This New Jersey company has been on the road since the late nineties and since then, without ever really coming to the fore, have reached an audience for their rootsy music. Hungry Bird is already the sixth album by the band that is the face-defining figure in singer and songwriter Eef Barzelay. Once started as a trio, Clem Snide has grown into six, especially the trombone of Roy Agee, the banjo of
… Pete Fitzpatrick and the accordion of Tony Hamel manage to add beautiful accents. The fact that the gentlemen are now somewhat older is evident from the serious nature of the music, in which the pop influences from the past are almost completely absent. In ten melancholic songs with country slugs, the band manages to create a spherical, almost cinematic sound, not least thanks to the skillful hand of producer / technician Mark Nevers. By strategically placing a single fierce splurge (The Endless Endings), the record remains captivating along its entire length. (MS)more