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The Fluid Ounces The Whole Shebang music review
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The Fluid Ounces The Whole Shebang
Vacant Cage
While the rest of this year’s bands are concentrating on referring back
to
the late 50s, 60s and even 80s in their music, The Fluid Ounces have
decided
to step back even further, dedicating their entire album, The Whole
Shebang
(Vacant Cage, 2004), to the 20s and its vaudeville sound.
Track listing:
01 Paperweight Machine
02 Crazies
03 Fool Around
04 Lazy Bones
05 Big Deal (out of nothing)
06 Nobody Loves You (like you do)
07 Hung On Every Word
08 Make It Through
09 Selma Lou
10 Tokyo Expressway
11 Destined To Be Forgotten
The record is jump-started by ‘Paperweight Machine’, a lively jive
combining
heavy ska with a little rockabilly. Right away the piano’s presence is
outright and overpowering, with very distinct and clear notes that
resonate
throughout the entire album. Lead vocalist and solid member Seth Timbs
has
sharp-tongued vocals on this two-minute track that sidle up alongside
bands
like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Sublime.
Over the years bandmates have come and gone, and sometimes even
returned
again. This year, though, the listing is as follows: Matt Mahaffey
(keyboards, background vocals), Mac Burris (bass), Jeff Keeran (backing
vocals) and Jason Rawlings, Ken Corner, Kyle Walsh and Kelli Scott
(drums).
The best way to describe this sound is to compare it to the music heard
in a
soundtrack to a silent film. It’s incredibly unique, and despite the
saloon
piano, the music does contain a newer feel to its great-grandfatherly
sound,
with spicy, jazzed-up guitar riffs.
Farther into the album, it is clear that The Fluid Ounces try to take
on
more of a subtler, acoustic sound, and reflect more of a Ben Folds
approach
with bluesier chops and strum patterns.
‘Nobody Loves You (like you do)’ takes a great chunk of a Beatles tune
‘That
Means A Lot’, right down to some of the piano melodies. It’s a darling
track, and one of the best on the record.
This is just something new to enjoy. The Fluid Ounces take the moments
where
there is normally silence, and fill it in with beautiful, timeless
piano
interludes. It’s just like the old days, and the only thing missing is
the
lovely girl atop the piano, crooning to the men in the saloon as she
dangles
her feet in the air.
The Whole Shebang will trail out of your stereo speakers with an
incessant
gracefulness and an allay of perpetually wonderful piano input. A sound
this
different can’t be that easily duplicated... let’s hope not. But, if it
is
(and it probably will be), you heard it here first.
