Flash Forward to the Good Times

Album review

Flash Forward to the Good Times is the debut solo album from Farmer Dave Scher, a pedal steel stalwart perhaps best known for his work with Beachwood Sparks, All Night Radio, and Jenny Lewis. As the album's over-the-top title, song titles ("Bab'lone Nights," "Feel Me Baby") and artwork (the back cover features a sherbet-tinted sunset and shoddy black-and-white cut-out of Scher) might suggest, Flash Forward is endowed with a heavy dose of ironic detachment. In a lot of ways, Flash Forward is a Dukes of Statosphear-style tribute to album-oriented rock -- and maybe even to the general idea of a summer album. Giving a nod to acts like Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, and Ian Hunter at their biggest, smoothest, and most dude-tastic, Scher piles on the sleek guitar stylings (including some really choice faux seagull effects on the title track), cheesy lyrics ("Look out to the horizon, baby/ Here it comes/Our love is a wave..."), and lush multi-instrumental flourishes you'd expect from such an endeavor. The main problem with Flash Forward has to do with Scher's intent: is this really comedy rock? The thing is, Scher is so deft at making musical references, and is such an intelligent musician to boot, Flash Forward often sounds like it should be taken seriously -- even if the lyrics are a little silly. Ultimately, Flash Forward really shines when Scher stops joking around and gets poignant, especially on "Surf Out Sunset." The track's gentle guitar strums (reminiscent of the world-weary Harvest-era Neil Young), washes of reverb and pedal steel offer a smooth counterbalance to Scher's scratchy, wobbly falsetto, and the whole thing comes off sounding something like a cross between Beachwood Sparks, Bon Iver, and Miracle Fortress. It's luminous, laid-back, and built on the kind of end-of-summer wistfulness that sticks to your guts long after the album is over.

© Margaret Reges /TiVo