Mazarin
A Tall Tale Storyline
[spinART; 2001]
Rating: 7.5
Rock lore tells that George Harrison's All Things Must Pass was crammed
with so many great tunes because Harrison felt creatively stymied in the Beatles
and was able to bring massive amounts of the good noise during the post-breakup
closet-cleaning. It's said that you can hear the joy in Harrison's voice on that
album, joy that came from him finally being able to take what was inside and show
it to the world. Having listened to the album for the first time in a while this
past week, I'm inclined to agree.
I hear some of that same joy on the second album by Mazarin, the band led by
Quentin Stolzfus, former drummer for Azusa Plane. Stolzfus only played drums for
the band part-time, as a chunk of the Plane's music was too drony to require
extra percussion work. But this guy was wasting his talent dragging a violin bow
across a ride cymbal; he's a songwriter with a real melodic gift.
Leaving the 20-minute d-chord mediations behind, Mazarin finds Stolzfus crafting
punchy pop tunes with a rootsy edge. Acoustic guitar provides the foundation, the
melodies are sung in two- and three-part harmony, and there's a countrified folk
cast to A Tall Tale Storyline. And though this may sound like a backhanded
compliment, some of it reminds me of Girlfriend-era Mathew Sweet. It's
nowhere near as slick a record as that comparison would suggest, but both
Stolzfus' voice and his 60s-inspired arrangements bear some similarity. And hey,
I like Girlfriend.
"Go Home" opens A Tall Tale Storyline with the album's only bit of drone
music, a whine that shifts gears and becomes crystalline, west-coast pop about
three minutes in, complete with wordless vocal interplay and ringing guitar
strums. It's no surprise when the eventual lyrics include the line, "Going back
to California." The eight-minute opener is an anomaly; much more typical is the
3½-minute "What Sees the Sky?," with layered vocals that make you think there's
got to be a Crosby, Stills or Nash hiding in the studio somewhere, and Byrdsian
guitar chimes on the simple, effective chords.
The acoustic guitar is used to different effect on "2.22.1" and "RJF Variation 1,"
two lovely variations on the fingerpicking instrumental folk of John Fahey and
Leo Kottke. "My Favorite Green Hill" could be one of the rock tunes on REM's
Life's Rich Pageant, and "The Limits of Language" is almost pure country,
complete with pedal steel and a Nashville lilt to the rhythm.
A Tall Tale Storyline is a diverse record, but all genres covered have
their origins in American roots music, so the feel is unified. Mazarin can seem
just a bit dilettantish at times (the straight county is just not terribly
convincing somehow), but the stakes feel low, and this is an easy record to like.
So consider putting those Azusa Plane records back on the stack, opening the
shades, and giving the drummer some.
-Mark Richard-San, December 12th, 2001