The Cuts You Said Were Good is a 12-track album filled with emotion and dark tales of poverty, addiction and lost youth. While the accompanying music is stronger than the vocals, it is Newman’s rustic folk sensibility that comes across throughout the album. Mixing strong percussion with guitar, piano, string and horn parts, the album varies from a jazz feel to, at times a punk sound on tracks like the edgier “Skinniest People.”
After moving to San Diego with his family while in his teens, Newman soon picked up guitar. In college he majored in music and honed his guitar and piano composition skills. Eventually deciding not to pursue music as a career, Newman instead entered the catering field while continuing songwriting as a hobby.
Releasing his debut album, The Cuts You Said Were Good, in June, Newman enlisted the help of session players, a producer and engineer after perfecting many of the track’s sounds and instrumental features himself. The collective work results in numerous somber tales. A mother addicted to drugs whose husband soon abandons her and child, death of teenage lovers due to drunk driving and evidently, unsatisfied lives encompass the album. From his strong vibrato to almost spoken word segments interwoven within his ever changing and brusque vocals, Newman switches gears rather unexpectedly from track to track.
His Web site states The Cuts You Said Were Good is, “the culmination of music crafted in available moments discovered in a hectic life.” This can easily be seen by first track, “Face First.” Beginning softly with piano, Newman sings “Girls who tan in winter/Boys who never grow up/That’s not me, that’s not you.” Right away, the listener realizes this isn’t your typical album release. The Cuts You Said Were Good talks of societal problems, many times beginning within one’s own family.
Full of angst-ridden lyrics, the first few songs are difficult to relate to. Whether he’s lamenting about drug abuse on “Such An Ugly Girl” by singing, “Do another line boy/Kiss the world goodbye” or hinting at failed families in “Skinniest People” one can’t help but wonder the origin of the lyrics. On “Skinniest People,” Newman sings, “I see you’re going back to China/The skinniest people I’ve ever met” before belting in punk-rock screams, “Here your name sounds really strange.” One can only insinuate what he may be really saying and hope it’s not the case.
“Everybody’s Gone” begins with moving violin before Newman whispers, “Welfared and displaced/We’re ripped apart in three states/Run and hide/Start a new life.” Possibly autobiographical, Newman’s family fled housing projects, bill collectors, and bad decisions when he was a teenager. Portraying the most emotive vocals, there are no surprises vocally or musically on this track. More ballads like this could have only helped The Cuts You Said Were Good. Nothing in this track is forced and it flows best on the album.
Another track which can be interpreted many ways, depending on the listener, is “It’s Never Getting Better.” A bit edgier than “Everybody’s Gone” with electric guitar and rough vocals, Newman sings, “Your life isn’t over/If you don’t survive/Your time isn’t over/You won’t be left behind/An attitude, no gratitude/Then your parents die/Your time’s nearly over/So decide between/Living on your knees/Or working for the things you need.”
Overall, The Cuts You Said Were Good lacks a cohesive flow to keep the listener intrigued. While it is Newman’s debut release, at times it sounds more like an album of continuous venting then an album of songs. However, it is undeniable that there is much talent here. The musical accompaniment is strong and the slower tracks featuring Newman’s softer vocals stand out best. As a result, more tracks like “Everybody’s Gone” would have left more of an impact on the listener.
Reviewed By Annie Reuter
