I wasn't familiar with the name Kevin Clay before these discs came in for review, but I am now. Kevin made his debut on Alarma records in 1996 with the album Watch Me Fall, and as far as I know, these two new releases are the first ones since then. Nashvegas / Land of Milk and Money is a two CD set of 21 songs divided into two parts: Rock and Roll (Me)ssiah, and Modern-Day Martyr of an Everyday (Her)esy. I may be reading too much into it, but the story appears to be chronicling Kevin's experiences and journey though the Christian music industry in Nashvegas(ville). Each of the songs have a short description beside each of them in the liner notes, "Call Me Black - How a merchant bought a beggar a drink, spiked it, charged it to his account, left him at the bar, and wouldn't return his calls" is one which I found to be quite amusing. You'll have to buy the album to read the rest of them. Though the album is a sharp commentary, there is also equal space devoted to Kevin's spiritual journey as he has discovered more about his relationship to Christ and grown closer to God.
Musically, the second CD of the set has very minimalistic orchestration often with just guitar and drums, while the first CD has more songs with a full band and more guitar effects, and stylistically is roughly in the vein of Radiohead, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan. Kevin's voice has a new wavey sound to it which at times reminds me of David Bowie, and of Jeremy Enick of Sunny Day Real Estate.
Jesusville U.S.A. really confused me, because at least the first 6 songs on the CD are the same as the ones on Nash Vegas, in the same order, but the song names are different. Tracks 11 through 21 are bonus live tracks featuring a Mike Knott cover and a version of the Sex Pistols "Pretty Vacant." Personally, I'd just buy the double CD. The song descriptions are funny enough that it's worth buying for that reason alone.
Similar sounding releases
1997Carolyn ArendsFeel Free
2000Michael KnottThings To Come, Things I've Done
1999SwitchfootNew Way To Be Human
2000SuperheroBurn and Dazzle
1998Steve HindalongSkinny
2000Howie DayAustralia
