little songs review #1

NOW TORONTO REVIEW

Author: Matt Galloway
Source: NOW Toronto
URL: www.nowtoronto.com
Date: March 12, 1998

* DAVID USHER Little Songs (EMI)

Whatever your opinion of Moist -- and the queue of those with thoughts on the matter stretches 'round the block -- David Usher's solo debut is a minor miracle. It's a feat for anyone, no matter how gifted or committed to penning his own stuff by the faint light of dawn at the back of the tour bus, to come up with something utterly unlike the sound of his own band.

Yet Little Songs (out Tuesday) appears to be the work of a completely different guy -- a darker, more conflicted guy who prefers slender, haunting piano and cello accompaniment and the lonely wail of a trumpet to the shrieking bombast of electric guitar. Similarly, Usher saves the histrionics for his day job, using a hushed voice stained by red wine and cynicism to sketch out cryptic details on these wintry songs.

That's not to say the disc is a downer, but Usher evidently has deeper matters to ponder than making it to the corner store and back without being mobbed by a screaming throng of girls. By blunting his emotion and spreading it around in muted tones, Usher makes you listen harder. In a word, wow. Points off, though, for altering the disc's original title and removing the word "fuck" to avoid confrontations with retailers and meddling parents.