{"id":4135,"date":"2011-03-17T19:36:26","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T02:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/?p=4135"},"modified":"2011-03-20T00:20:51","modified_gmt":"2011-03-20T07:20:51","slug":"owens-new-cd-single","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/03\/17\/owens-new-cd-single\/","title":{"rendered":"Owen’s new CD-single"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owen:
\nO, Evelyn<\/em>
\nPolyvinyl Records, 2011
\nwww.polyvinylrecords.com
\nwww.owen.com
\nReviewed by Kent Manthie<\/strong>
\n Mike Kinsella is a busy guy – he is a brilliant songwriter, a great drummer and a clever guitar player. These qualities keep him in demand – he\u2019s got several projects he works in – he\u2019s an on-again\/off-again member of American Football, sometimes drops in and jams on a couple of Joan of Arc songs and releases solo albums under the pseudonym, Owen (his real name is Mike Kinsella, brother of Joan of Arc\u2019s main man, Tim Kinsella).
\n So far, in between his steady gigs with a smattering of Chicago-area bands, Owen has had time to create five full-length CDs as well as several seven-inchers, CD-singles, etc. A couple years ago, something I got off the internet and if it\u2019s available elsewhere I do not know, he put out there a two-song release entitled Daytrotter Sessions<\/em>. They were good, typical Owen stuff – dry, laconic love songs with caustic wit and oftentimes a bitter undertone.
\n Just out now from Chicago\u2019s great Polyvinyl Records is another 2-song release by Owen, you know, to tide us over until the next full-length is put out. This one, if it were a vinyl, 45 RPM record, would have the A-side be \u201cO, Evelyn\u201d, a short, melancholy ditty about a girl he knew and how things all went wrong and even though he should hate her, he finds a place in his heart that still clings to a fondness, bordering on love (there is a thin line between love & hate, you know). The B-side to this 2-song internet download, single, is a cover of the Smiths\u2019 happy tune, \u201cGirlfriend in a Coma\u201d. This version is a stripped-bare cover, clocking in at only 2:18 and, as for instrumentation, there\u2019s just Owen, his voice and his guitar. He may not come across as sincere as Morrissey does, but then again Morrissey\u2019s always bit a tad self-conscious and sensitive. I liked Owen\u2019s version of it because, for one, it was more sardonic and was an interesting juxtaposition for his repertoire.
\n I really can\u2019t wait to hear more from Owen – like on a full-length CD. While I was happy with New Leaves<\/em> I still have to be honest with myself and realize that no matter how much I want it to, it just isn\u2019t as good as his first three solo CDs, which is not at all to say that he\u2019s gone soft, just that he\u2019s maybe in a zone that is a work in progress, i.e., he hasn\u2019t found where he\u2019s going yet, but the journey is an ever-wonderful trip of soul-baring, honesty laid bare and purposely putting oneself in a vulnerable position.
\n O, Evelyn<\/em> has that magic touch that so sparked his first jump into the deep end of one-man-band solo CD making. It has some similar tones and hooks that I remember from Owen<\/em> and No Good for No One Now<\/em>. Let\u2019s hope that he is able to exorcise his demons and return with a severely awesome CD in the near future. These shorter releases – Daytrotter Sessions<\/em> and now O, Evelyn<\/em> can be thought of as a catharsis and a search for the perfect chords and style. Amen to that. See you soon\u2026-KM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owen: O, Evelyn Polyvinyl Records, 2011 www.polyvinylrecords.com www.owen.com Reviewed by Kent Manthie Mike Kinsella is a busy guy – he is a brilliant songwriter, a great drummer and a clever guitar player. These qualities keep him in demand – he\u2019s got several projects he works in – he\u2019s an on-again\/off-again member of American Football, sometimes drops in and jams on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[573],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5412,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/10\/20\/owen-is-back-better-than-ever\/","url_meta":{"origin":4135,"position":0},"title":"OWEN is Back & Better than ever!!!","author":"Kent","date":"October 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"OwenTweet Ghost Town Polyvinyl Records, 2011 www.polyvinylrecords.com Reviewed by Kent Manthie The new CD by Chicago\u2019s Owen, Ghost Town will prove to people that Mike Kinsella is not just a small-time nobody, but a great talent that deserves a bigger audience. 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