Andrew Lipke - Motherpearl and Dynamite

Genre folk Publisher Maddragon Records

South African born, Andrew Lipke, grew up with a knack for playing the piano.  He moved to Philadelphia, PA in 1987 and added playing the guitar to his musical skills.  In Philadelphia. he is well known as a talented singer/songwriter.  His guitar playing is smooth, and his voice is even smoother as heard in his latest release, Motherpearl and Dynamite.   Sometimes, a good voice and guitar skills are not enough to carry an album, as is the case with this release.

The nine-track record starts off with a comfortable track, ‘On My Way’.  This was a great choice.  It is well done and doesn’t offer anything that would turn listeners off.  Unfortunately, the next two tracks are boring.  ‘Get It Over With’ is exactly what I was thinking while listening to the second track with the same name, and ‘Forgive and Forget’ is forgettable.  Things take a better turn at song number four.  ‘Sweet Changing Heart’ showcases Lipke’s buttery voice.  Although the chorus is a bit cliché, overall it is a nice change of pace.

The record falls back into boredom with the fifth song ‘After the Goldrush’.  It can best be described as a yawn. With lyrics like “I was thinkin’ of somethin’ a friend once said, I was hoping it was a lie” repeated over and over again, it is difficult to finish the song.  ‘The Barker Song’ is much more upbeat and interesting.  It has some clever guitar work, and overall is a pretty good rock song.  This may be the best track on Motherpearl and Dynamite.  ‘The Barker Song’ highlights Andrew Lipke’s talent and helps you understand why he has a local following in Philadelphia.  “Get yourself wrapped up in the show, baby the show, baby the show”.  You will get wrapped up in this one.

The record finishes off with the tracks ‘Mindgames’, ‘Flesh and Bone’, and ‘Only a Minute’ which are all forgettable.  ‘Mindgames’ starts out with a recording of Lipke saying he was going to try again to see how the song goes.  It seems as though he was trying to sound sinister in the song, but ends up sounding whiney.  ‘Flesh and Bone’ and ‘Only a Minute’ again highlight Lipke’s vocal ability, but don’t offer anything that will capture your interest and both also sound whiney.  It is difficult to imagine choosing to listen to these two songs.  In fact, ironically what Motherpearl and Dynamite lacks is spark.