Words: Steve Knapp
From the very beginning Quarters is all throwback, but throwback done right and in a way modern listeners will appreciate. It starts with the hum of a record just before the needle drops, sending you into an all-too-slick lounge guitar lick that sets the tone for the album as a whole. It’s music that surfs along without letting on that it cares whether or not you’re listening with vocals that pleasantly bubble to the crest of the instrumental wave. And while the guitars broadcast that classic 60s twang, it’s the rhythm section that keeps the entire groove machine running and holds your attention until the end.
At times Quarters skirts a little too close to the border of the cliché, which slows the down the listening experience, becoming more of a chore than relaxing lounge groove. “God Is In the Rhythm” is the biggest culprit of this as its doo-wop swing is a little too much to hold a listener’s attention for an entire ten-minute stretch. “Lonely Steel Sheet Flyer” does a good job to pull it back together for a strong psychedelic finish but it doesn’t quite do enough to save it completely and the album ultimately suffers because of it.
Quarters isn’t any kind of meaningful departure from the band’s previous offerings, but for some reason this is the one that stands out. It could be that restricting their efforts to only four songs (albeit four long songs) was the recipe for success they’ve been looking for—focus all too often is what bands are lacking. And while a single track manages to bring it down a notch, this album is still the equivalent of the cool guy you’ve been waiting to hang out with, the guy to loosen you up and burn the town down with. You just didn’t see him standing in the corner until now.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/195283681″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
0 Comments