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This is a nice outing from solo artist Desar. The Salem MA musician styles himself after highwaymen from the 1700s, which is a fun choice and he's handsome enough to pull it off. But his main influence here is neither 18th century period music nor Adam Ant (the last musician I can recall running around dressed like Dick Turpin), it's David Bowie.
You can clearly hear the influence of Bowie on this CD's third track, "Babylon Train". It's a wonderful upbeat piece of pop/rock. But the Bowie influence has more to do with style and fearlessness. He hasn't aped any of Bowie's looks but he does show that he isn't afraid to add sexy theatricality to music, which is always a boon. Musically he's also not afraid to explore more than one sound on "Beyond the Law".
Several of the songs feature Desar alone at the piano and he excels at this arrangement but he also does well when he adds in more instruments and even when he's joined by another vocalist (Ad Frank on an intentionally disharmonious cover of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day"). Not surprisingly my favorite tracks are where the music comes closest to matching the image.
Both "Club Monbijou" and "Another Stitch" feature a rollicking piano sound that evokes a lost-in-time roadhouse. You can image a video that features the dashing Desar robbing a coach then riding to an inn where he entertains the drunken crowd by playing either of these songs.
If there's a misstep on this recording it's that Desar never takes the opportunity of turning his keyboard into the most appropriate instrument for his fashion choice: the harpsichord. I would have loved that, also working in a string quartet on some of the songs would have given them an intriguing depth.
As a bonus the disc features four pieces that he composed for the film "Prometheus Triumphant". Usually I'm indifferent to tacked on tracks but these manage to work. In fact, I like the album best when I play it on shuffle and the bonus tracks are worked in with the other songs. (Perhaps because Desar covers such a wide territory on "Beyond the Law".)
I can't help but wonder how long Desar plans on working the gentleman robber routine, but he does it quite well. Perhaps his next outing will work in more sounds the fit his visual style.
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Desar:
http://www.desar.com/
http://www.myspace.com/luciendesar
Silent Spirit:
http://www.allrecordlabels.com/db/8/3578.html
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