Feature Crush: C.D. On Songs, 10/06/09

And we're back!

Starting this week, C.D. on Songs is back on a weekly basis and accepting your submissions. We've got a good collection that has built up over the month. If you don't see yours, then simply tune in the next week. If you haven't sent something in yet - what's keeping you? Directions on how to do so are at the bottom.

Father Abraham - "Space March (feat. Rory Stark)" [download]
All the movies that like to show dark visions of the dystopian future that they envision for humanity usually only work with the visuals. Swirling clouds and machines walking on human skulls and whatnot. Not so much effort, however, is put into what the future is going to sound like. Never fear, Father Abraham is here to show us. He has even brought in an expert witness in the form of "time traveler" Rory Stark, straight from the future.
"Space March" sounds like a futuristic post-maelstrom plod through the detritus of the present. The march sounds more like a high-tech funeral procession, as the electric organ plays a circular dirge over Stark's looming and gloom-ing vocal refrain.
Every funeral needs a lector of some sort, and "Space March" is no different. Father Abraham proves himself more than capable on the microphone, spitting out rapid fire rhymes and verbiage so dense that one might feel the need for some form of audio-slow motion to keep up with the dense cloud of words that whirr around the atmosphere of this track.



Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents - "Keeping Time" [download]
If Father Abraham is preaching the future, then Jenny Dee and her Deelinquents are channeling a different age altogether, when the vocalists had matching outfits and/or moves. And it was good.
While "Keeping Time" has all the benefits of modern recording techniques and equipment, Jenny and her crew manage to keep it timeless via their arrangements and performances.
The quick snips on the guitar are reminiscent of the Motown sound, as is the every-beat snare drum and pumping bass. Dee's voice is strong and up front, shining and swinging like Martha Reeves. Dee has an effortless singing style that nonetheless exudes power and confidence. The band is tuned in, hitting that rhythm pocket o' goodness that can only be achieved by supremely talented musicians with not just an ear for their own sound, but an ear for each other.
It's easy to play dress-up and comp a few Motown beats and claim you're bringing something worthwhile to the present from the past. Jenny Dee is above this - "Keeping Time" sounds like a genuine article. Not a copy or a representation but the real thing, hit just right by a group that is firmly in the saddle of their sound.



TOTEM - "Some Things Missing" [download]
When we think of totem poles, we think of vertical structures with multiple levels. The totem pole tells a vertical story, and "Some Things Missing" is a musical story of sorts, built on a rising chord progression that builds up systematically: I. II. III. IV. Repeat as desired.
"Some Things Missing" is not a simple repetition of four chords.
The real trick to TOTEM's "Some Things Missing" is the build-up. The song begins rising directly at the onset, never straying away from the step-up chord progression. The beginning of the song is very subdued; the bass "announced" the progression and the scratchy vocals pop up in the right speaker like a dormouse popping out of a teapot with a tiny megaphone in his hand.
A mid-level guitar joins in, rattling off the chords an octave up and the climb continues. Each layer of sound in "Some Things Missing" is given its own introductory measure or two, and the construction continues on and on with the first palpable explosion coming around the 2:02 mark, when the song finds its crescendo, the vocals hitting the high tonic of the key and finally exploding for a glorious finale. Are Some Things actually Missing? Not from this track.


Choo Choo La Rouge - "It's Gonna Happen Fast" [download]
The phrase "Choo Choo La Rouge" is pretty fun to say. Go ahead and try it; I'll wait here. Pretty fun, but not a rip-roaring freak-out sort of fun, right? That is the exact spirit of CC(L)R's pleasantly bumping ride-along "It's Gonna Happen Fast" from their recent album Black Clouds.
There is a general "giddyup" spirit present in the rhythm that keeps "It's Gonna Happen Fast" moving throughout the entire 3:26 of the song. This song manages to remain bright without being overly cheerful. Perhaps it's vocalist Vincent Scorziello's smooth, "I-got-this-under-control" vocal delivery.
"It's Gonna Happen Fast" is like a speedy ride in a luxurious automobile with a superior suspension system. Scorziello's vocals remain level and measured on top of the galloping rhythm of the song. While the vocals keep things cool, they're certainly not empty of emotion. Scorziello's reserved performance does offer little shrugs and twinges throughout the vocal, inflecting the vocal performance with the human element that makes Choo Choo La Rouge's motor run. And, ostensibly, those of their listeners as well.

Want to submit your band's song to C.D. On Songs?

To be reviewed in a C.D. On Songs column:

• Be a Boston-based band/artist.
  
• Email a single mp3/m4a/etc. (or a download link to one) to cdonsongs (at) gmail (dot) com, with the subject line "C.D. on Songs" (DO NOT send us a bunch of songs and make us pick, we will ignore you). We require a file – not a streaming link.
• Include album cover art if you have any. If you don't, a band photo or logo is acceptable.
• We will assume that we have your permission to make the song downloadable on Boston Band Crush (readers will want to hear it, after all).
  
• If that's not ok with you, say so and provide us with a link to the song on an embeddable player like ReverbNation – something we can include in the post (and not just link to).