"That [
Dolour] is the band name. Well...it's not really a band, it's just one guy." So it says right on the spine of
Suburbiac. Now that we've got that out of the way, Shane Tutmarc -- whose placidly handsome visage takes up the entire CD cover -- is the guy and this is his second recording. He's clearly listened to a lot of lovesick harmonic pop in his time, everything from
the Beatles,
the Beach Boys, and
Big Star to fellow Washingtonians like
the Posies, but it's surprising how much "Highway Hypnosis," in particular, sounds like a less dance-oriented
Scritti Politti. Although "new wave" isn't an appellation that applies to
Dolour quite as well (despite all the keyboards), there's no shame in conjuring up the spirit of that now largely forgotten "sophisti-pop" band (whether intentionally or not) -- Green Gartside and company had it all over the haircut bands of the 1980s, what with Gartside's heavenly vocals and superior sense of songcraft. If the less-consistent
Suburbiac doesn't quite hit the heights of
Scritti's classic
Cupid & Psyche '85, it's still an admirably accomplished release from this mop-topped boy wonder and his multi-instrumentalist pals. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy