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The Brobecks
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Goodnight, And Have A Pleasant Tomorrow.
Self-Released
Release: 5/02/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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How do you describe red to a person that is blind? How do
you describe the taste of salt to a person devoid of taste
buds? What does the taste of sugar sound like, really? The
answer to all of the above questions is quite naturally: The
Brobecks. That's right, kids, the boys are back with a brand
new album chock full of sugary sweet pop songs that make
the medicine go down oh so easily. The group has
undergone some line-up changes recently, but if
Goodnight, And Have A Pleasant Tomorrow. is
any indication of what happens when The Brobecks camp
gets shaken up, then maybe change isn't such a bad thing
after all.
The album opens with a nice number entitled, "Bike Ride,"
which launches the listener headlong into the world of The
Brobecks, a world in which doo-wops, harmony vocals, and
melody still reign supreme. And those are all good things.
About 10 seconds in my toe was tapping and I just couldn't
seem to make it stop throughout the 12 tracks and 45
minutes of Goodnight, And Have A Pleasant
Tomorrow.
The songs on this album are strong each on their own, but
taken in the context of the album format they are even
better. The keys are a particularly noticeable strong point.
The Brobecks have always had keys in their sound, but
recent recruit David Chisholm's style brings the keys even
more to the forefront allowing more room for the bass and
guitar to dance around with the melody. Mike Gross and
Dallon Weekes split the vocal duties and do so seamlessly.
It's not like some bands where you love the one guy's voice
and hate the other's. Both of these fellows know how to
croon, and actually for that matter, other band members
also add tasteful harmonies at just the right times. Some of
the songs are dramatic, like "Goodnight Socialite," some are
silly, like "Bike Ride," and some just make you want to
dance, like "Jacqui." It's hard to pick standout tracks when
they are all so strong, but I guess my favorites are "You or a
Ghost?," a beautiful song that recalls the Beach Boys and
YHFT era Wilco and features some of the most beautiful
piano I have ever heard. Actually, I'm listening to this track
right now and it is so good I might cry. Seriously. Track
seven, "I'll Be Fine Really" is another stellar piece of musical
composition, this one at a faster shuffle than most of the
others on the album. I particularly loved the drums on this
song; new drummer, Nathan Leslie is neato.
Speaking of drums, the production on Goodnight, And
Have A Pleasant Tomorrow. leaves nothing to be
desired. I couldn't imagine this album sounding better if
some rich producer recorded it for a million dollars. Instead
local Salt Lake recording guru Andy Patterson helped the
band get the sounds they were looking for, and I have to
honestly say I cannot find a fault with the production of this
album. Everything just really sounds great. The songs are
great, the production is great, the artwork (by local artist,
Peter Markowski), is great, and boy do I feel great when I
listen to The Brobecks!
I have listened to this record approximately 15 dozen times,
and that's 180 times. That is roughly the same number of
times I have said within this review that this album is
"great." My words are inadequate. The only way to really
know what I'm talking about is to pick up a copy of
Goodnight, And Have A Pleasant Tomorrow.,
either in person at your local record store or on the Internet.
What's that you say, you can't find The Brobecks at your
local record store? Well, don't worry, you will be able to
soon. With songs like these you will likely have a Brobecks
tattoo soon. |
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