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May 1- 7, 2003 musicpicks Cousteau
London’s Cousteau has the amazing ability to simultaneously (and perhaps inadvertently) rip off other acts -- everyone from ’60s English pop star Scott Walker to Jacques Brel-era David Bowie -- while sounding completely different from the current crop of Brit-popsters. With its self-described "sleazy listening" sound, the five-member band’s atmospheric, lounge-flavored pop brings to mind smoky bars and lonely Lotharios. But don’t let all that smoothness fool you; running alongside the creamy crooning of tattooed Irish baritone Liam McKahey are wailing wah-wah guitar licks and jazzy piano turns. "It’s emotional, our music," the 38-year-old McKahey says by phone. "There are all these beautiful songs that demand some passion." McKahey’s front-and-center vocal potency undoubtedly stands at the band’s musical core and it’s a role he takes seriously. "I’m one hundred times the singer I was a few years ago," he says. "I’m still learning my trade." Led by multi-instrumentalist Davey Ray Moor, Cousteau is unapologetic in its fondness for musical elegance, believing that pop music today is sorely lacking in the stuff. The band’s sophomore effort, Sirena (Palm), is more upbeat than its 2000 debut (which contained the defining "Last Good Day of the Year"), but like its predecessor is drenched in swooning mood. Thu., May 1, 9 p.m., $15, with Elefant, The North Star, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808. 
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