[rating=7.00]
You get the sense the fellas from The Record Company have more than a fleeting sense of humor. Not in any slapstick induced laugh-out-loud larrikinism; but the ability to find the absurdities in life, flash a wry smile and not take any of it too seriously. Calling yourselves The Record Company carries more than a few flecks of this, while songs names like ‘The Movie Song’ and ‘Goodbye to the Hard Life’ strengthen than resolve. Indeed, the Grammy-nominated trio’s music is wonderfully steeped in classic jam traditions. In the vein of The Black Keys and Band of Horses, their songs emit the joy of people simply coming together, laying out a beat and a few stacked riffs, covering it with some words and just enjoying making music. A quality that made their debut album stand out and follows into All this Life; it’s infectious and liberating and again, finds joy in not taking itself too seriously.
That’s not to say the product suffers in any way. It may have been created in bouts of playful energy and certainly reflects such origins, but this is a tight and well-produced record. No doubt serious work has gone into this and in that sense, in its carefree spirit it deserves to be taken seriously. It’s a solid, rollicking good time of rootsy blues rock which, if at times can be a little uninspiring, certainly delivers in sheer enjoyment. Opener and lead single ‘Life to Fix’distills the essence of the record into four minutes, with its distinct rolling guitar riff built around with a steady beat and a supremely catchy refrain delivered in frontman Chris Vos’ distinct gravel voice. It’s a record bursting with wonderful injections of timeless sounds. A lap steel stars throughout, notably on tracks like ‘The Movie Song’ and the crunch of ‘Make it Happen’ while a thrilling Chicago blues harmonica break lights up ‘I’m Getting Better (And I’m Feeling It Right Now)’.
A range of influences flirts in and out amongst the flow as the record progresses. Rockabilly piano fills ‘Coming Home’ and the blues influence of the likes of John Lee Hooker is most keenly felt on tracks like ‘Roll Bones’, but there are moments of more straightforward hook driven rock’n’roll as on ‘The Movie Song’ and early punk influences. Vos voice is a reassuring constant with its warm, whiskey coated resonance as he rolls words over the work of the band’s instruments with disarming ease. It throws back to a Ben Bridwell quote about Band of Horses debut, “there are definitely words, I wrote them down on paper and everything.” It’s not that the lyrics here are of no consequence; there’s a sincere and heartfelt plea for simplicity (“these city lights don’t let the stars in”) that merges with the roots of the music the band plays, but they feel part of the jam rather than serving some higher purpose. It’s far from a criticism, as nothing jars and the oiled machine rolls you always forward.
There’s a feeling, then, that The Record Company have a solid future ahead of them. Perhaps not destined for stardom or some ground-breaking reimagining of the fabric of music, but they do not need to be. This is music grounded in what has come before and revelling in the simple pleasure of playing with and for others, the way music should be played. The nature of the band’s work is irresistible in many ways. The type of sound that you can’t resist tapping a foot or humming along to, and there’s much to recommend in such a description. In many ways their nonchalant approach to a band name is incredibly fitting. It’s music that feels like listening to a good old-fashioned 12-inch record and eschewing all the modern means of music on the go; instead relishing the simplicity of sitting back and enjoying music for music’s sake.
