Record Review - 2 December 04 2003

Indie-rock troubadour Ted Leo didn’t really need this 10-track curio to acquaint us with his influences. A cursory listen to albums like the frenetic The Tyranny of Distance positions him as a power-populist whose street-busker urgency is counterbalanced by a strong hook-pop sensibility. What’s more, rock critics mention names like Costello and Bragg in such close proximity to Leo’s that it’s a wonder he doesn’t get confused when signing his autograph.

Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead, which pads two impressive numbers from this year’s Hearts of Oak with three covers, three new tunes and two brief bouts of pointless sonic masturbation, doesn’t do much to loosen the straps on that pigeonholing straitjacket. Not that Leo tries very hard to wriggle free. Covers of The Jam’s “Ghosts” and the Split Enz hit “Six Months in a Leaky Boat” solidify his standing as a follower of the mod squad, while a rendition of British folk legend Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town” gives further proof of his earnest protest-singer ambitions.

Tell Balgeary, which gives Leo a chance to strut his stuff solo, without the added muscle of his band the Pharmacists, largely ignores his tendency toward ebullient guitar pop. Taken as an indulgence, it’s a fun, diverting tchotchke, a not-quite solo album that treads familiar waters. But it squanders an opportunity to further stake Leo’s claim to his own stylistic identity.

Ted Leo/Pharmacists play the Echo Lounge Thurs., Dec. 11. $10.