One Less Guest releases Monochrome in living color And The Reader debuts a new CD review format from two writers working independently and without knowledge the other was doing the same thing, proving once again that communicators are terrible at communicating
We are witness to the rebirth of light rock By Richard Thomas The album cover features a ghostly woman, suggesting the music is grim, spooky or gothy. Worry not. It’s uplifting, funky jazz-rock. But how much jazz rock features a violin? The band originally was, in 2018, the duo of lead vocalist/violinist Ren Cooper and guitarist Nick Muska. Later that year they expanded into a quartet with Nick Glass on bass and Cody Thoreson on drums and they’ve been a fixture on the live local music circuit since. This is their first album, which was supposed to get its official release show last April (4/20, of course) but it was derailed, like everything else, by the ‘rona. It was rescheduled for July 22 but postponed again. The opening track, “Come On Over” set the tone of the album, a lighthearted, romantic tune in which the narrator entices a love interest to her place by offering sweets, “booze from somewhere overseas, 60 proof” and herself. Aren’t guys supposed to do the enticing? Times have changed, in this case for the better. The band is probably going to get tired of hearing their music described as “breezy,” but they brought it on themselves, one because it’s an accurate description and two, the second track is titled “Breeze.” Again, the subject is romance, this time with a sailing metaphor: “Wind it took my map / Waves they took my oar / Darling won’t you pull me closer to the shore.” The music isn’t so dire, more like a sunny, leisurely sail. The dour album cover does accurately reflect the title track’s lyrics. It’s about an artist who used to paint with bright colors but is narrowing down her palette, first to pink, then to grey. Sounds depressing, though the song
They had me at UWS Jazz Dept.
says, “She’s pensive in her solidarity as she looks around her home / Is it boldness or just vanity that keeps her painting here alone?” So is she really sad, or is she experimenting with minimalism By Jim Lundstrom and preferring to be alone so she can focus? If it is depressing, you couldn’t Along with the debut CD Monoctell from the music. It’s in a minor key, hrome by the local band One Less but it’s a spirited, catchy tune. The music gets more intense with the Guest arriving at the office, there was longest track, “Deja Vu.” It starts slowly a letter that looked as if it might have been typed on an actual typewriter with a violin solo by Cooper, followed with a few brief details about the band, by a slow and mournful R & B number. such as the members met through During the bridge, Muska launches the jazz program at the University of into a bluesy guitar solo that gets hairWisconsin-Superior (go Killer Bees! – raising, especially when Cooper rejoins always happy to promote fellow Soup with her voice and hits the high notes. Town alums, can you hear me Arnold “Suitcase for Two” shifts the tone Schwarzenegger?). back to casual yet spirited. The video The letter’s author, Nick features Muska chasing a Muska, the band’s guitarist singing suitcase down the and co-vocalist, also street, ending up at Coomentioned that since the per’s place. April release of the album, “Tie Me Down” is as the band has “amicably” close to rock and roll as parted ways with the band gets, not surprising given the title, though RICHARD THOMAS drummer Sten Duginski, and only mentions that it’s only metaphorically & the remaining members about bondage. The fastJIM LUNDSTROM are now working with a paced song gives Glass and new drummer “and are Thoreson the opportunity continuing to write and to show off their chops on grow as a group.” bass and drums, respectively. I had heard Muska and vocalist/ “Where You Are” is a ballad and the violinist Ren Cooper in a virtual live slowest song. Muska sings for the first session on KUMD a while back, but I time on this one, though he’s dueting had forgotten how the band sounded with Cooper. He sings, “I could play when I sat down to listen to the CD, Jack Kerouac, you could be my Cheryl and I purposely did not pull out the Strayed,” and I had to look up the booklet to read the credits until I heard latter. (She’s the author of “Wild,” the the full recording once. book that got turned into the Reese In fact, I had forgotten there was a Witherspoon movie.) violinist in this band, but, two minutes He sings lead on the album closer, into the lead song, and Cooper’s violin “Vera,” with the rest of the band comes sweetly soaring in above the providing backup. The song feels chunky funk groove already established lightweight, like it could be the theme by the bass, drums and guitar. to a ‘70s sitcom titled “Vera.” But as The interplay of the violin throughstated before, times have changed, and out the record is really sweet (aurally, in some ways they haven’t. Things we used to think were cheesy are now cool I mean, like candy for the ears) and adds depth and texture to the aural again. We are witnessing the rebirth of light rock, but no complaints as long as structures the band creates. Cooper’s other instrument, her voice, it’s done this well.
64 August 6, 2020 DuluthReader.com
ONE BAND
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is also in fine form. When she growls on the album opener “Come on over baby,” you get the feeling whoever that message is meant for better take heed. Also standout throughout is Nick Glass’ bass playing. He often takes a lead role rather than serving purely in the traditional rhythmic role. He’s got a lush, fluid style, heard to great effect on the title tune “Monochrome.” As well as playing guitars and harmonica, Muska is the other lead singer in the band. He takes the lead on the second song, “Breeze.” His voice immediately reminded me of a guy by the name of Andy Fairweather Low who had some hits on the radio when I lived in England in the 1970s – I went to see him in Luton one Thursday night that was celebrated as Thanksgiving here but was just another Thursday there; AFL went on to play guitar with Pink Floyd at some point. Muska has the same innocent yet world-weary sound to his voice as Andy Fairweather Low. But since I have yet to meet anyone who knows Andy Fairweather Low, not much use making that comment, but, too late now. Anyway, you can look him up. On top of a great crawling bass line from Glass, Muska plays a searing and dramatic guitar solo on the fourth track, “Déjà vu.” He builds to a crescendo that Cooper rides in on for a final high-note assault. The record ends with “Vera,” an upbeat song about the end of a relationship. One Less Guest’s debut recording exhibits some well-crafted songs along with the sort of talented musicianship I would expect from the UWS Jazz Dept. (the woman who became my second ex-wife played trombone at UWS; she was in a Dixieland band and I was doing a story on the band when we met). Catch One Less Guest in living color in a parking lot concert with Teague Alexy at 7 pm Friday, Aug. 7, at Wussow’s Concert Cafe in beautiful downtown West Duluth.
