Back Stabbing Bitches
Shivaree’s I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump (Odeon) is insidiously pleasurable. The mellow tunes on I Oughtta masquerade as undemanding background music at first, but there are enough unexpected touches to keep it subtly intriguing.
Shivaree’s singer/song-writer Ambrosia Parsley combines simple, almost child-like music with distinctly un-childish lyrics (“You’re a back-stabbing Hollywood pill/You know you’re working for the devil.”). Parsley collaborated with Duke McVinnie on guitar and bass and Danny McGough on keyboards to infuse this debut album with an eclectic mix of everything from country to funk, with even a little waltz thrown in.
It’s hard to pin down a description of Shivaree’s music: songs range from the Sheryl Crow-esque “Daring Lousy Guy,” to “Lunch,” which sounds like late Cyndi Lauper.
The band says that much of I Oughtta was recorded in producer Joe Henry’s backyard, and it shows. Nothing is rushed about the album, and there are no hard edges. The dreamy, whimsical results would make the perfect soundtrack for a slacker summer afternoon-or a David Lynch film.
