Hit Me Back

Michael McDermott

Pauper Sky Music / Rock Ridge Music, 2012

http://www.michael-mcdermott.com

REVIEW BY: Jason Warburg

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/30/2012

You’d hope that emphatic props from a bevy of critics and the likes of best-selling author Stephen King might be enough to elevate Michael McDermott above the status of “best kept musical secret in all of Chicagoland”—but so far in his two-decades-plus career, you’d be wrong.

On his ninth studio album, McDermott’s rich, expressive muse remains in full flight, even if there are hints of strain in the early going. It’s not hard to understand why this Springsteen-Dylan-and-Waits acolyte, after years of slugging it out in clubs and living rooms, might try his hand at writing a radio single. On one level you want him to succeed—lord knows the radio could use some smarter fare—but it can feel a little forced coming from the pen of a writer whose songs unfold like musical novellas. The guilty parties are the leadoff title track, with its wraparound, singalong chorus, and “The Prettiest Girl In the World,” an earnest folk-pop number that recalls some of Springsteen’s more commercial recordings (specifically, some of the radio-friendly numbers he pulled out of the vault for my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Tracks). Of course, being McDermott compositions, both offer an uncommon depth and, interestingly, both bear some sonic resemblance to Shawn Mullins’ “Lullaby,” a fluke hit by another thoughtful singer-songwriter.

McDermott’s gift shines out again and again in memorable lines like “Shame is a language I’ve always understood / Fear is a doorway made of rotten wood” in “Let It Go”; the man is nothing if not a craftsman. The literary allusions become more overt on the suitably dreamy-yet-driving “Dreams About Trains,” which manages to quote Robert Frost not once, but twice.

For this listener, the heart of Hit Me Back lies in the three songs that span the second quarter of this 14-track outing. “I Know A Place…” is a smart, moving, sincere, and occasionally profound story-song whose essence reveals itself in a single bulls eye of a line: “But sometimes you need the darkness in order to ever see the light.” “Ever After” follows, a richly elegiac number that builds from a piano-driven opening with a bit of a David Gray feel into a bold, heavy guitar crescendo. Completing the trilogy, the anthemic “Scars From Another Life” narrates a turning point, performing a deeply emotional exorcism of past troubles. It’s a gorgeous, heartfelt number that probably doesn’t need the extra “sell” provided by the strings near the end—all the impact the song needs is already there in McDermott’s words and guitar.

The second half of this disc is less compelling, but nonetheless full of strong moments like the clever chorus to “She’s Gonna Kill Me” and the regretful melodicism of “Is There A Kiss Left On Your Lips.” Showing his range once again, McDermott pulls off both an acoustic blues that feels plucked fresh from the Delta (“A Deal With The Devil”), and a very pretty country-folk number (“Where The River Meets The Sea”). And then there’s the closing track, a sweet love song to a country: “Italy.” (I guess I can share her with you, Michael…)

Cut in eight days and produced and mixed by U2 engineer CJ Ericksson, Hit Me Back has a bit of a blurry, Brendan O’Brien-ish feel in places, which works well enough, but which I didn’t find as appealing as the rawer, more organic sound of his previous album Hey La Hey. Nits aside, though, Hit Me Back is yet another powerful, memorable effort from the exceptionally talented Michael McDermott. Do yourself a favor: check it out.

Rating: B+

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2012 Jason Warburg and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Pauper Sky Music / Rock Ridge Music, and is used for informational purposes only.