Dan Melchior Albums (4)
'Hello I'm Dan Melchior AKA - Singer - Songranter'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 18
Label Shake It
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Bitterness, Spite, Rage and Scorn'
Release Date 10/29/2002
Tracks 14
Label In The Red
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With the release of his second full-length for In the Red Records, former Billy Childish sideman Dan Melchior offers a more fully realized vision of the frazzled country, blues, punk, and R&B sound he unleashed with 2001's Heavy Dirt. (Oldtime-Futureshock predates Heavy Dirt, but has become too difficult to come by to be useful as a reference point for our purposes.) Bitterness, Spite, Rage and Scorn gets off to a raucous start with the triple play of "Hungry Ghost," "You're My Wife," and "Black Light." Hypnotic and clearly an album highlight, "Black Light" is based on Melchior's typical wall of noise, but with a guitar line woven through it that sounds like a glowing amalgam of the White Stripes and Oasis -- full of youthful venom and vigor, but with a bit of classic rock soul. A rather witty narrative detailing how the title characters' lives repeatedly cross paths without ever knowing it, "Me and J.G. Ballard" lingers in the same sleazy musical neighborhood as Scotland's Country Teasers and Childish's various groups (as does much of the album as a whole). "Semi Famous People" continues down a similarly gritty musical path, until the last 30 seconds or so when it turns into an acoustic Delta number, leaving the listener wide-eyed and waiting for more. A truly lonely number, "Ladies Underwear and Airline Socks" again strikes close to Teasers territory, offering lyrics about being overwhelmed by financial worries and the world at large ("Car alarms, sirens and construction sites/Got my ears ringing all day and all night/When I go somewhere where there's peace and quiet/I feel terrified"). The first real taste of Melchior's R&B obsession comes through on "Gatecrasher," a facet of his sound that plays unexpectedly well as part of his Frankenstein approach to rock & roll. Melchior's tremendous sense of experimentation and his lack of boundaries are refreshing qualities in a musical scene where too many groups try to adhere to strict, self-imposed stylistic guidelines, often under the guise of "authenticity." ~ Karen E. Graves, All Music Guide
'Heavy Dirt'
Release Date 4/10/2001
Tracks 14
Label In The Red Records
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On his third release with the Broke Revue, Billy Childish/Holly Golightly alum Dan Melchior serves up what is essentially fairly standard garage/blues/country fare; however, he does it with just enough of a dark twist and spark to make it interesting. Lo-fi and gritty, Heavy Dirt is timeless in that its complete avoidance of modern trappings allows it to sound as though it could have been recorded three days ago in a basement or 30 years ago in a garage. Album opener "Witch on Fire" is driven by some of the most delightfully grimey slide work this side of the Guinea Worms/Bygones, and the vocals, fuzzed-out and buried in the mix, play like an extra guitar line. The circular riffing of "I Was Born in the Country" rides out a guitar line that seemingly echoes that of the Country Teasers' "Bitches F**k Off." Both bands take standard riffs and rough them up a bit, and although Melchior's songs are not nearly as quirky and off-kilter as the Teasers', they should appeal to the same audience (something that the folks over at In the Red must have realized as well, as both bands are now on that label). "Fashion" ("The music you hear has been chosen for you/kid yourself that you can choose") and "Smile" offer some unexpectedly poppy call and response choruses, the former over a guitar line that recalls Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression," oddly enough. "You Know That I Will" dishes out lyrics like "If you want groceries, then go to a store/If you want to grow roses, then get some manure/But if you want lovin' that's hard to ignore/come to me baby and I'll give you more." Beautiful love songs indeed. While Melchior has the right moves and pedigree, something about the record is lacking in real hooks, which makes it hard to really latch on to the album. The result is that the album is likable enough as it is played, but not terribly memorable afterward, making it one of those records that will play well in the background at smoky late-night parties. Overall, Melchior's primal blues-rock offers plenty of the raw guitar work that is eagerly devoured by fans of Sympathy for the Record Industry and In the Red and groups like Gibson Bros., Oblivians, Bassholes, Country Teasers, Bantam Rooster, Immortal Lee County Killers, and perhaps even the less gritty offspring of those groups like Cash Audio (aka Cash Money, the rock band, not the rapper) and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. ~ Karen E. Graves, All Music Guide
'This Love Is Real'
Release Date 7/20/1999
Tracks 12
Label Sympathy For The Record Industry
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Dan Melchior's music is "real," too, which is to say that he appears to have little interest in overdubbing, sampling, and other forms of sonic sweetening. Like the recordings he has made with Billy Childish (Devil in the Flesh) and, more significantly, singer/songwriter Holly Golightly and drummer Bruce Brand -- both of whom appear as members of the Broke Revue -- his sophomore release (after a hard to find debut) has an old-timey feel. The effect is due as much to his rough-hewn vocals as to the lo-fi production and retro-sounding material, a mixture of originals and covers of folk-blues classics by the likes of Joe Calicott and Mississippi Fred McDowell. This Love Is Real is a pleasing precursor to Melchior and Golightly's similarly easygoing collaboration, Desperate Little Town (2001). ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy, All Music Guide
