Andrew Primm
Mercenary
To be sure, Andy Primm is one of Santa Fe's premiere musicians-as likely to don KISS makeup and spandex and play at an outdoor festival as a coat and tie to sit in with an Aid and Comfort
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ensemble-whose musical talent is always in demand. That talent, that ability to skip from one genre to the next, that knack for poppy songwriting, proves quickly noticeable on
Mercenary
, his new CD. The disc kicks off with "Everywhere," an upbeat little jazz-lite love song, odd in its harkening to…Michael McDonald FM jams, of all things. It's a sweet little tune, but not a rocker.
The rockers come later, starting with "Stay, Stacey, Stay," a perfect piece of pop confection if ever there were one. With an opening guitar riff that evokes Rick Springfield and Asia(!), synthesized strings and more hooks than a tackle box, "Stay" is one of Primm's best songs. Ditto the keyboard-based "Molly Ringwald," a musical embodiment of every John Hughes film ever made, a danceable ode to teen angst and good soundtracks. "Molly" is followed by the wire-y, '80s-ish "Where Have U Been," a song of betrayal that would be heartbreaking if it weren't for its infectiousness, addictive background vocals and rockin' guitar solo by guest guitarist Mikey Baker.
What marks
Mercenary
most is a certain confoundedness amidst all the simple (at least on the surface) pop. Whether intentional or not, there is an '80s feel to the disc, and it's tough to solve the puzzle: Who is this guy? An FM jammer? A Prince acolyte? A John Hughes fetishist?
The answer is: It doesn't matter. Primm stuns in his songwriting abilities, his clear addiction to craft and his balance of irony and sheer glee. In fact he answer, then, is this: Just put the disc on and dance.
The
Mercenary
CD release party takes place 5-7 pm Sunday, May 21 at WilLee's (401 S. Guadalupe St., 982-0117).
