WHO are the great American wits of rock? Jonathan Richman, Loudon Wainwright III, Randy Newman; all ancient history.
Hey, hey, here come two young New York City pretenders, both lo-fi, urban folkies, rough around the edges and the subject of simultaneous UK releases by Rough Trade.
Green already has introduced himself with the trash punk boy-girl duo Moldy Peaches, and now, at 22, he has blossomed into a skewed, acoustic storyteller with the sour, street perception of Lou Reed and yet the melodious romanticism of Scott Walker, string quartet and all. The sporadic desire to shock with his piquant lyrics is childish attention-seeking - Green by name, green by nature - but his whimsy and breezy melodies have promise aplenty.
Lewis may lack Green's lippy looks and classical pop croon, but his slacker songbook has far more warmth and poignancy to it, allied to an eye for daft and mundane detail, a predilection for babbling streams of consciousness, and a charming, unassuming way of finding a humorous, unpredictable response to irritations. Crammed with sometimes savagely knowing, sometimes nave New York narratives, this home-spun, acoustic sequel to The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane is mad, bizarre and brilliant.
Updated: 11:08 Thursday, August 21, 2003
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