And at number six…

Artist: The Parting Gifts
Titles: Strychnine Dandelion
Label: In The Red 201
Release Date: October, 2010

“Pursed lips still red with wine / Tell me lies as they’re touching mine” sings Coco Hames in “Bound” the second track of Strychnine Dandelion. Hames is also the lead singer of The Ettes. The composer of “Bound” is Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound. Cartwright produced the previous Ettes record, which lead to the formation of The Parting Gifts.

The Parting Gifts is mainly the Ettes augmented by Cartwright on vocals and guitar, plus lending his tremendous songwriting talents. Ten of the fifteen tracks are Cartwright numbers, four are Coco’s and the other is a Stones cover – “Walking Through The Sleepy City.”

Cartwright writes it best in the cut, “Staring.” He sings, “A steady diet of broken dreams and aspertame,” which describes the album perfectly. Cartwright may have perfected melancholy garage rock. He writes and sings with his heart truly exposed but surrounded by sweet rock and roll hooks. The Coco Hames songs run from country-tinged rock to punk. She serves as a good muse for Cartwright who has developed a signature sound. Coco on the other hand shows she is still exploring and pushing musical boundaries.

Cartwright carries most of the vocal work, even singing on the Hames composition, “My Baby Tonight,” a smoky piece of early 60s influenced R&B. Sadly, “Bound” is the only track where Cartwright and Hames duet. Plus, the title track is better suited for Coco to sing, but Cartwright took the lead on it.

Nonetheless, it is another strong offering from Greg Cartwright. He doesn’t get the attention of someone like Jack White, per se. But as a person who bought every single White put out on his Third Man label this year, I’ll take the Cartwright creations over Mr. White’s.