White Out

Roots rock can easily function as party music; Tom Petty, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, and Sheryl Crow have written melancholy lyrics, but they have also provided classic feel-good anthems. Marlow's debut album, White Out, may very well be the most melancholic roots rock effort of 2002; no one will mistake this CD for a collection of good-time party music. If Crow's "Steve McQueen" is a roots rock gem that pushes the smile button, White Out is roots rock at its most sad and remorseful — lyrically, "Hey Up There," "Before You Go," and other tunes on this album don't exactly go out of their way to make listeners feel giddy. But then again, there is something about White Out that does give listeners reason to smile: Marlow leader Todd Pasternak's impressive sense of rock craftsmanship. White Out isn't a cheerful album, but it's a heartfelt, memorable, well-constructed album. Drawing on influences like Tom Petty and the Black Crowes, Pasternak shows himself to be a talented, capable singer/songwriter. Pasternak, who is joined by bassist Lo Faber and drummer Ted Marotta (of The Ominous Seapods fame), has also claimed Aimee Mann as an influence — and those who listen carefully to White Out will see that he speaks the truth. Petty and the Black Crowes are more obvious influences, but subtle hints of Mann's writing style do assert themselves at times. Mann's work (as 'Til Tuesday's lead singer in the '80s, and as a solo artist in the '90s and 2000s) can be quite melancholy, and Pasternak certainly brings a heavy heart to much of this CD (which was inspired by a romantic relationship that didn't work out). All things considered, White Out is a promising debut for Pasternak's Marlow project.