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State Shirt – Don’t Die
Topic Started: Mar 10 2007, 09:02 PM (252 Views)
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State Shirt – Don’t Die

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State Shirt is primarily a one man band bowing down at the altar of Beck. WHich is grand for those who admire the work of Mr Hansen, less so for those who think je's an over hyped musical magpie. Which makes some of this hard going. But it is worth persevering.

Aided and abetted by Chad Fischer (Jude, Colin Hay, Josh Clayton-Felt) on a couple tracks, as well as the mastering chops of engineering superstar Dave Collins (Chris Cornell, Perry Farrell, The Police), this is surprisingly polished for a recorded in trhe bedroom release.

Ethan Tufts (for such is the mantle of Mr Shirt) is a very good songwriter, of that there is no dount. Some of the arrangements are a tad on the 'too cool for skool' side, being overly fussy, when simplicity might have paid greater dividends, but it's early days, and there is a lot of merit here.

When he hits the mark, things get very good indeed, "Life Isn't Everything" being just one example, a melancholy keyboard counterpoint with a driving yet subdued bass riff, overset with a yearning, melancholic vocal. Elsewhere, he can still be in thrall to some of his influences as on the Radiohead-lite "Not A Kid Anymore", but he has more hits than misses.

It must be hard for a solo musician to tie himself down to one thought pattern, but if I had to point one route out then it would be "Indefinite Acrobat (Space Cadet)", where he becomes something bigger, and takes his muse out to a whole new level. On songs like that, it becomes a journey worth taking.

This is an interesting release, with a lot to say, and many ways of saying it. Worth looking out for.

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