For Everyone

David Liebe Hart Meets Jad Fair And Jason Willett

Joyful Noise Records, 2018

http://artbyliebehart.com

REVIEW BY: Tom Haugen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/08/2019

With a band name like this, we need to do some explaining first.

David Liebe Hart is an actor, artist, puppeteer, and, on this album, a lyricist and singer. Jad Fair, perhaps best known for being an original member of Half Japanese, has played on hundreds of albums by now, and fleshed out the music on my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 For Everyone. Jason Willett, an engineer, producer and member of about a dozen bands including Half Japanese is also on hand. Together, the three bring life to Hart's unusual song themes and highly eccentric delivery.

The oddities start immediately with the gruff singing and talking of “Martin Lawrence Dream” that unfolds like a warbling dream with experimental ideas. “I Like Vivian Vance Better Than Lucille Ball” follows with an aberrant version of bedroom pop, as electronic noises are set to Hart's ramblings about celebrities.

Things only get more unusual from here. “Haunted By Frankenstein” is a bit spooky in a futuristic sort of way, while “Beatrice Arthur, I Love You” is a soulful dance explosion that pays homage to the Golden Girl. From here, animals come into the equation as kids' music-ish “I Like Donald Duck Better Than Mickey Mouse” is both clever and fun, and “Ducks” continues the theme with duck noises, human noises and Hart's storytelling about his own duck experience.

The second side is equally unpredictable. “I Love Water Lillies” is some version of an avant garde pop song, while “Robot Girls” is shimmer dance pop that's tailor made for the club, even if the lyrics are a bit of a diatribe. Other back end highlights include the sophisticated “Lentil Beans,” which is entirely about lentil beans, the key heavy ballad “My Fish Died,” and the celebrity adoration returns on the hazy “Priscilla Barnes.”

This album is part alien abductee muttering things to himself in a city park and part songwriting genius that most will never appreciate enough. It’s limited to 500 hand numbered copies on vinyl and is destined to be a collector's item.

Rating: B+

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


Comments

 








© 2019 Tom Haugen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Joyful Noise Records, and is used for informational purposes only.