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Mike Doughty is, without exception, one of the finest songwriters
of the new millennium. Since the inception of Soul Coughing,
he has constantly striven to push his lyrical compositions ever farther,
integrating aspects from the Beats, the streets, poetry/prose and
common modern slang. Mixing all this into one big ball of words, Doughty
takes key phrases and repeats with a rhythmic intensity and flavor
the which none of his peers can manage. Layer all this English mayhem
on top of acoustic guitars and dancey beats with an occasional keyboard
and you have the latest in the highly organic and musical library
of M. Doughty.
Sad Man Happy Man is allegedly a more abstract approach to
songwriting, written in response to so many of Doughty's fans giving
him a hard time about the "straight" way he has approached
his last couple records. While the lyrical content of his last records
have been a bit less… tangential… the music has always been
highly likeable and laced with vibe. His latest is no exception in
the groove department, but he has definitely taken a more old school
approach to his lyrics and occasionally to his production as well.
Tossing aside more common lyrical idioms, Doughty instead falls back
on obscure phrases that mean something different to anyone who might
listen, imbuing his lyrics with an obscurity that is at once universal
and confusing. With a more stripped down, simple and visceral sound,
Sad Man Happy Man starts off with "Nectarine (Part 2)",
a loose continuation of "Nectarine (Part 1)" from Golden
Delicious. The song has much less nonsensical lalas and relies
instead on solid lyricality. The vibey electric piano and super-smooth
drumming of part 1 is replaced by an aggressive acoustic guitar strum
and swinging rhythm - nearly approaching country - before a cello
joins in to fill out the lower registers and give the song a satisfying
timbre to accompany the more than content lyrics. "(I Keep On)
Rising Up" begins with a nice backbeat that takes full advantage
of the groove inherent in Doughty's music, guitars are almost non-existent,
strings play various roles (none of them traditional) and boingy sounds
fill out the mix. The lyrics hold steady, repeating the hook over
and over and throwing in a few meandering delayed sounds for good
measure. "Lorna Zauderberg" is a perfect example of Doughty's
return to form and recalls all those wonderfully obscure poems in
Slanky where Doughty invokes spirits past and future to conjure
a Seussian world of nonsensical mystery. "Japanese cowboys put
their snowsuits on…"
Sad Man Happy Man takes Mike Doughty's trademarks and moves
them to the next level; there are sounds instantly familiar - rhythms
that immediately remind of previous songs, melodies that are furtherings
of previous melodies, and nonsensical lyrics that draw the listener
ever closer into the private world of M. Doughty. While his musical
catalog is ever expanding, the sounds are so familiar and comfortable
that there is no stepping out into a danger zone of any kind. There
are only wonderfully dazzling little songs with catchy hooks and
brilliant musicianship all sheltering the most wonderful lyrics
that New York could possibly turn out.
-David DeVoe
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Mike
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