Donwill

Don Cusack in High Fidelity

(Interdependent)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

When you think of British novelist Nick Hornby, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  Everyone all together now:  hip-hop concept album!  Alright, maybe not, but music obsession and heartbreak is hardly limited to Beta Band fans.  On Don Cusack in High Fidelity, Hornby serves as a guiding light for Donwill of the fantastic and fully Red Alert endorsed trio Tanya Morgan.

The marriage between source material and interpreter is a happy one.  For one, Tanya Morgan have always shown engaging wit on their albums and have also shown themselves comfortable playing the underdog role, so Don Cusack steps nicely into John Cusack’s shoes on both counts.  For two, the full-blown narrative and constant revolution around relationships probably wouldn’t work on a Tanya Morgan record, especially given the unique and shifty interplay between Donwill and his cohorts Ilyas and Von Pea. 

After a brief opening monologue snagged from the film – “Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” – Donwill launches right into the best track in the bunch, “Laura’s Song.” This one’s been kicking around for a good while but, credit to Donwill and producer Astronote, it hasn’t lost any of its warm charm or replay value.  Still love it.

Even if its success isn’t quite duplicated, “Laura’s Song” does accurately set the tone for the rest of the record, which is rooted in classic, soulful hip-hop – wearing its influences and its heartbreak on its sleeve.  Knowledge of the source material is by no means a prerequisite for enjoying the album, but fans of the book and film will be able to follow along with some key plot points, including the protagonist’s passion for lists (“Top 5 Breakups”) and an appearance from that damned woman-stealer Ian. 

Also making an appearance:  Donwill’s Tanya Morgan-mates, who guest on “Championship Vinyl,” another of the album’s highlights.  Peter Hadar adds some soulful swing to the bouncy “Love Junkie” (he also guests on “Shake It Easy”).  A few later guest spots aren’t as successful, particularly the back-to-back contributions by Nicky Guiland and Ragen Fykes (“Breathe” and “I See You”).  As for the star of the show, Donwill delivers steadily, dropping clever and unforced verses throughout.  Perhaps inevitably, High Fidelity isn’t as much of a standout as the Tanya Morgan albums, but it’s still a definite winner.