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Austin Chronicle
Seven and Seven is...
Vol.21 No.13
One of the best kept instrumental secrets of 2001 has been the Friends of
Dean Martinez's Wichita Lineman, a steely, full-length follow-up to last
year's scorching A Place in the Sun. Only available through Teutonic indie
label empire Glitterhouse Records, Wichita Lineman transforms Jimmy Webb's
melancholy pop standard into the soundtrack centerpiece of some silent-era
cinematic landmark. Best friend and Austinite Bill Elm's ghostly steel-playing
haunts the title track and standard No. 2 "Tennessee Waltz" same as he and
his combo have inhabited Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk" and Gershwin's "Summertime"
in the past. Both Lineman tracks, along with its "Main Title" and "In the
Wire" -- the heart of the album -- surface on a "Limited Edition" double
45 from Chicago's Grey Flat Records, owned by Brad Murph of ex-Austinites
Palaxy Tracks. Whether Wichita Lineman emerges on this side of the Atlantic
next year is still in question, but this handsome gatefold single runs the
rails all by its lonesome |
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Pitchforkmedia.com
Rating: 8.0
Though I'm not sure if these songs were recorded for a scrapped movie project,
it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Tim Burton employed Friends
of Dean Martinez to write the soundtrack for some failed attempt at a spaghetti
western. The songs seem destined for such a film, what with their ghostly
translations of peremptorily Western themes. And if the idea of owning something
so unmistakably leftfield appeals to you, you'll probably love In the Wire.
If not, then go spend your money on something less eclectic like the Strokes.
Okay, the Burton thing was a bad analogy but that doesn't change the quality
of these four songs, available only on this limited edition release of two
45s. I don't know whether flipping the record after every track is supposed
to make listening a more interactive experience or if it's just an unforeseen
hassle that helped contribute to the medium's demise, but it actually helps
the flow of the EP rather than hindering it.
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