Murray Attaway
Tense Music Plays
Moon Ray Sound
This isn’t Murray Attaway’s first rodeo, Watusi or otherwise. Lead author of Guadalcanal Diary’s wide-eyed, ‘80s jangle-pop manifestos, their words steeped in unearthly mystery, troubled histories and oddball narratives booming out of a bullhorn wrapped in guitar-driven melody and caked in rootsy grit, Attaway slipped out the back door some 30 years ago and pulled a rock ‘n roll disappearing act. Unexpectedly, he’s returned, no worse for wear.
Re-emerging with Tense Music Plays, the singer/guitarist’s first solo album in decades, Attaway revisits familiar themes and sounds and conjures new ones, showing he’s not entirely shackled to the past. While casting his lot with low, electric growls and gnarly, slow burns, such as “Hole in the Ground” and “Breath,” Attaway also gives evocative acoustic readings, like the nostalgic “Better Days” and the bone-deep reflection “Stars Behind the Moon,” the latter swept away by mournful violin.
Saving the best for last, an earnest and confessional Attaway vigorously strums his way through the impassioned uprising “You Were There,” where the DNA connection to Graham Parker — his insight and wit crossing over — is revealed. It’s a song with a crusty heart and hard-won gratitude, an epiphany of simple truths and clarity, whereas a strange and creepy “Old Christmas” is a delightfully twisted, sashaying horror movie with vaudevillian vamping. The tension’s been lifted, meaning Attaway should stick around longer.
