- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: Tony Sly
Album: Sad Bear
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Playtime: 31:03 min
Genre: Punk
URL:
Rip date: 2011-10-08
Street date: 2011-10-11
Size: 55.65 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 238 kbps / 4410Hz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
In 2010, No Use For a Name frontman Tony Sly dipped his toe into the
punk-guy-turned-acoustic-troubadour pool with 12 Song Program, which featured
a dozen stripped down tracks with a Beatles-y sensibility that often recalled
Jets to BrazilÆs quieter moments. He did a ton of touring, notably with
LagwagonÆs Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass of Drag the River, had some fun and
apparently got completely hammered and introspective, because he came home and
whipped out another twelve solo numbers for his upcoming release Sad Bear, due
out on Fat Wreck Chords on October 11th, and this shit is boozy, angry,
heartbroken, frustrated, happy, nostalgicàlook, I could go on and on like
this, but suffice it to say that if 12 Song Program was testing the waters of
having a solo career, Sad Bear is a cannonball into the deep end.
Lyrically, TonyÆs never been more open or vulnerable, touching on everything
from love to poverty, self medication to faith, to getting older, having kids
and still being as confused and angry as a teenaged punk rocker. Oh, and
booze. Sad Bear seems to have left the honey and picnic baskets behind and
picked up a few fifths of whiskey. Tony said ô_the lyrics on this record are
my most uninhibited and honest words ever_ö and itÆs easy to see why he feels
that way. This shit isnÆt afraid to get dark, to be funny or to be brutally
self-aware. IÆd probably need a drink too after writing these songs.
Right around now, youÆre probably thinking what everyone thinks when
confronted with an album like this and itÆs: ôOh, great. Another dude
pretending to be a poor hick singing about cotton gins and whiskey stills that
heÆs never seen in a fake accent he doesnÆt really have.ö Well, firstly, real
nice. Secondly, Sad Bear is anything but a shit-kickinÆ-culture-slumming
Americana record. Though the main instrumentation centers around the acoustic
guitar, Tony brought in eleven different guest musicians to flesh out the
sound, which features accordion, piano, pennywhistle, drums, some weird
circus-y sounding organ, some distorted guitar and a whole shit-ton of ambient
percussion, including, if my ears donÆt deceive me, a triangle. Far from
southern fried, Tony instead tackles melody head on and the results are, dare
I say, reminiscent of such heavy-hitting 70Æs melodic powerhouses as Billy
Joel and Elton John, songs you kind of feel like youÆve heard before because
the melodies are so distinctive. In a world of dull, same-y solo outings from
guys in aggressive bands, Sad Bear stands out because it feels a little risky.
ItÆs not easily categorizeable and itÆs definitely not what people are
expecting. ItÆs big melodic songs in small, sad, deceptively simple little
packages.
But hey, donÆt take my word for it! TonyÆs gonna be taking his bear on the
road this fall, making some stops on the European festival circuit alongside
fellow Fat Wreck frontman Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass. Come see for yourself
what the Sad Bear is all about. Hell, buy him a beer. HeÆs sad. I mean, itÆs
right there in the title, folks. And beer makes bears happy, at least thatÆs
what my grandpa used to say before he was drunkenly mauled to death by an
unknown gigantic assailant. Oh shit, I almost forgot! The cover art for Sad
Bear is absolutely awesome, so no visiting those Russian pirating sites for
this one, okay? Good. Glad we had this talk.
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. Dark Corner ( 2:32)
02. Devonshire And Crown ( 2:30)
03. Discomfort Inn ( 2:52)
04. Hey God ( 2:03)
05. Therapy ( 2:25)
06. Burgies, Basics And You ( 3:16)
07. In The End ( 2:20)
08. Frances Stewart ( 2:40)
09. Homecoming ( 2:09)
10. The Monster ( 2:24)
11. Flying South ( 2:27)
12. San Mated Fog Line ( 3:25)
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