The Minus 5 are a band which began around a decade ago as a side project for singer/songwriter Scott McCaughey. McCaughey has received critical acclaim, if not exactly commercial success, for his work with the Young Fresh Fellows, the Baseball Project and as an unofficial member of R.E.M. for the last 15 years.
Based out of Seattle, McCaughey got lumped in with the grunge movement in the early ‘90s, primarily based on the fact that he happened to live in the same city as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and company. However, McCaughey’s songs have far less to do with Neil Young and fuzzed out guitars than they do with the pristine classical melodies of Big Star and The Beatles.
The Minus 5’s most recent album, Killingsworth, definitely strays from his Big Star influences. Featuring lots of acoustic guitars, steel guitar and female backing vocals reminiscent of Emmy Lou Harris, this album is far more Gram Parsons than Alex Chilton. However, this stylistic shift definitely works in McCaughey’s favour since it highlights his intelligent, witty and literate lyrics.
This album features contributions from Peter Buck of R.E.M., Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. Highlights include “Scott Walker’s Fault,” “Dark Hand Of Contagion” and “Your Favourite Mess.”
4 out of 5
The Minus 5 - "The Lurking Barrister"
...submitted by JJ
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