AMG Review of Mary Lou Lord/Sean Na Na [Split EP]

Bryan Carroll
All Music Guide

Well, here's a somewhat unexpected CD. Three songs each from two pop faves who float just a bit beneath the radar of the elusive star-making tastes of America's mass audience. First up is Boston's Mary Lou, whose God-given way with cover songs involves a propensity for diluting nearly any song she chooses; she's a musical food processor with one speed: liquefy. A prime example is the way she smoothes the edge right off of Lucinda Williams' "Hard Road," transforming it from a savory Southern pecan pie to a cutesy, gelatinous marshmallow puff. Her short list of original compositions isn't added to here either; Lord's three songs, including the aforementioned "Hard Road," are all covers. Sean Na Na fares a bit better, scoring one of his biggest hits here with "Princess and the Pony," a charismatic song in which Tillman ruminates on his eventual funeral party blowout. Tillman also tries his hand at songwriter "Lucky" Jeremy Allen's "My Old France," arranging a full band around Allen's spare, acoustic song.