I JUST NEED SOMEONE TO TELL ME HOW TALL I AM
Review: Morning Call
By Len Righi
Minibar has stocked its new disc with several inviting, single-serving
treats, but this L.A.-based group of transplanted Brits doesn't flimflam
the public, the way hotels do with their little nips, or Tony Blair with
his pretty speechifying. "Fly Below the Radar's" most readily detectable
traits are the shifting, spectral roots-rock sound textures shadowing Simon
Petty's warm, dusky vocals. The disc's 11 songs also benefit from Petty's
poetic sensibility; he may not have anything particularly astonishing to
say about love, loss and displacement, but he has a knack for clever turns
of phrase. Perhaps only Brits can get away with the mellowness and
resignation peddled by Minibar. Then again, The Wallflowers and Counting
Crows haven't done too badly, have they?
Originally published Morning Call (Allentown, PA) , Saturday, July 19, 2003
Edition: FIRST , Section: SATURDAY MAGAZINE , Page: D6
©2003, The Morning Call, Inc.
All rights reserved.