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In an odd coincidence, Thee Missouri is the second "Thee M..." band I've reviewed recently. Hailing from Nuremberg, Germany, they sing in English on this, their first U.S. release (and third overall). It occupies a nocturnal, dimly-lit, red-wine-and-cigarettes kind of space, with spooky, velvet-curtain atmospherics. (Lord help me, I swear I'm not plagiarizing the press materials, which I just discovered contain some similar imagery.) There's plenty of twangy, reverby guitar, and some excellent vintage-sounding electronics and organ sounds (I hear Farfisa). Singer "Red" has a loungey baritone somewhat reminiscent of The Church's Steve Kilbey. You'll also find some country/bluesy slide guitar, piano, and even a disco beat. Occasionally there's a similar feel to the low-key, jazzy numbers on Yo La Tengo's "Summer Sun" album, which is not unwelcome, though Thee Missouri are coming from a much different place, I think. This is a great-sounding, well-produced disc, and there are a few tracks that I like quite a bit (the first 2 tracks in particular), but much of it is too loungey for my taste, and there are some tracks that I dislike (for instance when they get too Nick Cave-y or stray into soul/R&B territory--especially the track "Some Kinda Love"). This gets my "awesome for people who are not me" rating. (mike.04.05)
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