Shivaree
I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in this Dump
Odeon/Capitol
Shivaree vocalist Ambrosia Parsley reminds me an awful lot of Lisa Germano, and that’s a good thing. With the voice of a vulnerable child serving time for manslaughter, Parsley croons her way through the dozen tracks on I Oughtta… with a permanent inscrutable smile to her voice. The disc opens with a creepy lullaby, “Cannibal King,” and closes with a waltz, “Arrivederci.” In between, we travel to many strange places. “Goodnight Moon” is not the children’s book that shares its title, and tracks like “Pimp” and “Idiot Waltz” live up to the vitriol in their titles. Set to a wide variety of sounds, a la Mitchell Froom (the album’s producer is songwriter Joe Henry), I Oughtta is tainted musical candy, clearly deranged, yet oh so beautiful to listen to.
Capitol Records, 1750 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028-5274
