Jan. 21, 2009 - Issue #692: Sylvain Voyer

Jeff Andrew

Jeff Andrew
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, Jeff Andrew

Jeff Andrew
Vagabonds & Wastrels
(Shade Tree)

Jeff Andrew’s debut Vagabonds & Wastrels could have easily been called Minstrels & Troubadours—although that would have meant loosing the play of “VW” in the rambling hobo songs. Andrew’s vivid lyrics conjure up the wanderer, the odd-job picker, the man or woman whose dreams are too big to be tied up in mortgages and the “right” schools. The easy strumming, underlined by fiddling, plays in washes of accordion and organ and soon you’re sticking your thumb out on the Highway of Tears or sharing a bottle with Kerouac. From “Truck Stop Wall (Highway of Tears)” to “Wanderlust” the draw of the road is palpable, but so is the desire to find a place to call home. The push and pull of these opposing forces can make for a ragged soul, but they can also make for a complex album, one that not only tips its hat to Tom Waits and Utah Phillips but also asks them to sit down for a while. V

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