|
The long and short of Scott Reynolds And The Steaming Beast
is that they sound like where they come from - Austin, Texas.
Reynolds and his crew compose an amalgam of mid-west country,
coffeehouse-laced folk-pop, and Tex-Mex tones that share a likeness
to They Might Be Giants and Two Gallants in their
latest album Adventure Boy. Reynolds, who sings and plays
guitar, piano, bass, and drums, has some tracks that have a low-fi
lighting and others which have a ska-rock tunage. Reynolds seems
like a sponge absorbing many different musical influences and
seeing what happens when they are put in his hands.
The track "Scaffold Lick" is an easy riding piano ballad
that you would expect from Daniel Powter, but Reynolds
has it and admits in the liner notes that he wrote it in 5 to
6 hours. His sense of melodic structures produces a warm, pristine
sound which creates a perfect ambience for supper clubs. The rattling
rhythm shakes of "Line Check" and "Rumplestiltskin"
have a grooving folk-rock jolt with a rockabilly strut, while
"Angel" is a cozy country flock displaying a garden
of warmly tinted tuileries. The slow strolling tempo of "Tracy
Hartman's Cheek" has light springy keyboard buds and sliding
guitar bars that give this tune the feel of taking a laid-back
walk in the park. The title track is a hypnotic folk ballad with
bays of Tex-Mex leathered shakers and flamenco vocal moves. The
music will take you south of the border.
The Tex-Mex tumbles roll straight into the beach punk/ska-clad
jiggles of "None Of This Is Funny," which displays catchy
rhythmic quivers. The lyrics have a folksy feel making impressions
using blunt rhetoric like in "None Of This Is Funny"
with thoughts of, "Yeah, my car, she's a humble girl/ But
my intrepid heart still walks the earth/ Still seeks the truth/
Still hates the cops/ Still farts in church/ Still knows that
skate-boarding is not a crime/ It ain't part of this lawnmower,
leaf bag world."
Ska-rock, country-folk, and Tex-Mex come together to windup Scott
Reynolds And the Steaming Beast's latest release Adventure
Boy. Produced by David Fridmann who also plays bass,
organ and piano in the band, Reynolds' ship is additionally bowed
by Mary Fridmann, Steve Drozd, Nick Gonzalez,
Chris Gajewski, Tim Pattesojn, Eric Tuberdyke,
and members of Drag The River, including Jon Snodgrass,
Chad Price, J.J. Nobody, Casey Prestwood,
and Dave Barker who all play on "Angel." Adventure
Boy is as country flavored as moonshine, it's as rockabilly
sleek as a 1950's Chevrolet Bel Air convertible, and as Texan
as the Bluebonnet, Texas' state flower.
-Susan Frances
Check out
more reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
Scott
Reynolds And The Steaming Beast
