REQUEST

MARCH, 1996

BY ELYSA GARDNER

Maybe the world doesn’t need another brooding young singer/songwriter, but the latest album by IDAHO, the brainchild of moody minstrel Jeff Martin, has its moments of bleak beauty. On Three Sheets to the Wind (Caroline), Martin’s ragged vocals continue to recall Kurt Cobain at his most resignedly melancholy, and the vaguely dissonant acoustic guitar work evokes a spectrum of bluish emotions, from casual ambivalence to utter dejection. Not recommended for the depressive, or to play for dates or party guests.