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DRAGGING WONDER LAKE
(THRILL JOCKEY)
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Those who remember Bean best for her powerful drumming with Chicago’s roots psychedelia prodigals Eleventh Dream Day will be shocked by her singer-songwriter alter ego. But even listeners familiar with her solo work will find this album surprising. In the past she’s made slightly dusty alterna-country-folk discs on her own. This is more of a rich-and-clean-sounding ’70s singer-songwriter effort — part Carole King and part Dusty Springfield, albeit with lesser vocal command. Nonetheless, Bean knows how to build the right arrangements for her breathy, breeze-swept singing, using steel guitars, piano, strings, and cornet to create gently moving melodies. The piano ballad "Suddenly" sets the tone as the album’s opener; it’s followed by the country-rock-flavored "All Fool’s Day." Things go best in the middle when Randy Newman’s cynical Bible story "The God Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)," the skewering of macho military posturing in "The Purple Heart," and Neil Young’s "Soldier" form a kind of protest suite that subtly illuminates the falsehoods being pursued and peddled by our leaders. What Bean’s really specializing at here, though, is soft-selling gentle tunes that brim with sadness and a hint of redemption.
