Ron Sexsmith

Editor's Review:

Singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen. And yet, every year dozens of new ones pop up to impress us with their sensitivity, clever lyrics and unusual voices. Ontario native Ron Sexsmith combined all of these in his eponymous masterpiece debut album in 1995. With his sophomore album, Sexsmith shares 14 new tunes that are remarkably more inspired than the album's title.
More melancholy than pop tunesmiths like Matthew Sweet, Sexsmith writes songs that recall Elvis Costello's best ballads. Perhaps he owes some of that credit to his producers Mitchell Froom (who's produced Elvis) and Tchad Blake. Most distinctive about Sexsmith is the sweet vibrato in his vocals. One listen, and you'll never mistake his simple songs for those of any other artist - much like you'd never mistake Willie Nelson's or Phoebe Snow's vocals.
On Other Songs Sexsmith mixes tempos, so the ballads (like "It Never Fails") balance the clap-along, light pop songs (like the carvival-esque "Clown in Broad Delight"). And the carefully layered instruments now include horns, vibes, steel guitar and accordion (courtesy of Sheryl Crow), adding subtle complements to Sexsmith's understated, sincere vocals. Somehow he can muse over cemeteries, the sad plight of child stars and being an average Joe, and always seem wistful. If he's guilty of anything, it's his unrelenting beaten-down sensibility. Sexsmith's compared most often to Harry Nilsson, which is a nice way of saying he's not a bland folkie but rather a quirky balladeer. If anyone can deliver catchy sensitivity in these cold cynical times, it's Sexsmith.

- James Cury

First appeared in BAM magazine 6/13/97
Courtesy and © BAM magazine, internet © Synthesis Network.
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Record Label Interscope Released June 1997

Tracks 1. Thinking Out Loud 2. Strawberry Blonde 3. Average Joe 4. Thinly Veiled Disguise 5. Nothing Good 6. Pretty Little Cemetery 7. It Never Fails 8. Clown In Broad Daylight 9. At Different Times 10. Child Star 11. Honest Mistake 12. So Young 13. While You're Waiting 14. April After All