Jim White - Transnormal Skiperoo
Pensacola — a panhandle Gulf town best known for hosting hurricanes, evangelicals, and post-hardcore bands — is a tough home base for a surreally gothic alt-country crooner with a Gram Parsons bent. But Jim White’s Joe Pernice–produced fourth record (whose title White claims is shorthand for a sensation of total giddiness and gratitude) deftly melds Southern-flavored soul with California twang. Stompers like “Turquoise House” and “Crash Into the Sun” are unusually buoyant for White, full of backing vocals, Dobro, and electric guitar. Much like his hometown, Transnormal Skiperoo is sunny and dark at the same time.
White’s always possessed an ethereal quality, even on his most earthbound songs, so this lighter sound suits him well. Although, truth be told, his style is so fluid and smooth that it seems to fit well into whatever frame a producer puts around it. Finishing one of his records always leaves you feeling as if an enigmatic wanderer’s just left town. Transnormal Skiperoo, another quality addition to a too-short list of White releases, is no different. CD on sale for $11.99
Owner, founder, resident Mahler fanatic since 1975. Loves jazz, bluegrass, worldbeat, and old geezer blues rock by Canned Heat or Johnny Winter. Obsessed with 60’s and 70’s era John Lee Hooker. Don’t ask him about the Eagles.
