Music Review: Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd, Australian musician and surf bum, has learned more from his extensive travels than just how to catch a wave. Rudd's mastery of a variety of musical instruments (including banjo, slide guitar, drums, didgeridoo) permits him to engage in a large variety of musical sounds and genres. His latest album, Food in the Belly-the American release of a 2005 disc-continues to showcase his eclectic talents.

Though many of the tracks have a distinctly bluesy feel, Rudd is a singer-songwriter through and through. Some songs, like "Messages," are based around poppy chord progressions reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, while others, like the title track and "The Letter," boast technically impressive slide riffs and emotive vocals that one might expect to hear on Ben Harper's Live from Mars. Furthermore, the album's first single, "The Mother," even possesses elements of reggae.

Unfortunately, Rudd's numerous influences leave plenty of room for further development of his own sound. Despite the stylistic diversity, many of the tracks on Food in the Belly frankly come across as bland, and it is clear that Rudd's talents could be vastly augmented with the aid of a talented backing band or the vision of a more courageous and decisive producer. Though there is no question that Rudd is a skilled musician, he would certainly benefit from a more focused direction.