Rusty Anderson
Undressing Underwater (Surfdog)
by Marc Hirsh

originally published in Amplifier, November-December 2005

The best thing that can be said about Rusty Anderson’s Undressing Underwater is that it doesn’t sound a thing like Paul McCartney. That’s not the (double) backhanded compliment that it looks like, but it’s a very real concern for Anderson, whose day job finds him playing guitar at Macca’s right and pretending that all the screaming is for him. Instead, though, Undressing Underwater is a neat, enjoyable guitar pop album that’s inspired by McCartney only in the way that all neat, enjoyable guitar pop albums are inspired by McCartney. Most of the time, Anderson stakes out a patch of land somewhere between Jon Brion and Fountains Of Wayne, with a healthy dollop of guitar power sprinkled throughout, in songs like “Devil’s Spaceship” and “Everybody Deserves An A In This Country.” As befits anybody in his position, Anderson calls in a few favors from some famous friends: the surf/reggae instrumental “Catbox Beach” features Stewart Copeland on drums, and a certain moptop from Liverpool provides the bottom end to the opening “Hurt Myself.” But none of that would matter if Anderson’s songs weren’t strong enough to make his guests sounds like they’re serving the material, rather than vice versa. If Undressing Underwater is any indication, Anderson shouldn’t quit his night job.

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