Bart Davenport – Maroon Cocoon / 2005 Antenna Farm / 12 Tracks / http://www.bartdavenport.com / http://www.antennafarmrecords.com / Reviewed 29 March 2005

Very sedate, but Bart Davenport is in only a passing way similar to artists like Devendra Banhart. The music on “Maroon Cocoon” seems more (especially in the case of “Clara”) to be the adult contemporary version of acts like John Maher. Simplistic, laid back, and really hard to muster any strong feelings for. The inclusion of a saxophone during “Finishing School” only solidifies that distinction. Much like the Dwight Ritcher Band, there is a germ of musicianship that finds its way to the surface of the disc, but is dissipated wholly by the unimaginative music. There is just nothing in the way of innovation or experimentation on this disc, and what could be a nice, “island hopping” type of disc (much like Jimmy Buffet), a number of tracks are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Regardless, some minor pieces of “Maroon Cocoon” come out as being salvageable – for example, the emotive bass lines found on “Into Music” afford the track a seventies AM style.

The acoustic guitar work on “Paper Friend” is reminiscent of “Silent Lucidity” by Queensyrche, but veers in a path that makes the original actually seem as if this is rocking – chances are that one could put this on and lull a child to sleep in less than ten minutes. The Santana-esque guitar riff on “Lately, She’s Been Changing” really gives the listeners an “out of the box” thrill that will not tantalize anyone who really gets into their music. The penultimate track, “One More Reason” again goes back to the seventies trough and comes out somewhat smelling of roses. It is this infusion of funk that really makes Bart’s music palatable and allows it to be distinguished from all the different singer-songwriters of the world. That being said, it is not the case that I am trying to make that “One More Reason” should be set amongst the stars; rather it is a decent track on an otherwise mediocre album.

Bart Davenport will have a built-in fanbase just based on the style of music that eir plays. However, for those fans of arrangements, of experimentation or of soul, “Maroon Cocoon” is a “Velvet Coffin” that one should stay far away from. Bart does have one thing going for eir though, and that is that ey can honestly say that ey does not sound like any one artist out on the market today. Still, pick up a Zevon record if you really want some good singer-songwriter stuff.

Top Tracks: None

Rating: 2.9/10