Artist: Marty Shaughnessy
Album: Life is a Circus
Label: Deklan Media
Tracks: 12
Length: 47:45

 

 

 

Life is a Circus is the latest offering from Rainchildren’s Marty Shaughnessy. For those who have no recollection of Rainchildren, they were a mid-nineties alternative band that appealed to fans of Jawbone Hill (RIP), Sixpence None the Richer, The Choir, and the like but also appealed to fans of artists like Burlap to Cashmere, The Waiting, and Pray for Rain. In other words, they were really good but the powers that be never seemed to “get it.”

 

I was immediately curious about this CD when it arrived and I was completely unsure what to expect. That’s always a fun moment for me, that one second before the CD hits the player. Anyway, would it sound like Rainchildren? Would it be slickly polished pop rock? Would it be rap? (I was pretty sure this wouldn’t be the case but I try to never limit artists you know…) Well, it was/is…country. It’s not cool to say country though so we’ll call it nicely produced Americana. Better? The album has a very country feel overall but there is a strong singer/songwriter influence evident as well. Whatever you’d like to name it, Shaughnessy is a good songwriter and that is more evident here than it has been in the past.

 

“Summery” is one of my favorite tracks. It has a very light feel to it with sparse instrumentation. Shaugnessy does a great job of giving this song space and it creates a nice atmosphere for his emotionally downtrodden vocal delivery. “Clowns,” despite its slight twang, is also a highlight. Lyrically this is an excellent love song whose ideas stick with you long after the song ends. “Beneath the Sun” (Do I hear the riff from “MMMM Bop” in this song?) and the lounge-ish “Branches” are strong as well. I Really enjoy how Shaughnessy doesn’t back off the country style influence, because he embraces it so confidently fans who hate that sort of thing tend to not to dwell on it.

 

I would say this CD is slightly better than most of this style. The songwriting is good and the layout/design of the CD is beautifully done. The production is solid as well, the delivery just lacks a bit. There are more than a few songs here that just feel incomplete in my opinion because the vocal fails to convince me. That said there are more than enough really good songs to justify spending your hard earned money.