Grouchyfriendly
Phil Roy has been working in the music business for years, writing songs for numerous artists and for movie soundtracks, including,Leaving Las Vegas.Grouchyfriendly, Roy's first solo attempt, reveals that the years of sharpening his skills have finally come to fruition with a mature and sublime record--a record more likely to come from a major recording artist in midcareer than a relative unknown on his first release. LikeDylanandSpringsteen, Phil Roy is a storyteller, telling tales from a first-person perspective that isn't necessarily his own. LikeMark Eitzel, the crown prince of "grouchy" singer-songwriters, Roy is particularly adept at sketches of hard-luck lives and unrequited love. The songs onGrouchyfriendlyplay like the soundtrack toRaymond Carver's stories--tales of broken hearts and dreams, false starts and expectations, self-doubt and loathing, hard drinking and hard luck, all in the pursuit of one moment of tenderness or a shot at redemption. On "Alcohol Affection," Roy presents aBukowski-esque drunk searching for love in a bar and solace in a bottle. On "Melt" (cowritten by actorNicolas Cage), the narrator, filled with regrets and fueled with alcohol, begs for one more chance at love, as his perception of his ex-lover increases to godlike proportions and his own self-esteem takes a nosedive. Roy isn't afraid to bare the dark side of his soul, but in his lighter moments he can also poke fun at his "grouchy" self. On "Ridiculous," Roy's playful lyrics are juxtaposed against aLeonard Cohen-like dirge, while on "The Business of Love" he sounds like a youngTom Waitsas he riffs on his own incompetence in the field of romance. Throughout, Roy is accompanied by a host of accomplished musicians who contribute the perfect backdrop to the songs. The guitars, played by Brazilians Heitor Pereira and Ricardo Silveira as well as Roy himself, expertly weave around each other, providing Roy's gritty voice and honest lyrics with the requisite tension they deserve.--Paul Ducey