Now, y’all know that we love Derek and like to post positive things about him. That said, this thing I’m about to post, it’s terribly negative … but it’s so bad, it’s almost funny. Back a couple weeks ago, Derek and Sandra played down in Birmingham, and I went to the show. We found the following review in a copy of Birmingham’s City PaperBlack & White. Warning—it’s brutal:
On her own, Sandra McCracken is a quirky pop songstress with tons of personality. On his own, Derek Webb looks like a refugee from “Prison Break” without the charisma or reasonable sense of outrage. Together, they’re a lovely folk duo with one strong voice and another that’s nicely muted. Webb might also be distracted from his usual bizarre Christian content, where the Bible is a mere sliding scale with less historical weight than yesterday’s horoscope. Judge for yourself if the moments of beauty and weirdness are worth the duo’s slumming in Americana territory.
I’ve read that four or five times now, and I still have no words.
Additionally: A friend from the area wrote in to let me know the reviewer’s name [which I'll decline to mention] and to correct me on the name of the paper. Apparently, writing interviews like this is the reviewer’s schtick, to get notice.
Simply stunning.
Gotta love my hometown. (Not really.)
On the other hand, D&S got a glowing review in Columbus’ The Other Paper.
I always thought Derek was a bit more like [i]Lost[/i] than [i]Prison Break[/i]
Wow…. i think the author of that article had a serious case of word vomit. and in the mess, he decided to lick it up and try it again… even more disgusting than the first vomit. (like most vomit, you can barely make sense of what was eaten before it was regurgitated. )
Well, considering the author of the review called them a “lovely folk due” instead of a “lovely folk duo”, I’ll disregard what they’re tellin’ me.
The “refugee from Prison Break” line is pretty funny, though.
The typo was mine. I’ve corrected it.