Bells & Whistles

The phrase "Arkansas/Tennessee Brit-pop" might sound like an oxymoron. Having a Southern-influenced approach and playing Brit-pop usually don't go hand in hand. But if any album fits that description, it is Chase Pagan's Bells and Whistles. The Arkansas-born, Tennessee-based singer/songwriter gets a lot of inspiration from the Beatles and various U.K.-based alternative pop/rock and Brit-pop bands they have influenced, such as Coldplay, Radiohead, and Travis. However, Pagan has his North American inspirations as well; the California-born folk-rocker Jeff Buckley is an influence, and Pagan's falsetto vocals can be twangy and folksy in a way that underscores his Southern roots. So it isn't a stretch to describe this 2008 recording as "Arkansas/Tennessee Brit-pop." But while Pagan has an intriguing variety of influences, he is never pretentious about it; this reflective, contemplative effort is very organic-sounding, and it is also the work of a singer/songwriter who has clearly mastered the art of effective storytelling. "Don't Be Gay," for example, describes a father who isn't happy to see that is son is turning out be gay, while "John and Betty" is about a prostitute who becomes engaged to one of her clients. And on "The Lonely Life," Pagan tells listeners about a father and son who have become estranged. Pagan, much to his credit, makes all of these characters very believable; he doesn't shout or preach to get the listener's attention, but he definitely gets his points across as a vocalist and as a songwriter. Pagan shows a lot of promise on Bells and Whistles, which demonstrates that the Southern singer/songwriter is well worth getting to know.