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You could compare Octoberman to the alt-country supergroup
Wilco. With lead singer Marc Morrissette's slightly
strained, fragile vocals and the occasional country riffs that rear
their heads, you can notice a similarity. But while it's obvious that
Jeff Tweedy is the front man of his group, Octoberman seems
a bit more democratic with the spotlight shared by several backing
singers and sometimes the entire band. If anything, it's an older
Wilco that Octoberman sounds like. A Wilco back when the songs featured
an abundance of nonsensical lyrics as if they were to be performed
on a back porch. Lyrics like "I caught the flu and away I flew."
You have no idea what the hell Tweedy's talking about but you know
he's having fun. So, maybe it's Mojave 3 that they sound more
like.
Lyrically, these Canadians deliver simple phrases that hold a little
more meaning. You know a band doesn't take itself too seriously when
they title a song "Shit Just Falls Apart". One highlight
is on "Elbow Room" where Morrissette actually sings, "you'd
better check yourself before you wreck yourself" and he kind
of pulls it off. One of the album's great tracks is the title track
"Run From Safety", a mid tempo shuffle with a touch of slide
guitar and drunken mariachi trumpet.
Instrumentally, there's a well mixed variation of horns, harmonica,
and guitars throughout the record and the liberal song structures
are similar to Bright Eyes as is the style and sometimes the
vocals. You could also compare Morrissette's vocal delivery to Conor
Oberst...minus the whiney screams and unnecessary sketches at
the top of songs. So maybe they sound more like Bright Eyes.
Overall, Run From Safety is a really good album that will
probably suck you in on the second or third listening. And in the
end, it doesn't matter who Octoberman reminds you of. Either way,
they're great.
-Jon Murray
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