Splendidezine Matthew
Pollesel
"Will someone please explain why Dan Smolla isn't signed to a label yet?
Sure, he doesn't exactly look like a rock star, but any time a guy is compared
favorably to artists as well-respected as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Steve
Earle and Paul Westerberg (among many, many others), you'd think the strength
of his music would more than make up for his lack of sex appeal. Sky of My Mind
is Smolla's fourth consecutive great album, and much like Hearts In Traffic,
Swimming In Wind and Under The Rainbow before it, Smolla has been forced to
release it himself. There's nothing wrong with the DIY approach, but Sky Of
My Mind, and Smolla himself, deserve broader exposure than grass roots marketing
alone can bring."
"Initially, Smolla sticks to the creative formula that got him this far.
The album-opening title track is solid, rootsy rock, while "Joe Strummer",
which follows, expands his palette a little to incorporate the sounds of the
late Clash frontman, but still doesn't stray too far from his typical sound.
Keener listeners, however, will notice the presence of an oddly dissonant organ
at the end of the opener, as it gives a better idea of Smolla's direction on
Sky Of My Mind."
"Based on Sky Of My Mind, Smolla has discovered not only freak-folk,
but adapted his music to it wholeheartedly. Thus, "One Love" sounds
like the best Animal Collective song that group has never recorded, while "White
Magic" is gloriously ramshackle -- Smolla's gritty moaning competes with
instrumentation that goes from raucously kitchen-sink to quiet and shambolic
with neither rhyme nor reason behind the shifts. "Her Horse Wandered"
is like a gonzo take on country rock, complete with what sounds like xylophones
and wooden blocks, while "See You" sounds like a cross between Springsteen/Earle/Westerberg/Dylan
and dance music -- a proposition that sounds horrible on paper but works surprisingly
well in practice, if only because Smolla is talented enough to pull it off."
"This isn't to say that Smolla has entirely abandoned his folky, Dylanesque
leanings; "Vishnu", in particular, explores the territory he mined
so well on his previous albums. Even here, however, the guitar noodlings at
the song's end are much less structured than most of what you'll find on Smolla's
previous albums. Similarly, "Mary Lou" seems like it should be a straightforward
folk tune, but Smolla sings it with such twitching intensity that it takes on
an altogether weirder tone."
"Obviously, if acceptance or validation in the form of a label deal --
major or indie -- is what Smolla is after, then this is probably the wrong way
for him to go. It could be, however, that he's resigned himself to the fact
that most labels are trend-obsessed, bottom-line-driven dinosaurs, and instead
opted to explore the depth and breadth of his talent. If the results continue
to be as inventive and engrossing as Sky of My Mind, perhaps it's best for Smolla
-- and for the people lucky enough to discover him -- if he continues to release
his music on his own terms."
Rootstown Music Antoine Légat (Dutch original May 26th 2005; this translation: July 3rd)
Fourth CD by excentric (*) Dan Smolla. Only the first one is unknown to us. Reviewing Smolla's work isn't in the least obvious, because all standards and rules normally applied just bounce off on the bizarre idiosyncracy and disarming humor of the man who currently resides in Bloomingdale near Chicago. We gather that average Rootstowners pull their nose up for this house, garden and back kitchen zeal. To many of them this sounds ,,just false''. Smolla bypasses conventions about ,,the popular song''. However! There's an evolution here towards, er, some kind of normality. What shyly began with his last CD Under The Rainbow compared to Swimming In Wind, continues on Sky Of My Mind. We reckon he did everything by himself, once again, including the rather frequent vocal harmonies. A lot of tunes get support by thrusting drums, which from time to time even works contagiously. In these songs Smolla's singing comes near to Jonathan Richman, while in the other songs he sounds like, like Dan Smolla. He continuously makes inventive use of brass, mainly. Weird song structures, unorthodox colours, as if the CD was submerged in water first…The ideal recipe for commercial suicide! Nonetheless: one has to listen to the amazingly endearing Vishnu, or to the closing In The Flow, that almost like Zappa, toys with the sky on my mind idea, and that, whimsical as it is, totally isn't in the flow! It doesn't look like it, but this is, we have to ascertain since the hilarious wit about the ,,re-release'' of Swimming In Wind (for all explanations see www.realrootscafe.com!), if not genial, then at least quite intelligently done. Originality is a very dangerous notion, but you can't be much closer than this. The same for courage. Smolla is far from being as naive as he sounds: read on his site his imaginative, deep searching Tracing the Roots and Influences of Robert Johnson's Cross Road Blues. We keep on being amazed by this Dan Smolla and are actually wondering what this man would zealously be cooking on a stage.
--Antoine Légat (Dutch original May 26th 2005; this translation: July
3rd)
(*) in the proper etymological sense of ,,out of centre''
Earcandy Magazine
J.R. Oliver
Dan Smolla is a singer-songwriter from just outside of Chicago, IL. He's released
three other cds that received considerable airplay from roots oriented stations
overseas and small independent stations here in the United States. Smolla jumps
from the down right dirty funk rhythms of the title track to the stripped down
harmonica and flattop of "Vishnu". It's a bit like flipping through
the stations on your radio. I mean, "Mary Lou" is half Bob Dylan and
half Steve Earle for Christ's sake! Needless to say, with this much variety
you're bound to like at least a couple of tracks.
Seldom Heard
Radio Frederick Moe
Seldom Heard Radio's three favorite
indie releases of the month:
"Periodically in this blog I will be mentioning noteworthy indie releases
in all genres. I?ve enjoyed listening to Dan Smolla ever since discovering Swimming
in Wind. His songwriting is unique, often blues-jazz-folk influenced with echoes
of Van Morrison if you allow your mind to wander. but only echoes, Dan Smolla's
music is thoroughly original and thought provoking. Check out his new CD Sky
of myMind at www.dansmolla.com. All eleven tracks are outstanding."
KindaMuzik Han Orsel (Loose translation based on on-line translator)
You see it this way for your: Then Smolla, pleasant and what timid man is,
in the garage and on the attic of its house in Bloomingdale, Illinois busy with
the prerecordings of its new cd. he gladly knocks together its cd.s themselves
in each other and also at Sky or my Mind he has done that. Real well is not
it. He does not put its influences under are based on or banks, and it rattles
on all sides. But it are this way charming, almost disarming, that you, however,
must fall. Lustre but ns to those knullige computer fumaroles in One Love. or
look still ns well cover stuck to those at each other. Then, however, ns come
in make a mess with its vocalen, as in White Magic. but generally he saves himself,
good. On Sky or my Mind seems then all genres to are possible, of the feedbackrock
of Her Horse Wandered. to the valid blues of Vishnu. Terrible well it therefore,
but super-charming is not. And how can you say nou something annoying concerning
someone who writes a number concerning our hero Joe Strummer?
Bone Machine Richard Rowe
Dan Smolla is a singer / song writer from Bloomingdale (near Chicago). He has
a blues / roots style in the vein of musicians such as Ryan Adams and Jeff Lang,
while his voice is reminisant of David Byrne. In putting his music together
Dan does pretty much everything himself, writing, performing, mixing, editing.
I think he also prints the covers on the CDs and puts them together himself.
The album opens with the title track which is a sweet pop-rock tune, it doesnt
have a great deal of depth but it is catchy and very likable. One Love is a
major highlight, employing some horns and interesting percussion. White Magic
feels very disjointed, it starts out in a stripped back blues/roots style, however
Dan's whiney vocals just don't mesh with the music. The song then takes all
sorts of turns from here on, sounding a little like some of Beck's weirder songs,
however there is no real flow and the end result is rather awkward. Her Horse
Wandered is a faster paced pop-rock song that has a rather rough and ready feel
to it, for some reason Dan decides to rehash the lyrics of Sky Of My Mind in
this song, which makes it sound rather tired before long. Vishnu has a strong
folk sound led by an acoustic guitar and some tidy harmonica playing, it does
well in creating a country style atmosphere. See You is an interesting pop tune
reminisant of the Talking Heads.
This is an album of mixed success, most tracks are solid and enjoyable but there
are a few that just didn't work out. There are some interesting moments here
where Dan puts out some different sounds, but at the same time there are a few
songs that seem to be longer then they need to be. Of particular note is the
7 and a half minute closing track In The Flow. Given that Dan did everything
on this album himself the end result is no mean feat, however his mixing and
editing skills leave a bit to be desired as do a lot of his lyrics. For the
above reasons it seems that this approach may have held him back from providing
a lot more.
Americana-UK (J.S.)
Described on the artists website as "roots based pop rock and beat-jazz folk", this album comes across more as low-budget indie with a different style overlaid on top for each track, plus a significant debt to They Might Be Giants. Lyrically it's not without interest and it has a solid leftwing awareness ("Black Magic", "One Love") but overall it's a bit too musically incoherent and consequently rather wearing to listen to.