Lois Maffeo's early records were stripped-down affairs; all you
got were a voice, an acoustic guitar, and some brushes on a snare drum.
Which was fine -- her charming songs about love and living didn't need any
more.
By music industry standards The Union Themes isn't exactly a
wide-screen production, but Brendan Canty's strategically deployed guitars,
keyboards and percussion are Maffeo's most elaborate settings to date. He
turns the swooning "How I Came To Know" into a Wings-worthy rush, while
subtle cymbal accents and mellotron strings underscore the suspicious mind
of "Being Blind's" protagonist. Maffeo turns in her most nuanced singing to
date; like Astrud Gilberto, she gets plenty of atmosphere and emotion by
exploiting the full resources of a narrow vocal range.
She's broadened her
subject matter as well as her sonic palette; instead of autobiography, the
ten songs on The Union Themes are mainly about other people's marriages.
And anyone who's been married, or knows someone who is, can tell you that
their's no shortage of things to say about that topic. Maffeo's
observations and first-person narratives explore matrimony's wages of bliss
and anguish are carefully drawn; she hasn't abandoned the economy of her
earlier work, just taken the time to polish it up a bit. And my, how it
glitters.
If you like this album, check out:
Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth
The Cannanes Arty Barbecue
The Spinanes Arches and Aisles
Low Secret Name
