Search - Chip Taylor, Carrie Rodriguez :: Trouble With Humans (Dig)

Like the relationship between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Sofia Coppola?s film, Lost In Translation, the intergenerational bonding of Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez works in a way that eludes easy analysis. The elder former hit song writer ("Wild Thing," "Angel Of The Morning")/professional gambler and the younger singer/fiddler harmonize telepathically, while their vocal timbres compliment each other, matching his Billy Joe Shaver gruffness with her Lucinda Williams attitudinal twang. The Trouble With Humans builds on the back-porch feeling of their debut record with improved sonics that increases the intimacy to a point where the tunes feel almost accidentally overheard. While it would be wrong to call it a concept record, there is a strong theme running throughout. Lines like "don?t say words I understand" ("Don?t Speak In English"), "don?t say a word" ("Memphis, Texas"), and "some words should hit the air like silence" ("Curves And Things") speak of the failure of language, ironically on a CD rife with well-crafted lyrics. But truly, for Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, it is their unique musical kinship that speaks greater volumes. --Michael Ross