Miss Ohio: “Low”
ARTIST: Miss Ohio (www.missohiomusic.com)
CD: “Low” (L’Oceanic)
Although the verdict is still out on why a band from New Jersey would call itself “Miss Ohio” (of course, that’s a West Virginian talking), the music contained therein is mighty fine. This not-quite-low-fi quartet takes a dozen tunes that straddle the indie rock fence and frames them in dreamy soundscapes, thoughtful arrangements and playing that’s sparse and never self-indulgent. The deceptively simple sounding result is warm (thanks to David Wilson’s rich, personable vocals), unassuming and engaging.
While it’s normally not advisable to open a CD with a five-minute-plus song, you’ll be sorry when “Home To You” finally winds down. With the guitar line following the vocals, it sounds like one of Van Morrison’s trancey tracks before gradually segueing into a fuzzy guitar fest. At times, there are welcome echoes of indie pop of yore like the dB’s and the Connells (“The War at Home,” “Don’t It Break Your Heart”). Then there are the slow ’n’ gorgeous (and moody) “The Last of Your Kidnapped Brides” and “All You Love.”
The set was produced by indie fave Eric “Roscoe” Ambel. Unlike a number of his other productions where he leaves an all-too-audible soundprint, he seems to have kept his distance on this one and let the band’s sound come through. Don’t let this one slip past you.
— By Michael Lipton
