If all the teeth-deprived characters from a Flannery O'Connor novel got together and started a band, it might sound something like Ugly Casanova. Part rumor, part myth, part oh-so-strange reality, Ugly C is actually Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock doing a little musical moonlighting. One of rock's last true eccentrics, Brock follows his muse through a surreal batch of space oddities. Adrift in chain-gang percussion, funeral-procession tempos and caterwauling vocals, Brock's devilish folk and creepy backwoods blues provide a Deliverance soundtrack for the horn-rimmed-glasses set. Spinning treacly yarns steeped in the Tom Waits tradition, set to murked-out production that recalls Exile on Main Street at its foggiest, Brock clearly enjoys wringing discomfort from the mundane, à la David Lynch. And like Lynch, Brock understands the value of strong casting: Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession), John Orth (Holopaw) and Brian Deck and Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat) play supporting roles in this star-studded indie affair. But his poison pill can be a bitter one to swallow, and his world-weary outlook becomes downright depressing. Nobody ever accused Brock's other group of being overly sunny, but that band sounds like a pack of Mouseketeers compared with Sharpen Your Teeth's unyielding melancholy.
Comments (0)