THE DAVENPORTS - HI-TECH LOWLIFE

The mother of all dvd's
My seven sacred speakers and
My work-related expertise
Bring to life their body-sandwich

The narrator of "Hi-Tech Lowlife," the title track
from The Davenports' sophomore release, has birthed
his magnum opus - the ultimate porn-viewing
experience. His story and others of equally peculiar
perspective permeate this follow-up to the band's
acclaimed debut record, Speaking of The Davenports,
which garnered a 4-star review in the All Music Guide,
and was called "a minor quirk-pop classic" by Ink19.
On the new record, The Davenports garnish their pop
plate even more elaborately, sprinkling bits of
Flaming Lips and Bacharach onto slices of Crowded
House, XTC and Ben Folds.

Helmed by Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist Scott Klass, who played
alongside Chris Collingwood in the Fountains of Wayne
frontman's previous band, The Davenports' pop is a
tight weave of novel, wistful melody and vivid,
sometimes skewed storytelling. As stated by Kevin
Matthews on MTV Asia, "Klass is able to touch hearts
and nerves by marrying words and music in a seamless
construct." His desperate narrators again let us in on
their clandestine musings with deft wordplay, as does
the brown-noser of "Daisy to Everyone":

I'm not born to be trampled on
Weather your inclement weather well
Bad news-breaker to bludgeon
Messenger to kill - I'm not your girl

'I heard Anna Lee tear you to pieces
yesterday - you didn't hear it from me'
says Daisy some more,
keeping herself off your shit-list for sure
Daisy to everyone

With the help of co-producer Charles Newman (Flare),
the band paints an even broader musical landscape this
time around, swapping some (but not all) of the
big-guitar power pop for some less-expected
approaches, like the horn-driven waltz of "Daisy To
Everyone," the farfisa-driven disco of the title cut,
and the country-tinged, string-slathered ballad of
"Eric Grey." The band lineup again includes some of
NYC's finest, such Dan Miller (of They Might Be
Giants) on lap steel and lead guitar, Sam Mcilvain on
lead guitar, Thomas Ward on bass and Rob Draghi on
drums.

"Klass has that rare ability to mix humor and
heartbreak to great effect" wrote Playback of The
Davenports debut. Hi-Tech Lowlife carries that
tendency to a fresh set of pop gems that manage to
cover a wide sonic and stylistic territory and cling
tightly to each other at the same time.