Meri St. Mary
(self-released, through Subterranean)
Meri St. Mary has always sounded like the spunky younger sister of Patti Smith. Although her roots don't go back quite as far as Smith's, she has been part of the San Francisco punk scene, off and on, for more than 20 years. In the late '80s her band Housecoat Project released Wide Eye Doo Dat," an album of witty art-punk that included what could be St. Mary's anthem, "Wild Wimmin Don't Die (They Just Dye Their Hair)."
In some ways, the singer still has same amount of pluck. The cover of her new four-song EP announces her return with a photo of her bare back emblazoned with the title. (Get it?) Her delightfully skewed approach to relationships comes out in her lyrics: "Your eyes are tropical fish/ I'm swimming in it/ Are you gonna sleep through this?/ Don't fuck things up by getting sick." She accompanies herself on acoustic guitar with ebow guitar, cello, sitar and vibes constructing a rich wall of drone behind her. A 1990-era Kramer production job would fit this music perfectly.
The only problem is the whole thing sounds more like a dressed-up demo than a finished product. These songs would benefit more from the backing of a full band, which could find a way to make a something like "Montgomery's Song" sound like a song rather than a three-chord riff with every line sung twice. I'm Back sounds more like the dust being blown off in anticipation of a triumphant return, rather than the return itself. Stand by for more.
Standout Tracks: "Oblivion," "Tropical Fish." MIKE SHANLEY
