Emma McEnvoy
Life as a nomad has its downsides, but it pays major musical dividends for Madison singer-songwriter Brett Newski on his new sophomore release, Land Air Sea Garage. Newski, a troubadour with a sweet indie-pop sensibility and a wit as jagged as a shattered Old Fashioned glass, is clearly drawing on his hard-won road experiences on this 11-song collection. It is, after all, a disc partially recorded at a surf camp in Sri Lanka. Then again, what would you expect from a dude who’s sorta famous for composing the music for a Vietnamese tampon TV commercial campaign?
There are no feminine product references on the new disc. But whether he’s spinning a sweet ballad about a meet-cute with a heartbreaker who orders 20 tequilas (“Molly”) or the regretful rocker “My Blood’s Gettin’ Dirty and My Skin’s Wearin’ Thin,” the twentysomething Newski’s pushing some serious heart and energy with every chord and chorus. Plus, he’s given us the quintessential sing-along dive bar-musician anthem with the hilarious “DIY,” a tune that finds him smelling like skunky PBR: “I’m DIY/I’m punk as fuck/don’t need your money/I don’t want your love.” It’s instantly recognizable, and kinda what we suspected all along.
With a wry attention to observational detail that rivals Kurt Vile, each of the tunes here stakes its own corner of your consciousness — and that’s no mean feat. Having spent the latter part of October touring the West Coast with Cheese State legends the Violent Femmes, Newski’s at the Frequency for his album release party Nov. 4 before heading out on a solo tour that’ll eventually take him east before year’s end. We recommend catching him now: He sounds very much like he’s ready to take the leap.
