the big takeover

fez cd review

by jack rabid
may, 2005 (issue #56)

Trashcan Sinatras

fez; acoustic performances from new york city—december 2004
(BoBame)

While the "unplugged" or "stripped down" live format has thoroughly lost its appeal for loud rock bands, it proves the ideal presentation of Scotland’s Trash Cans. Their lush studio recordings were always about the singing and the songs anyway, and that comes across here so lovingly, this is as good as their two best LPs, 1993’s I’ve Seen Everything and 2004’s Weightlifting. It’s funny that these "from the board" recordings of the group’s two Fez shows this past December 4th and 5th should feel as immediate as the charming, arresting shows themselves. I attended one of them (see live reviews), and not only is this exactly how they sounded, but even without the visuals, this is exactly how they felt, too: warm, intimate, personal, friendly, like being invited into the den of a close friend and being offered an embrace, a pint of good ale, a crock of soup, and bonhomie conversation. Their music was already like someone with convivial manners, and these 21 songs over 79 minutes make everything in your heart and mind relax, an aural massage that assuages all pressures and worry. The pristine acoustics (both the Trash Cans’ guitars and the little cabaret club’s sound!) are the perfect flower bed for their impeccable, rose-fragrant harmonies, through all their best songs, from the wonder-full oldies "Easy Read" (a strong opener, even bereft of its original string bed), 1990’s Cake’s The Best Man’s Fall," and the perfect Smiths-fever of "Hayfever" to the mid-period sympathy of "What Women Do to Men" to what turns out to be the strongest moments, the 2004 gems such as "Weightlifting," "Leave Me Alone," and the standout "All the Dark Horses" (which has even more of the bracing character of a winter sleigh-or-sled-ride than the full-band original!). By the time your 80 minutes with your Scottish friends winds down to the affectionate goodbye of "The Therapist" ("Time is up/Bye, bye, see you later on") it feels like you’ve capped off your visit with some strong spice tea while the voices are the honey. This is just marvelously absorbing, so genuinely affecting and sweet, you’ll abandon any thought that this is one of those extra-catalog records that groups habitually release and instead proclaim it as one of the most tender and enchanting albums of 2005.

Originally appeared in the Big Takeover