Athens-based Drew Beskin went into Problematic For The People, his third solo effort, assuming this would be his last. Thankfully that personal pledge to call it quits was short lived, as the 11-track LP is one of his best moments yet as a singer/songwriter.
Recorded in his local town of Athens, the album represents everything that is great musically about the music scene there going back to the 1970s; it’s original, it’s creative and like every other band that has called Athens home, it doesn’t sound like anything else there. The album is blissful indie pop rock that manages to be both infectious and vital. The opening track, “I’m Not Human,” with its jangly guitars, pleading lyrics and honey sweet harmonies leads off into a half hour of almost flawless Indie Pop. Beskin flirts with aggressive guitars from time to time, but still manages wrap each song in savvy lyrics. While each track here in anchored in Pop, the sounds are joyfully disparate. A song like “Going Alright For You,” with the staccato guitar and synth sounds, comes off like a classic ‘80s pop song, while the stripped down acoustic “Torn & Blue” is more Marshall Crenshaw or Michael Penn.
The album was produced and engineered by Drew Vandenberg (Deerhunter), and Beskin filled his band with locals Phillip Brantley (Terminally Phil, Palace Doctor & Modern Skirts) on bass, Josh Parsons (Cowboy Curtys) on guitar and Jeremy Wheatley (Sailors & Ships, Crooked Fingers) on drums.
Over the past several decades, Athens has churned out everyone from R.E.M. and Pylon to Jucifer and The Whigs, and despite constantly having a thriving music scene, there is not an easily categorized “Athens Sound.” The only real musical thread that connect those bands is a shared zip code and a knack for doing their own thing and creating compelling music in the process. Beskin is carrying on that same tradition, and quite beautifully as Problematic For The People proves.
Photo credit: Alec Stanley
