alt-rock outfit Soul Coughing who haven’t kept up with the disbanded set’s frontman, Mike Doughty, you’re in for a real treat with “Golden Delicious,” Doughty’s second full length for Dave Matthews’ ATO label.
Hip, funny and a wordsmith of the highest order, Doughty has moved beyond the dense slacker jazz that made Soul Coughing so singular, with folk-rock hooks and bright arrangements — but thankfully his vocals remain rhythmic and drenched with hipster poetry.
Recorded with a full band after patching together his 2005 ATO debut, “Haughty Melodic,” Doughty’s New York wit still shines with humor, love and loss, and redemption on “Golden Delicious.”
Kicking off with the anti-war “Fort Hood,” dedicated to an Army base in Texas and featuring a “Let the Sunshine In” chorus (borrowed from the musical “Hair”), Doughty never comes across as preachy and keeps his sentiments on soldiers returning from the ravages of war.
Things lighten up after that, with standout pop ditties (“I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing,” “I Wrote a Song About Your Car,” “Like a Luminous Girl”), the uplifting and ironically titled “Put it Down” and a showcase for his low key acoustic approach on “I Got the Drop on You.”
— The Associated Press
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