When
former Soul Coughing vocalist Mike Doughty signed on with Dave Matthews' record
label, it was a clear statement of the direction he wanted his music to evolve
in, citing his excitement at finding a place where the indie-rock/rap hybrid of
his old band could coexist with a mellower jam-band aesthetic. He seems happy
enough in that new mode, which he unrolled on 2005's Haughty Melodic and continues on Golden
Delicious. But
it's disappointing to hear Doughty's early promise as a lyricist now focused on
such bland music: It's like watching Allen Ginsberg toss aside his Beat poetry
to write scripts for The King Of Queens. (Okay, maybe not that bad.) Golden
Delicious
rides along on an unchanging, mid-tempo vibe that puts too much weight on
Doughty's limited vocal range, stumbling midway through on the
cringe-inducingly unfunky "More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle."