Mike Doughty’s new album as ‘delicious’ as it sounds

By Josh Eiserike

Published: March 12, 2008

If there’s one thing consistent with Mike Doughty, it’s that he’ll do whatever he damn well pleases.

Doughty first made a name for himself with Soul Coughing, a late ‘90s alterna-drum ‘n’ bass outfit best known for the single “Circles.“ Doughty set off to tour the country by himself with only an acoustic guitar for company after Soul Coughing disbanded. He’d gone from an experimental rhyme slinger to folk singer overnight. And, as people started to come around to the new Doughty, he released an EP, “Rockity Roll,“ which was more electronic than just about everything in the Soul Coughing catalog, a sharp left from his acoustic guitar.

No matter what hat Doughty wore (he also did a dance house collaboration with BT and a couple songs with nerd rockers, They Might Be Giants) quality never suffered.

Until he met Dave Matthews.

Doughty’s first proper solo album, “Haughty Melodic” was a spectacular failure of a stoner record trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. (Doughty had signed to Mat-thews’ ATO Records and Matthews contributed backing vocals to one track). It was as if Dave Matthews personally co-opted everything that made Doughty cool and interesting. Any of the left-of-center charm, the blips and bleeps or the lyrical detours that made Doughty’s previous stuff so much fun had been distilled into radio-friendly mush.

Doughty told The Potomac News last year that he was working on “the sequel.“ If that’s the case, his new album, “Golden Delicious” is one of those rare sequels that improves on the original.

“Golden Delicious” sounds like Matthews took a step back and let Doughty do his thing. True, producer Dan Wilson was behind the boards on both efforts, but “Golden Deli-cious” is much more varied and confident than its predecessor.

First track, “Fort Hood,“ marks Doughty’s return to the political. He’s just as conflicted about the war in Iraq here as he was on “Move On,“ a song he contrib-uted to the “Future Soundtrack for America,“ a Moveon.org benefit album. Here, he’s singing about soldiers on the Texas Army base that has lost the most troops in Iraq.

“You should be getting stoned with a prom dress girl/You should still believe in an endless world/You should blast Young Jeezy with your friends in a parking lot,“ Doughty sings, inspired by visiting wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Then, he borrows the chorus from “The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In).“

The rest of “Golden Delicious” is fairly apolitical; songs about girls and plenty of lyrical nonsense. It’s a solid, cohesive effort, but there’s enough of everything to satisfy fans of Soul Coughing, folk singer Doughty, robo Doughty or stoner-rock Doughty.

“More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle” is the closest thing to a Soul Coughing song he’s recorded in years. It’ll infuriate listeners who discovered him through “Haughty Melodic,“ but it’s a nice treat for old fans.

“Golden Delicious” is front-loaded with the bigger numbers, including the only misstep “27 Jennifers” (a superior version appeared on “Rockity Roll”) and the infectious “I Just Want The Girl In The Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing.“ The second half is more subdued, but no less enjoyable.

“Wednesday (Contra La Puerta)“ and “Like A Luminous Girl” are more restrained, but as accomplished and catchy as anything he’s written.

Doughty saves the best for last, “Navigating By The Stars At Night.“ It’s haunt-ing, especially when he repeats the title. That’s where Doughty works best, using his dis-tinctive nasal rumble to echo a repetitive phrase over and over until it becomes an inescapable hook. In some instances, this strategy overshoots or overstays its welcome (think “Circles.“) Here, it results in his best closing track since “Janine” ended Soul Coughing’s first, “Ruby Vroom.“

Staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072 or .