The badpenny trio of Sandeigh Barrett, Dave Womer and Sean Bryant don't do anything especially complicated. Instead of tarting up their tunes with ornate arrangements and instrumental gewgaws, they focus upon four of popular music's most rudimentary tools: guitar, bass, drums and voice. Although lead singer Barrett often sounds as if she learned to croon at the intersection of Sleater and Kinney, her steady, confident tone enlivens tracks such as "Butterflies and Fairies," whose new-agey title is undercut by the saucy couplet "I'm goin' to drive away/Before I smash your face in."
There's nothing revolutionary about these eleven numbers, but they're consistently smart, sharp and satisfying. Those are rare commodities.
