bryan clark mix magazine album review
DESCRIPTION
This is my unedited review of Bryan Clark and The New Lyceum Players' album "Southern Intermission," which appeared in the July 2012 issue of Mix magazine. It was written under my pen name "Malcolm Rhoads."TRANSCRIPT
BRYAN CLARK AND THE NEW LYCEUM PLAYERS SOUTHERN INTERMISSION RAINFEATHER RECORDS Produced by: Bryan Clark Engineered by: Bryan Clark Assistant Engineers: Mark Lange, Alan Litten Recorded at: Rainfeather Studios, Brentwood, TN Mixed by: Bryan Clark Mastered by: Jim Demain @ Yes Master! Mastering Playing with familiar forms and attempting to update them is central to the music making process as is championing a particular regional sound. Taking something familiar and making it your own, however, is an elusive feat. On Southern Intermission, Nashville-‐based Bryan Clark And The New Lyceum Players take traditional American rock and roots influences and elevate them beyond their Music City, Memphis and Delta foundations, with often stunning results. There is much to dig here, as Clark and company show real compositional and instrumental prowess, from the celebratory Stax-‐Crowes raveups to the levitating, gospel-‐tinged panorama of
combines Mississippi swamp groove with film noir atmosphere, while the sublime evokes James Taylor on a cool night drive through the Virginia woods. Clark is a remarkably literate songwriter and storyteller and The New Lyceum Players (Clark: guitar and vocals; Adam Fluhrer: guitar; Levine: bass; John Toomey: drums) are an ace band, able to inject these vivid songs with performances red-‐hot one minute, nuanced and subtle the next. ,
displays the instrumental thrills, arranging dynamics and lyrical craft that define Southern Intermission. What begins cautionary and dire, lifts into something emboldened and buoyant, as Clark appeals for transcendence from a self-‐destructive world. Indeed, traditional Southern writing devils, demons, dilemmas and debutantes muddy the sacred and profane and infiltrate the crossroads and the crossing over. Produced, engineered and mixed solely by Clark at his Rainfeather Studios, he gives the instruments plenty of breathing room even when the band is wailing, so as horns or strings enter the mix, the songs never crowd, only deepen. Recorded live in the studio, with ribbon mics (no EQ), through a Tascam DM4800, with vintage outboard gear including a EMI Zener-‐Limiter 12413 and a Shadowhills Optograph into Sonar X1 Producer, the album is infused with a warm sonic richness that allows for little touches of Hammond and gospel vocals to sharpen the tracks. Plus, Southern Intermission -‐guitarist Adam Fluhrer seamlessly cover tremendous stylistic ground. A chicken-‐pick riff might drive one section only to segue into some liquid, Allmans-‐inspired dual-‐leads the next. Tasteful lines reminiscent of Knopfler laying back give way to grimy slide vamps. John Scofield jamming with Skynyrd here and modal jazz runs meshed with full-‐tilt, 70s tube-‐driven boogie there. The range is pretty astounding. Ultimately, i ongcraft and arranging acumen that sets this album apart. He elevates his tracks into something more sophisticated, more risk-‐taking than straight country, blues or rock without being derivative. It the expanded touches put through cohesive Southern filter that engage so successfully.
established musical forms and, sure, there are some familiar devices at work here, make no mistake, this is no clichéd Nashville chart pop or beer-‐buckle redneck rock. This is multi-‐layered yet totally accessible American music Nashville counterparts. A gem of a record. Malcolm Rhoads, Contributing Writer