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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Review: Trouser - Factory Farm Songs


Trouser - Factory Farm Songs
2008, Lemonchester Music


Trouser is a conglomeration of longtime friends who have been Midwest US road warriors with various bands for better than a decade. Finally throwing in together as Trouser, Nick Brown (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, hamonica); Geoff Lewis (drums, backing vox, keyboards); Robert Ericksen (guitar) and Chris Hines (bass) have culled a sound based in classic Americana with strict Midwest-rock sensibilities. Factory Farm Songs is the first true collaboration for these longtime friends and stands out as a beacon for fans of Americana music.

Factory Farms is a dark tune with bad intentions as it opens Factory Farm Songs. Factory Farms is a very tuneful exploration of characters impacted by economic hard times. The chorus will run through your head repeatedly despite of the tone of the song. Oh, Roxanne! is a joyful romp based on a heavy-acoustic guitar sound and a standout melody. In The Bathroom is a delightful bluegrass tune paralleling the process of flushing the toilet with a person's ability to thoroughly wipe the slate clean of emotion. It's a quirky, witty left-handed compliment of a song that is a laughable stroke of genius.

Hailey Parker has a dark ethereality to it that is reminiscent of Pink Floyd gone country-ish. It's a powerful, brooding song that might take a couple of listens to really dig into, but its well worth the effort. Under The Water has a much lighter aspect to it; almost musically optimistic and hopeful. Other highlights include the beautifully written Crack In The Door, the quirky Silly Little Apocalypse Song and the on the edge of unreal Lobotomy.

Trouser has a gift for unique and unusual songs full of beauty, wit, and a slightly surreal sense of the world. Their apparent ability to make serious music without taking themselves entirely too seriously is a gift that they see fit to share. The winner is the listener. Factory Farm Songs is a vital album that may fall short of radio but should become a fan/cult classic. This is the sort of CD you view with slight incredulity when you first come across and quickly come to the point where you just can't put it down. A raving good listen!

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Trouser at http://www.trouserband.com/ or www.myspace.com/trousertunes. You can purchase a copy of Factory Farm Songs at www.myspace.com/trousertunes.

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