Micah Wolf – S/T / 2006 Blockplane / 13 Tracks / http://www.micahwolf.com / Reviewed 13 March 2007

“Burn Me” is the first track on this album, and it shows that Micah Wolf is attempting to blend Kenny Wayne Shepherd with a John Maher-like approach. The same general funkiness present in the latter is present from the opening track, and the production levels are strong enough to show all of the nuance in Wolf’s work. The one thing that comes to my mind is a concern that Wolf will fall into a rut at some point, and not be able to pull out new tricks to escape that rut. “Self Esteem” is the second track on the disc, and the longer instrumental opening leads into a further focus on the instrumentation that was not quite as noticeable during “Burn Me”.

Regardless, there is cohesion between the two tracks even as Wolf varies things up. The style seems to be not as fresh as it once was during “Pay No Mind” , even if the track has the same type of catchiness that has demarcated prior songs on this disc. I don’t know, the laid back style is nice but there needs to be some adoption of new styles or sounds before this disc can really go out and touch other people. The skill of Micah Wolf on this album is something that should never be taken into question. The ability of Wolf to go forth and make new and inspiring compositions out of the box seems to be something that is more in question.

The production during a song like “Plastics” is a little troubling, as well. In this track, the bass is at such a high level that some of the nuance of the vocals is lost. While the production of the disc had been strong up to that point, this minor gaffe is a little troubling. It would be something that needs to be worked out before Wolf makes eir journey any further up the path of notoriety. The easiest suggestion would be to excise this track from further runs of this disc. The fact that there are so many stronger songs, such as “Tease Me” should show that cutting down a few track may just be the best idea for Wolf at this juncture. “Tease Me” blends together sixties rock, bues, and a current appreciation of alternative music in a track that is bouncy and catchy, allowing listeners to sing along with the greatest of ease.

Top Tracks: Tease Me, Burden

Rating: 5.2/10

[JMcQ]