Jeff Tracy

Moments in Time (Aardvark)

Jeff Tracy, singer and guitarist for local pop polishers Blue Cartoon, has placed his friends in an awkward position with this solo effort. Imagine: “How do I like your record? Oh, um. Have you lost weight? New glasses?” In other words – and this means you, Austinites at large – just because you can put out an album doesn’t mean you should. Moments in Time sounds canned, tinny, uninspired. The pretty, Beatles-inspired harmonies of “When You Said Goodbye” are ruined by extra-cheesy synthesizer, and “Target” is nondescript enough to be the soundtrack for a bad, low-budget 1980s comedy. Tracy hits some sort of stride with the pleasant, almost New Wave feel of “Out of the Blue” and the sepia-toned nostalgia of “Sundown in Smallville.” Too bad they’re at the end of Time.

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This article appears in February 15 • 2008.

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