BoDeans - Indigo Dreams (2011)

Indigo Dreams is BoDeans' tenth new studio album in their 25-year recording career and their fifth album (including a live disc) since they ended their eight-year hiatus in 2004. It follows their last LP, Mr. Sad Clown, by less than 16 months, suggesting that now that the band is recording for its own He & He label, there is an incentive to be more prolific. As ever, BoDeans are a cooperative between Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas, two differing but complementary musical personalities. All the songs are co-credited to the two, but like such songwriting teams as Lennon/McCartney and Difford/Tilbrook, they seem to write songs separately, or almost so, with two distinct personalities emerging. What appear to be Neumann's songs (on which he sings lead vocals) tend to be examples of songwriting craftsmanship, like the lead-off track "Blowin' My Mind," an evocation of ‘60s pop/rock down to the slangy title. Llanas, on the other hand, is altogether idiosyncratic, often nakedly emotional and willing to use specific, personal details in his lyrics. In the love song "Way Down," for instance, he provides this verse: "I remember very clearly/We were drinkin' vintage sherry/You left a little drop on your lower lip/I leaned over, and I licked it." Just as they exhibit different writing styles, the two bandleaders have different singing styles, with Neumann displaying a sturdy tenor that has taken on a slight grain over the years, while Llanas has a somewhat whiny but more distinctive high voice. If this were a comedy act like Abbott & Costello, Neumann would be Bud Abbott the straight man, and Llanas, Lou Costello, the clown. But neither of them is trying to be funny on Indigo Dreams.