Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Day Four - Dave Woodcock And The Dead Comedians



Dave Woodcock and The Dead Comedians are a bunch of pasty-faced Sheffield bar hounds that slither out at night, burrowing up from the gates of heartbreak hell (just look at those somber mugs!). But instead of a po-faced dour plod, the Dead Comedians attack songs of booze, regret and wanderlust with a freewheeling, growling cockiness that recalls the timeless americana of the Low Anthem with a little Waits-ian phlegmatic noir without the carny sounds.

But make no mistake - this is rock and roll band that takes its cues from outlaw country and spits out liberating, working class music that finds Woodcock's bruised and battered lyrics ("Oh well I think I just need someone/ to come and cheer me up / Oh well that someone, it could be you / Yeah I think I need someone for to come and cheer me up / Oh well that someone might as well be you") ably matched with a world weary delivery that alternately wallows and uplifts. Imagine The National with a little less angst, a little more dirt under their fingernails, a little less of a stick up their arse.

One piece of advice - ditch the name.

Dave Woodcock and The Dead Comedians - "That Won't Bring You Back"
Dave Woodcock and The Dead Comedians - "City Lights"

4 comments:

Kevin McClatchy said...

Hey, Woodcock!

Unknown said...

That won't bring you back, dark and brooding, liked the guitar slide. had a few failed attempts at a pick-me-up.

bridaisy98 said...

That Won't Bring you back - at first I was saying, well, unless this somehow becomes more energetic my head is going to explode. It was looking kinda dark there in the beginning, but then things started to pick up... specifically the beat! This song gets a 7.

Ian said...

THAT WON'T BRING YOU BACK: kind of depressing. the chorus was hard to understand. 5, sorry Dave Woodcock and the Dead Comedians.