Dressed Up for the Letdown

by Richard Swift

Overview

Richard Swift threw his dice down a lo-fi Tin Pan Alley on the Novelist/Walking Without Effort, a collection of sepia-toned curios that spanned 2001 to 2004 but sounded like visionary pop acetates from the 1904 World's Fair. The native Minnesotan and closet anglophile taps his cane down "Penny Lane" on Dressed Up for the Letdown, a warm and deceptively inviting celebration of post-Revolver "Fab Four" ("Kisses for the Misses" is pure, amiable McCartney despair). Swift's laconic delivery is often compared to contemporaries like Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainwright, but when he tosses off self-directed barbs like "I played your heart but I broke two strings Jesus Christ, you're a lovely thing" from the swooning "Buildings in America," it's a Ray Davies or Elvis Costello comparison that he's more deserving of. While the album as a whole does wallow a bit, it never suffers melodically. The Richard Hawley-esque "Ballad of You Know Who" may conjure up images of a cocktail-cherry-covered beverage napkin, but it feels more like a wink than a teardrop, the ambling title cut perks up as a ghostly horn trio wanders in from the cold, and the cabaret-style closer paints John the Baptist as "The Opening Band" for Jesus Christ. Dressed Up for the Letdown feels like the wee hours of morning, and that may keep some listeners from breaking it out as often as they should, but like all good slices of melancholy pie, it's best enjoyed in your basement while the rest of the world is asleep. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/03/2021
Label:	Secretly Canadian
UPC:	0656605013336
Rank:	105962

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Richard Swift   Primary Artist
F. Lenz   Drums
Eric Hosler   Violin
Elijah Thomson   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Victor Lawrence   Cello
Matt Fronke   Flugelhorn
Shanti Randall   Viola
Eric J. Hosler   Violin

Technical Credits

Chris Colbert   Audio Engineer,Mixing
Elijah Thomson   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Richard Swift   Composer,Engineer
Onasis   Artwork
Lance Alton Troxel   Liner Notes
Ulysses   Artwork