Archive Review: Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3’s …tick…tick…tick (2006)

Former Dream Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn has enjoyed a lengthy, distinguished, and sadly uncommercial solo career over the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, critical acclaim doesn’t put food on the table, you can’t wear your good reviews on your back, and making great records won’t necessarily put a roof over your head. Wynn has refused to give up, however, continuing to write and record at an impressive pace, haunting the dark corners of the indie-rock world with his sonic experimentations.

While most of his solo efforts have involved virtual pick-up bands of friends and admirers, for …tick…tick…tick Wynn has pieced together a talented outfit that enjoys a real band chemistry, the trio serving as the perfect foils for Wynn’s ever-wicked artistic vision. With “The Marvelous 3” in tow, Wynn has attempted to “convey the sensation of post-millennium panic” (his words, not mine).

Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3’s …tick…tick…tick

All in all, I’d say that Wynn accomplished what he set out to do. The songs and performances on …tick…tick…tick are at once both hauntingly beautiful and darkly alluring, the band capable of moving from a whisper to a scream at the speed of a heartbeat. Guitarist Jason Victor’s six-string wails like a wolverine caught in a trap while bassist Dave DeCastro and drummer Linda Pitmon serve up a barn-burning beat behind Wynn’s fluid (and often-echoed) vocals.

The effect is both disconcerting and undeniably charismatic, Wynn and crew masterfully blending anarchic rock ‘n’ roll, chaotic rhythms, jangling psychedelica and folk-influenced lyricism to a powerful conclusion. Wynn’s nuanced wordplay plays across the artist’s usual noir landscapes, dark-hued story-songs and bleak confessional poetry inhabited by loss and confusion, betrayal and frustration in a world of reckless betrayal and helpless romanticism.

It’s heady stuff, to be sure, but Wynn has pulled off this delicate lyrical balancing act more often than not. With a young, hungry band behind him to assist in shaping his unique vision, Wynn has delivered in …tick…tick…tick his best work, arguably, since the Dream Syndicate days. Damn near every song here would sound great on the radio, and if there was any justice in this cold, cruel world (hint…there ain’t none), Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3 would enjoy massive CD sales and constant radio airplay to go along with the almost-guaranteed critical accolades.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Ready for his coronation, …tick…tick…tick cements Wynn’s status as indie-rock royalty, an artist ripe for rediscovery and appreciation by an audience thirsting for real rock ‘n’ roll cheap thrills. (Down There Records)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2006