LOOK FOR MR. NATURAL IN THE AUDIENCE AT RICHARDS' RICH SHOW
With legendary underground cartoonist R. Crumb as her unofficial godfather, Metallica's Kirk Hammett as her first guitar teacher and the Brian Jonestown Massacre as the first band she performed, wrote and recorded with, you might expect San Francisco-bred Miranda Lee Richards to sound like an amorphous sonic jumble.
Instead, this former Paris model specializes in gently atmospheric music with multiple sources of inspiration. She draws equally from indie-pop (think Mazzy Star), cosmic country (a' la Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris), Beatles-tinged psychedelia and the late-1960s school of self-confessional singer-songwriters – with Velvet Underground-ish ennui and tasteful electronica elements added for good measure.
Richards, who performs tomorrow at the Casbah, released a promising debut album in 2001, “The Heretherafter,” which featured contributions from Jon Brion, Beachwood Sparks and other L.A. music scene luminaries. One of Richards' songs, “The Long Goodbye,” became a Top 5 hit in Japan, which is apparently the only place her lighthearted album version of The Rolling Stones' “Dandelion” was released as a single.
There is nothing flashy about her nuanced singing or her quietly enchanting songs. Moody but not petulant, Richards has a sweetly beguiling voice but isn't afraid to use it to deliver lyrical twists. Or, as she sings on the Neil Young-goes-bluegrass-tinged “Folkin' Hell”: And when I smile / The magic will comfort your worried mind / I'll fool you every time.
The five new songs Richards has posted on her Web site show her evolving nicely into an artist of greater musical depth, emotional range and originality. With a new album, “Light of X,” due out early next year (it was originally scheduled for this fall), she appears poised for bigger things. Her Casbah show should indicate if Richards can deliver the goods live on stage, not just on record.
IF YOU'RE AGAINST ASSIMILATION, THESE FRENCHIES WILL FRY YOU
Not to be confused with the nickname for French-born, Los Angeles-based “cheese master” Laurent Bonjour, the four members of the Nantes-based band French Cowboy don't exactly play up their Frenchness.
It isn't until the Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin-inspired “Le Ballade de Baby Face Nelson,” the fifth song on the band's self-titled debut album, that a single word of French is uttered. Only two other selections on this 14-song album feature French lyrics.
Lyrics apart, the first of those two songs, “Dis-Moi,” sounds no more French than a debate about caramel popcorn between Pee-wee Herman and Mojo Nixon. (The second song, “Hymne a la Base,” is the only one on the album whose music seems to boast European roots, however subtle.)
Of course, French Cowboy is hardly the first French act to be profoundly influenced by music from this continent. But I haven't heard any others yet that so thoroughly embrace the skewed mariachi-meets-cowboy-lounge aesthetic of Arizona's Calexico as the foundation for their own work.
Happily, French Cowboy – which performs here Wednesday at the Beauty Bar with fellow French band Papier Tigre and Tucson's The Solace Bros. – doesn't simply (or only) ape the sound and style of Calexico.
On the snappy, yet ultimately bleak, “Shake,” lead singer Federico Pellegrini's burnished vocals evoke a Southwestern Lou Reed, while “Leather Boots” suggests Pellegrini has spent some time studying Simon & Garfunkel.
Elsewhere, the more downbeat numbers display the unmistakable influence of Leonard Cohen, while the tremulous singing and “Atlantis”-like acoustic guitar chords on “Share” should make any Donovan fan smile in appreciation. Pellegrini also has a welcome sense of humor, as evidenced by such droll lines as I sleep much better / Once I've puked my lungs into your closet.
Put it all together and you've got a quirky band that, at its best, rises above its influences to create a musical melange worth hearing. Depending on your preferences, the absence of heavily accented English is either an added bonus or a disappointment.
