Cotton Mather, America's answer to Teenage Fanclub (without the
shoegaze side). Formed in Austin in the first part of the nineties, the
band put out their first LP "Cotton is King" in 1994. That first
incarnation of the band imploded soon after the release with only singer
and rhythm guitar player Robert Harrison and lead guitar player Whit
Williams left. The second album was recorded in dribs and drabs over the
next two years, first by Harrison and Williams and in a later part with
the help of producer Brad Jones. The album almost suffered the fate of
its predecessor but thanks to the Gallagher brothers pitching the record
in their interviews circa the release of "Be Here Now" (maybe to avoid
discussing the shortcomings of their own release ;)), the band started
getting quite good airplay on British radio and the sales picked up (not
as many as "Be Here Now" but definetely an improvent over "Cotton is
King").
The band spent the next couple of years touring and got to
record their 3rd album in better conditions and with more time and
money. Although the record hasn't got the charm and
"homemade appeal" of its predecessor, it still showcases what a
fantastic band Cotton Mather was. The LP starts with "Last of the
Mohicans" a fine blast of power pop (not too dissimilar to "Camp Hill
Operator" the opener from Kontiki) followed by a mid-tempo rocker "a la
Oasis" with "Marathon Man". Although the rockers are uniformally good,
it's on the slower numbers that Harrison's songwriting surpasses
itself. Songs like "Baby Freeze Queen", "Monterrey Honey", "Pine Box
Builder" and "Condo Lights" belong to the same category as "Here, There
and Everywhere" or "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". There's only one
slightly weaker number on the record with the half sung in Italian
"Story of Anna" that still manages to redeem its corniness by its
catchiness. The record ends with the anthemic Waterfalls followed by a
hunting instrumental called "Running Coyote Advances". The high quality
of this album is enhanced by a really good sequencing of the songs and
the little snippets that link one song to the other. Following a
reformation gig to celebrate the re-release of Kontiki, the band members
recorded a new song. Hopefully "The Big Picture" will get a follow up.
