volumemusic

Reviews:

Andy Stochansky is a footnoter's wet dream. The Canadian singer/songwriterbegan his musical journey as a guitar-for-hire behind the likes of Ani DiFranco,Jane Siberry, Barenaked Ladies, Janis Ian, Jonathan Richman and a host of others,finally trading up to his own recording career with his 1995 debut, the muchlauded While You Slept. Three years later, Stochansky opted for the sololife and released the equally well-received Radio Fusebox in 1999.

On Five Star Motel, his first album in three years, Stochansky has madea lush guitar pop album without resorting to cheap sonic baubles and unnecessaryfiligree. His lyrics cut to the heart of whatever matter he examines, from theclueless father who unwittingly closes an emotional door on his lesbian daughterin "Miss USA" to the imagined conversation with God in "MavisSaid..." Musically, Stochansky accomplishes a similar feat by understandingthe power of a quiet passage while intuitively knowing when to hit the gas towardhis Beatles/Smiths/Talking Heads influences.

Vocally, Stochansky has been likened to Jeff Buckley, and it's a faircomparison, but the differences are significant. Buckley's voice was soethereal and other-worldly that it threatened to skate right off the tape. Stochansky'svoice is earthy and real, and while he can hit those graceful notes, he doesn'tlive in that rarefied realm, preferring to remain in a reality bounded by thelikes of Bono and Ron Sexsmith. As it turns out, those are pretty apt musicalcomparisons as well. Luckily, Andy Stochansky's greatest gifts are theability to avoid overthinking and an amazing sense of musical clarity, and thosetalents translate to Five Star Motel's wonderfully understated popmajesty.