Chris Stamey, the producer behind such contemporary bands as Whiskeytown, Yo La Tengo, and Le Tigre, as well as the former leader of pop band the dBs, exercises his own vocals once again with his "A Question of Temperature," a pleasantly eclectic compilation of pop-rock nuggets and classic covers.
The sound itself is not revolutionary - one of the aims of the artist seems to be dusting off and buffing old sounds - but Stamey is pretty good at what he does. "The Shape of Things," an updated version of the The Yardbirds classic, begins with a melding of gritty vocals and springy bass lines and ends with a wonderfully psychotic explosion of guitars and percussion.
Though any rendition of "Politician" could never match the sexiness of the original by Cream, The Chris Stamey Experience's guitar riffs take on a newly edgy and frustrated sound, perfect to jam to while stuck in traffic.
While, oddly enough, the covers of classic songs are really what make the CD uniquely appealing, Stamey's original material is equally enjoyable. The most shining original track on the album is "McCauley Street (Let's Go Downtown)," a poignant ballad about a girl, Candy, who lives upstairs in an anonymous New York apartment and spends her life in quiet reclusiveness. The song grows from narrative storytelling to dark and discordant guitar reverberations.
"A Question of Temperature" is Stamey's second album since his return to music making. 2004's "Travels in the South" broke out after nearly a decade of a producer's silence and features guest artists such as Ryan Adams, Tift Merritt, Don Dixon, and Ben Folds. Though he has yet to gain a strong mainstream following, Stamey has maintained a small group of loyal fans since the early 1990s, and is well respected on the alternative scene.
