Pulse's Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia review (3 1/2 stars)
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Pulse
Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
by Scott Schinder
August, 2000
Courtney Taylor's prior musical exploits have had more to do with self-mythologizing flash than mature insight. So it's a nice surprise that this ambitious epic finds Taylor and Co. achieving an impressive level of emotional and intellectual engagement without sacrificing the glammy smartass swagger establised on his previous releases.
The 13-song disc builds momentum with artful ease, starting off with a trio of elegantly brooding midtempo pieces before veering into more poppier - and more pointed - territory. "Godless," "Mohammed" and "Nietzsche" kick off the album of unironically cerebral note before the goofy barnyard shuffle "Country Leaver" momentarily confuses the issue. The album eventually reveals its pop heart with "Solid," "Horse Pills' and the infectiously anthemic "Get Off," all of which address the impulse to escape with humor and compassion, as does the delicate, vulnerable "Sleep." After mining more pop pleasures with "Cool Scene" and "Bohemian Like You," the ride ends on a distinctly graceful note with the Beach Boys-ish hymn "The Gospel," whose unironic embrace of optimism offers a gracious counterpoint to the major and minor traumas addressed elsewhere on the album.
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