Rich Schroder reviewed
Rich Schroder
Your Kind Words
(Anova)
Something about Rich Schroder’s Your Kind Words needs fixing. More color maybe?
Lyrically he’s, if not an ace, then above average (such exalted praise, sorry). But he’s playing the wrong style of music. Except for the goofy “(Sorry That I’m Not) The Home Depot Type,” where he details domestic deficiencies in bar-band jokesterisms, Schroder’s sharp commentary gets blurred by the everydayness of his forgettable chord patterns. “Never Happen Again” could be a painful, indie dirge. “Repo Man” might be re-thunk as a countrytonk holler. The Catholic-molestation-damnation “Father Jones” could be sparse folk and “Hillbilly Makeover” might want for speedy, ironic bluegrass. But Schroder paints with the same, broad brush throughout, washing off the spice for numbing uniformity, successfully 409ing the hardiest of stains.
— Steve Forstneger
Click here for a sample of “Repo Man.”
