Alec Ounsworth's Mo Beauty

What would Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah sound like if vocalist Alec Ounsworth were left to his own devices? It's a question his solo album, Mo Beautyaims to answer with dramatic flare. Recorded in New Orleans at the famed Piety St. Studio with a host of friends and famous musicians the record is about as far away from CYHASY as you could ever hope to get. Instead of the obvious influences, this record influenced by the city and the friends around him, as a result, Mo Beauty turned out to be a fantastic experiment that worked out perfectly.

While shamelessly rooted in indie rock, Mo Beautyis still different then anything else Alec Ounsworth has recorded. Sure, Alec's vocals are unmistakable and will have you thinking the album is actually a CYHASY album that you've not heard but rest assured it isn't and that's not a bad thing. With a tendency for sweeping almost epic songs, Mo Beauty is as exactly as it's title says, a beauty.

Sitting somewhere between being nostalgic, folky, bluesy, and rooted in New Orleans, Mo Beautysounds as if it were a modern take on ragtime or blues. But when you take that and load it with more horns than piano and more jump and jive then it probably should you get an album that steps out of those easily defined parameters. I love the fact that the local flavor of New Orleans shines through so many of the songs here. The bluesy old time feeling that so many of the songs here possess help differentiate Alec's efforts from his other band. He's done a fantastic job at putting together these songs and Mo Beauty is anything but an afterthought.

There's a lot of heart and the soul of New Orleans in this record and it's those influences that help make Alec Ounsworth's debut so successful. Mo Beautyis an enjoyable album that while at times similar to a Clap Your Hands album, has it's own personality that's filled with a dramatic bluesy aesthetic. Mo Beauty is an impressive solo debut and Alec can be rest assured that when he's got more time to dedicate to this he's sitting on gold.