Chris Cacavas
Dwarf Star

(Innerstate)

First Appeared at The Music Box, April 2000, Volume 7, #4

Written by John Metzger

Like many artists who have struggled to find an audience in the United States, Chris Cacavas decided to pack his bags and seek refuge in Europe. After spending several years there, Cacavas recently returned home to release his first album since 1992 — the soft, subtle, and acoustic-tinged Dwarf Star. The album is indeed a charming set, full of warm melodies, heartfelt vocals, exquisite instrumentation, and lyrically despondent musings on the human condition.

Throughout Dwarf Star, Cacavas picks out simple rhythms and melodies on his guitar, and these in turn are lovingly intertwined with the sorrowful slide work of John Thoman and the tearful trickles of mandolin by Robert Lloyd. However, despite the time he spent in Europe, Cacavas still seems to be struggling to find his own voice, and for all their beauty, his songs remain too closely aligned to those of Neil Young and David Crosby. Nevertheless, Cacavas emulates some of the best music these legends have offered over the years, and he does it better than most. That's truly not a bad place to start.

Dwarf Star is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2000 The Music Box