by Thom JurekXavier Rudd, the Australian-born surf bum cum multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, has been a critic's darling since he made his earliest forays onto tape back in 2001 with his Live in Canada offering. Rudd plays everything from Weissenborn guitars to didgeridoo, djembe, stomp boxes, and various sundry percussion instruments, and he plays them well. On his initial live offering way back when, the word began to spread. His studio records -- which until now have been inferior to his live performances (big surprise there) -- have gained him stardom in his native land and a slowly and steadily growing fan base in the United States, primarily among his Generation Y contemporaries. His live gigs get bigger and better (he's a true star attraction at Bonnaroo), and he's begun to craft his songs more tightly and purposefully, as evidenced by his U.S. debut on Anti, 2005's Food in the Belly. He's made a career out of ethically correct, socially conscious narratives that have been at times preachy and bordering on trite (but then John Mayer's made a career out of it), though his melodies have been infectious and increasingly sophisticated in the manner in which he blends the various folk musics of Australia, rock, reggae, and blues. While Paul Simon has clearly influenced him -- especially in his vocal delivery -- one can hear traces of everyone from Ben Harper to Ziggy Marley and Neil Young in his songs. On White Moth he comes as close as possible to capturing his own live sound, where the immediacy of the performance quantifies with the clarity of the recording studio. Co-produced with Dave Ogilvie (yep, that one: the Skinny Puppy founder, producer, and sideman to David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, NIN, Mötley Crüe, and the Genitorturers must have found his feminine side), this collection is sincere, catchy, and beautifully and organically recorded in British Columbia -- it's the recording Rudd has been trying to make since he came in from the waves. That's not to say the lyrics aren't oh-so-politically correct (Bruce Cockburn offends more people that Rudd does), because they are, but they're woven into a fabric that is tighter and less concerned with making sure his point is heard than with getting a song across, trusting on some level that meaning is generated in doing so.... Read More...