Review: Jeff Cunningham “The Poems Stuck in My Teeth” CD

Ehhh, no thanks. Not my thing. Don't get me wrong, a good song is a good song, and I actually could really get into this kind of acoustic stuff on rare occasions when it's really done exceptionally well... and for what it is this is a decent set of tracks (a few of which are quite good), but... it's generally not for me. It sounds like a mix of John Cougar Mellencamp with, like, the Counting Crows or something like that... it's all acoustic stuff with a folk/rock sort of thing happening, and some of the subject matter and the fact that it's on a hardcore label could probably lead to arguments that there's a "punk/folk" angle, but... I'm not saying that. The singing is good, middleground singing without a lot of range but no whiny bullshit at all, and I like the layered guitar parts that work together - especially in tracks like "I Mean... I Guess That's Life Buddy", which is a bit more emotional and powerful... largely due to its darker atmosphere. "These Songs Are Crutches" follows on a similar note with some lightly chorused electric guitars, subtle keyboards, and a more stripped down approach that gets even more somber. I'm definitely more a fan of the darker tracks than those that have more of an "upbeat" tempo, though some of the softer tracks still hit on a playing style that clashes with my personal tastes. The production sounds fine to me. Since there's usually not a lot of instrumentation (few tracks feature percussion) the mix is often balanced and spacious, and I like the fact that this isn't one of those records that really tries to be overly raw, even if it was recorded in a "bedroom studio" type of situation. Considering the circumstances it actually does sound really nice. The layout is pretty minimal, with nice paintings and a few quality photographs of the artist in front of graffiti lined streets. There's not much text involved, just a brief mention that the tracks were recorded in basements and living rooms, etc. Like I said, though... this just isn't the kind of thing I really get into. If you like this style of music you might want to give this a shot, because I can definitely listen to it, I'm not turned away by it. It could definitely be stronger, but my main issue is just that I don't particularly enjoy this kind of music, so... I'll close on that note.