Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Quick Hitters:: Gentleman Husbands
With a name like Gentleman Husbands, you’d expect the Cobourg band to dress nice, open the door for you and pull out your chair at dinner. Hell, when push comes to shove, you might even think they enjoy hanging out with your parents and will bring you home soup when you’re sick.
The image you get when you picture a scruffy man that wears a plaid shirt, boots and old jeans like a uniform nervously showering and shaving before heading out (The Learning) only helps cement your preconceived notions. Instead, Tapanga delivers big rootsy guitar licks and the cold -as-ice admission, “you aren’t as cute as you once were” and you start to realize the band is open and honest about dishonesty, somewhat shallow and full of moral faults. Manners go out the window, in the best way possible, as the Gentleman Husbands are certainly ready to melt your face off, make you move and start some shit.
KC Shuffle adds a big harmonica to the mix and even the softer side that starts The Learning gives way to an apology for treating her bad and some searing guitar work, but the band really puts it all together on the head nodding Riding in Cars. A classic riff stats the affair, letting you soak in the vocals, but they slowly throw in intricate guitar work to fill out the track (but never overpower it) and the subtle harmonies turn the song into a sing-along.
Sure, at times the vocals start to sound a bit too Rob Thomas-y and if you wanted to, you could start pointing out the Canadian acts these boys have obviously embraced (The Hip and Blue Rodeo come to mind), but the 6-song EP exposes a natural ability to experiment with country roots and heavier guitars (like the gritty Snared In Philadelphia), creating a fairly modern take on the genre. Even the slow as a country drive pace of 19 has a quiet intensity that engages you in the track and keeps you listening. These guys are playing a lot of shows all over Ontario in the next month or so, and I’d wager the sweat will be flying and the whiskey will be flowing.
Post a Comment