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| Popmatters |
 Mike Doughty came to a sort of prominence leading the band Soul Coughing, and it’s obligatory to refer to him as being ex- of that band, which disbanded a decade ago for a number of reasons. By this point, though, he’s recorded more music as a solo artist, and it might be that his post-band career will be the era that has a more lasting impact. He’s developed a specific sound over the last decade that is sleekier and more listener-friendly than his Soul Coughing work, but not entirely divorced from the bounce of that band. New release Yes and Also Yes (his fifth solo album, depending on how you’re counting) seems to crystallize his approach to rhythmic grooves and strange, witty lyrics.If there’s a comfortable sort of maturity on this album, there’s no loss of playfulness. Despite the album’s affirming title, the disc opens on a negative note with “Na Na Nothing”, a trick of sequencing that puts a single and one of the top tracks first while making a joke with the structure. If Doughty’s quick to find out he’s “a chump” and meditate on the nothingness exchanged in this relationship, he’s also slyly letting us know that he’s not buying into it. He begins with “Well, your man won’t dance but I will / He’s just a cup of punch that you’ll spill,” combining bravado with a quick put-down to all concern. The cleverness comes out of hurt, sure, but with an attitude that pushes past the hurt. Even in the seriousness of the album we find games at hand. “Makelloser Mann” comes entirely in German, and while the “immaculate man” of the title suggests a Teutonic precision, the song itself doesn’t carry the weight of continental philosophy. As one of the four songs on the album that last under two minutes, it’s a bit of a throwaway, despite its great catchiness and its ability to generate traffic to Babel Fish. If there’s a threat of getting na na nothing on the album, it’s undone by this sort of goofiness. Play aside, Doughty’s not a comedian (not exactly) and the album has its dark sides. We should be tipped off by his shaking a duloxetine capsule as a piece of percussion. It’s an antidepressant finding its teleological end externally, which says something that only that makelloser mann could get to. At any rate, we’re led to cuts like “The Huffer and the Cutter”, a gloomy piece about a huffer and a cutter. The best these two can find might be that “she was there and he was there”, unless they realize that “love made them beautiful at last”, a concept that Doughty suggests and undermines throughout his own song....full text |
| Hearhearmusic |
| “She doesn’t fall in love, she takes hostages,” Mike Doughty sings on “The Huffer and the Cutter,” which may well be his finest song in years, its sounds digging their way into your brain like meth-coated dark pop candy for the Breaking Bad generation. Needless to say, there’s plenty of reason to rejoice here the return of this erstwhile Soul Coughing frontman. The album, however, also sums up what it’s like to be a fan of one of alternative pop’s most wicked wordsmiths. Is Mike Doughty a modern rock prophet of cool? And is his latest album at the same time something a mixed bag of sublime hits and experimental half-song misses? The answer is Yes and Also Yes. The album plays quickly, and is chock-full of Doughty’s rapid-fire musings. But four of the songs come in at fewer than two minutes in length, barely giving him time to grab our attention with a coherent thought, let alone hook us with any ear candy....full text |
| Popblerd |
| There are not many artists in 2011 as prolific as Mike Doughty. He’s just unleashed his first entirely electronic album (Dubious Luxury: check out the review later this week), there’s a book due next year, oh, and a little thing called Yes And Also Yes which you are reading about right now and hopefully buying after finishing this. Of the music that is thrown at consumers/listeners year after year, it’s very rare that you find one single album that is consistently good from start to finish let alone an artist who consistently puts out albums that are good from start to finish. Mike Doughty puts out those kinds of albums and is that kind of artist. On Yes And Also Yes, Doughty has put together a unique collection of songs that transcends goodness. It’s so good, in fact, that it should be required listening for a new college course that I just created dubbed “Good Album Making 101″. Not convinced yet? Good, because I love talking about this album. Beginning with the highly infectious “Na Na Nothing” which was co-written by Nikki Sixx (Yes, THAT Nikki Sixx), Dan Wilson (Semisonic), and Matt Gerrard (High School Musical), Yes… starts with a short, concise song that sticks in your head long after it’s done. Much like the 13 tracks that follow will do. The tell of a great album is not only a song that grabs you out of the gates but the follow-up song (Or as I like to call it, track # 2) that needs to hold onto your attention and keep you around for the rest. “Into The Un” picks up where “Na Na Nothing ” left off and is as good, if not better, than the opener. There’s a driving beat, Doughty’s unmistakable voice coupled with some fast acoustic strums and electronic flourishes to make it “Un”forgettable (That was bad, wasn’t it?)....full text |
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