Jonatha Brooke is one of those artists whose name always sounds familiar - if only because, really, how many people named “Jonatha” do you know? - but whose music you may not be familiar with…though, frankly, you really should be. She’s a talented singer-songwriter who first got her career rolling in the early ’90s as a member of a duo called The Story, with collaborator Jennifer Kimball, but Brooke soon stood on her own two feet and has trotted out album after album … some on major labels, some on indies … to critical acclaim and a decidedly diehard following. Popdose had the opportunity to speak with Brooke, and we took full advantage of it, asking her about as much of her back catalog as time allowed, quizzing her about how she recently came to collaborate with the late Woody Guthrie (and whether she could even concentrate with the awareness of what Billy Bragg and Wilco had already done with the man’s lyrics), and wondering where she stands on the state of the music industry today.

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In my eyes, the trick to delivering a compelling solo performance is to make each audience member feel as if they’re the only one in the room, and that with each song, an intimate secret is being shared between the two of you. I’ve seen too many performers that lack this awareness, but thankfully, Jonatha Brooke is not one of them.

Initially a double-bill of Brooke and Glen Phillips, the show at The Concert Hall at the NY Society for Ethical Culture became “An Evening With Jonatha Brooke” after Phillips sliced his arm open falling through a glass table a few weeks ago. (Details and photos at his blog, and interesting side note: Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek essentially saved the day.) Although I was disappointed that Phillips wouldn’t be performing, Brooke more than made up for it by performing two beautiful sets, a thoughtful blend of new and old music from her catalogue.

Gliding on stage with some of the dance moves inspired by her previous ballet training, Brooke opened with a number of songs from her past, including “Full-Fledged Strangers” from her first solo record and “Better After All” (one of my favorites from Back in the Circus), which marked the first time I’ve seen an artist use the three-string capo, altering the third, fourth and fifth strings so that it’s actually possible to play below the capo as well. “Keep the River on Your Right” (from Careful What You Wish For) presented itself much differently in a solo setting; although still a song about focus and determination, the mood behind it became much more quiet and reflective. Moments like these could too easily be lost on a less nuanced performer. (more…)

Earlier this month New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo reported that he had sent his staff to 1,000 pharmacies across the state in March, April, and May and found more than 250 that were selling expired milk, eggs, baby formula, and over-the-counter medication. The two biggest culprits were the CVS and Rite Aid chains. So what else have these drugstores not been telling consumers?

1. CVS-brand sparkling water gets its sparkle from Darfurian children’s tears. (White Lion, “When the Children Cry” [download])

2. That lawn chair you bought in the “seasonal” aisle? Someone had sex on it. (The Band, “Rockin’ Chair” [download])

3. Whenever you bought an impulse item at the front counter in 2000 and 2004, your name was added to a GOP database of potential swing voters most likely to vote for George W. Bush. (Everything But the Girl, “Politics Aside” [download])

4. Expired baby formula mixed with expired teeth whitener will totally get you high. (Glen Phillips, “I Want a New Drug” [download])

5. The security camera adds 25 pounds. (Joe Henry, “Fat” [download])

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Glen Phillips - Secrets of the New Explorers (2008)
purchase this album (CD Baby)

A concept album about space travel? From former Toad the Wet Sprocket member Glen Phillips? Quelle horror, right?

That’s what I thought, anyway, when I read about Secrets of the New Explorers, the six-song EP Phillips released a few months ago, complete with worrisome cartoon cover artwork. Having enjoyed bits and pieces of Toad’s output — and all of Phillip’s solo albums, even the too-glossy-by-half Winter Pays for Summer — I read the press kit, groaned, and quickly buried New Explorers in my office’s “unsorted discs” shelf, never to be unwrapped.

Except then Phillips’ publicist, who is dependably awesome, has terrific taste in clients, and — unlike most of her peers — can actually manage to send out an e-mail or an artist bio without committing horrible crimes against the English language, kept asking me if I planned to review the EP, and on account of all those qualities I just listed, I found myself unable to say no.

Which is a good thing, really, because Secrets of the New Explorers doesn’t sound anything like its description. There are no 10-minute song suites, no hokey sound effects, and no lyrics that give the listener the impression that Phillips has been listening to old Yes LPs. It’s just a home-brewed collection that happens to be about privately funded space travel, for no apparent reason other than that Phillips’ collaborator on the project, John Askew, suggested the topic when Phillips admitted he was at a loss.

Fittingly for an album inspired by new frontiers, Explorers is a bit of a sonic departure for Phillips — the songs are moodier and have the lab-created feel of a Pro Tools project — but there’s still plenty of room for the acoustic guitars and earnest vocals that Phillips’ fans have come to know and love. It won’t replace Mr. Lemons at the top of my list of favorite Glen Phillips solo albums, but it’s an interesting detour, and if there’s any justice, it’ll either generate enough shekels to fund his next full-length release or earn enough buzz to dry the ink on his next contract. He can explore space all he wants, but there’s no reason for this guy to be wandering the unsigned wilderness.

(Seeing as how this is an EP, we aren’t sharing any tracks here. Sample the disc at Phillips’ MySpace page — and then buy it, you cheap bastard.)