| T here are a few moments on Come on in when Mike
Filipek's voice goes away and the tension headache goes with it. Those are my favorite
moments on the record. Like the spacey, vaguely Floyd-esque instrumental break on
"Bring A Rainbow." Or the amiably sloppy goofy slide-n-surf of the instrumental
"Here, Catch!" Or even the aimless wood flute fusion attempt "Big
Coffee."
Most of the new album, though, is dominated by a
brand of straight-ahead party rock nicely suited to Bud Light kegger events.
Idiosyncratic vocalists are often an acquired
taste, so I always hesitate to take potshots at wavering vocal control. But maybe I just
don't have enough of a taste for Bud Light to work to acquire the taste for Filipek's
vocals.
On moments like the feckless funk of
"Pirate of Life," it's hard not to wish he'd just move the capo and relax those
vocal chords a bit.
That's kind of too bad because Filipek does put
some work into his words: "I was staring at a picture in a haze, then I stepped
inside the memory it made ... Yesterday was just tomorrow's lie. It's not over but it's
just denied."
Filipek's band plays somewhat less sloppily than
Filipek sings, with a commendable range of different sounds. Tom McCallister backs Filipek
with a collection of Sade and "western/space movie" guitars ("Here
Catch!"). Anastasia Gillberg is credited with "rockin piano" and
"groove organ." Andrew Arbetter contributes "zen saxophone." Don
Dineen plays funk rhythm and lead guitar.
The charm of the album goes up a notch as
Filipek ends the album with his humble attempt at jazz flute, which I take either as a
self-deprecating homage to either Dave Matthews Band or the jazz folks who influenced
them.
Filipek's notes of self-deprecation make the
whole cheap beer party a bit more fun in retrospect.
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