Album Details

• Artist: Woodpigeon
• Album: Thumbtacks And Glue
• Label: Boompa
• Year of Release: 2013
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: nlathy on 2013-02-28

Mark Andrew Hamilton sings with a pleasant voice. And he can break out of the quiet template of folk music and rock out from time to time.

"Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard" is a triumph. It rocks. And isn't folk supposed to align itself with rock? Bob Dylan made all of this possible.

"Robin Song" is welcome, since it effectively switches styles throughout the track. This isn't done in a pretentious or dull manner. I find myself wanting to keep listening and hanging on to every note.

Cool song titles are a plus. This helped make those Led Zeppelin albums so eye grabbing. The difference is these song titles actually occur in the music. Maybe the bar is set a little too high. "Sufferin' Suckatash" falls short of the entertainment level set in the Warner Brothers cartoons. But the track does get better on repeated listens. It can be seen as the singer battling the music and playing it to at least a draw (tie goes to the singer?).

I didn't find myself blown away by "Hermit" either. It clocks in at 6:41. But it can work as background music. The title song, shows Hamilton can thrive with a longer track.

"Little Wings" is another song, which achieves subtlety while rocking. The added instrumentation adds more majesty and interest. It's not devoid of hooks either.

There isn't a time this music seems like a purely intellectual exercise. The entertainment value here isn't elusive. Mark reaches out and grabs the listener, when he has too.

Diversity of style is a hallmark of this album. I wouldn't recommend getting carried away and start putting out double albums. But he's clearly on the right track.

"Red Rover" works out well. This is a singer who can reach out to the rockers and folkies alike. Maybe we should be satisfied and just sit back and enjoy. Ambition may not always lead to artistic mastery, but it can provide good experimentation.

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