Few bands, from any era, can boast the natural
chemistry fueling the ten tracks on this album. Water Street’s debut album
Waiting for Martin is the result of a collaboration between Dave and Milly
Paulson, vocalist/guitarist and mandolin player respectively, alongside Claire
and Dave McNulty on vocals/piano and bass/saxophone. It may be cliché to say
that their natural interplay arises from DNA, but undoubtedly there’s a
telepathic exchange between these musicians who build these songs into
something much more than their seemingly simple parts. The production captures
the various instruments well and underlines the vocals from both Paulson and
McNulty as the true center of the album’s quality. The lyrics are top shelf
even for a genre renowned for such things, but they are never too pretentious
while still retaining a sharp intelligence.
“Better Off Alone” thunders open with powerful
drumming before it swings into a deep, hard-hitting groove. The opening sets
the song up to be some brash rock and roll workout, but the band quickly
settles into their groove and they play the material with just the right amount
of finesse and force. “Tidal Wave” is less subtle than the first song, but
there’s still a lot going on here that may take listeners multiple spins to
catch. It will be impossible to ignore McNulty’s voice, however, because she
attacks the lyrics like someone calling fire down from the mountain. The guitar
relaxes its sonic assault for the third song “These Eyes” and concentrates much
more on a creating a thoughtful, yet crackling, soundscape. The lyrical content
is quite good and McNulty’s wide-eyed passion never loses total control –
instead, it pursues concurrent lines of feeling and technique never erring too
much to any one side.
One of Waiting for Martin’s indisputable highlights
comes with the stately piano ballad “Foul Play”. Water Street’s chief thematic
concerns is the same as most popular music – the vagaries of the human heart
and the inconsistent happiness experienced between men and women. “Foul Play”
portrays that with vivid, dramatic clarity. “The Storm” is an enjoyable
acoustic shuffle with a great pulse and relentless energy. The lyrical content
has a little dark humor and it’s quite well written. The album’s final enormous
peak comes with Paulson’s magnificent vocal on Waiting for Martin’s second
grand ballad “Maybe”. The band creates a layered backing track for Paulson and
he responds with his best phrasing yet on the album with a lyric that surely
ranks among the best as well. Waiting for Martin comes to a quieter, much more
restrained end on its final two songs. “Donna Lee” and “Colors” both return the
band to the acoustic template solidified on the album’s second half and close
Waiting for Martin with a steady, easy hand. Few albums this year saunter forth
with the same confidence and command of its strengths than Waiting for Martin.
Water Street embodies the best of modern Americana while surrounding their
material with an excellence that extends far past the typical.
9 out of 10 stars.
Montey Zike
