CD Review From Towleroad: Brett Every’s “Fairy Godmother’s Gone to Vegas”

Aussie singer-songwriter Brett Every doesn’t have to bother with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. On “Sailor,” (free download below), the first track off his 2008 album Camping Out, he spends a night with the titular character before he ships out for war. That candor is all over his recent follow-up Fairy Godmother’s Gone to Vegas, 11 striking gay love songs as smart and trenchant as prime Randy Newman or Tom Waits. “Mr Smith” confronts the homophobic father of the narrator’s lover. “Swing By” contemplates a one-night stand with a business traveler. And Every’s deep-voiced warble – reminiscent of Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice, “A Girl Like You”) – is the perfect foil for Bette Midler’s piano ballad “Come Back Jimmy Dean.” Every’s a welcome addition to the fold of gay singer-songwriters like Stephin Merritt and Rufus Wainwright.