Artist: Brian Lisik
Album: Gudbye Stoopid Whirled
Label: Cherokee Queen Records
Release Date: 10.02.20
Good luck getting Brian Lisik to ever go completely unplugged. The temptation to turn the power back on is too hard to resist for the Ohio roots-rocker on the irreverently titled Gudbye Stoopid Whirled, a tasty, bare-bones hash of timeless folk-pop and rockabilly, shaggy garage-rock edge and power-pop sparkle that suggests this underdog journeyman and songwriting teammate Steve Norgrove are ready for the big leagues. Hopefully, they’ll get their shot.
After the spare, weathered intimacy of opener “Don’t-Ray-Me” fades away, having punched out the media for trivial malpractice in covering American politics, Lisik drags out his electric guitar for a simply charming “Happy All the Time.” Written by Norgrove, its back-to-basics tunefulness evokes the cheery wonder of Buddy Holly before the similarly easy, uncomplicated “Junior High School” walks in, talking of immaturity, fear and ego-driven obsession with social media with stark clarity amid doo-wop backing vocals, shaking tambourine and a dancing skeleton of vibes.
Up for a driving adventure, the wheeling, torn-and-frayed bluegrass of “Cheboygan, Sheboygan” is recklessly fun and reminiscent of early Wilco. Energetic and fully loaded, the instrumental “Call It Liquid Timing (Part 1)” goes hot-rodding with The Sonics and a sighing “Looking For You” catches a falling Big Star, just like the bittersweet “Mindship,” with its cheating heart. In negotiating the minefields of addiction and suicide, the achingly poignant “Death of a Broken Heart” also prays at the altar of Alex Chilton, Chris Bell and company, leaving rough acoustic strum and irresistibly ragged hooks as an offering.
Lisik and Norgrove don’t overthink things on the stripped-down Gudbye Stoopid Whirlld, opting for homemade, off-the-cuff immediacy and honesty instead of showy, complicated pretension under the watchful eye of producer extraordinaire Don Dixon, who mixed this gem of an LP. Even when amplified, these 10 songs are free of unnecessary embellishment, although Chad Jenson—a member of Norgrove’s band, Hillbilly Savant—fleshes out Gudbye Stoopid Whirled with clever percussion and guitar. That’s just enough for Lisik and company to get by.
—Peter Lindblad
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