Mysteries Of Life
Keep A Secret
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Mysteries Of Life
Keep A Secret
RCA, 1996
RiYL: Lemonheads, Blake Babies, Antenna, Uvula/Fabric |
But then singer/guitarist Jake Smith's hooks sink in, and the second listen turns into a third listen, the third becomes a fourth and so on. As evident from the chorus of opener "Hesitate," Smith writes a potent pop song. Each chord seems perfectly placed, each melody flawless.
The debut was the first non-Mellencamp-related major label album to come out of Bloomington in a long while. So obviously there was a lot of pressure on the band at the time. Luckily for Smith and his wife, drummer Freda Love, none of this pressure was present when they recorded the album with producer Paul Mahern in 1995.
Secret was recorded with the intention of local distribution, not as Bloomington's next big thing. The result is full of exuberant, airy songs. The Mysteries generate a feel-good vibe with every listen. On songs such as "Into The Light" and "I Guess I'm In Luck," the guitars seem to bounce right along with Love's mallets. "Going Through The Motions," the group's first single, seems to resonate in the mind like a hit single that never happened.
Contrasting the faster numbers, many songs on the album are spacious, with simple melodies and sparse instrumentation. "Alibi" is propelled by Smith's unpretentious strumming and Geraldine Haas' moving cello. Smith's gravely voice is a little hard to get used to at first, but works well on "Shaking" and "Kira's Coming Over."
Love, a veteran of Blake Babies and Antenna with Smith, adds a groove element to the Mysteries' sound with her drums. To his credit, Mahern didn't over-produce Keep A Secret. Rather than trying to grab you from the get-go, he lets Smith and Love creep up on you, reveling in the album's beautiful sparseness.
PATRICK KASTNER | Affectionately known as Cousin Patty (yes, it's a "Throw Momma From The Train" reference), Patrick Kastner is a designer for the Columbus Post-Dispatch.