May 3–10, 2001

cd reviews|rock/pop

TW Walsh

Blue Laws

(Truckstop)

Is TW Walsh having a career crisis? "It’s been done to death but nobody cares… I’m tired of spilling my share," he sings of songwriting, or maybe all creation, in the dirgelike "Lions and Tigers and Bears" on his latest album. Crisis or not, he’s still making music, and it still sounds damn good. Walsh’s understated, rhythmic songs unfold in slow motion, going from zero to three in five minutes. Most include piano or string quartets, but the core is always extremely simple drums, extremely simple guitar and Walsh’s emotive voice sounding for all the world like the vocals in the song "Our House." The Pedro the Lion connection is too evident not to mention, because half a dozen indie-rock-leaning moments on Blue Laws evoke Pedro’s sound so clearly. (The two toured together last year. Coincidence?) But in the end, it’s the distinctive airiness of Walsh’s arrangements, even the thickest ones, that carry the day, feeling like a sweet, relaxed kiss that could go forever without stopping for breath.

—Sara Marcus

TW Walsh will perform on Thu., May 3, 9 p.m., with Arlo, Crew Jones and Ran Away to Sea at The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.