Bob Ham
Friday, November 23, 2007
When Music's a Chores
When I first met Lou Thomas, it was as a member of A Weather, a lovely and quiet pop group that he plays bass for. During our interview, Thomas was gregarious, effusive and a little brash -- quite unlike the understated music that we were discussing.
Considering the odd juxtaposition of Thomas' swagger with A Weather's shuffle, it came as little surprise then that Thomas had another musical project going -- the brash, effusive and entertaining quartet known as Chores.
It is here that Thomas is able to get his rock star moves out of his system. The band's first EP, "Life Is Hard," is a bruising, bluesy affair reminiscent of the bar-band intrigues of the Hold Steady and -- with the combination of Thomas' vocals and that of the group's sole female member, Jada Pierce -- the sunburned punk of X.
It's a shame, then, that they don't have much to sing about on these five songs. The lyrics that Thomas and Pierce wrap their voices around are filled with matter-of-fact observations ("In the morning/in the shower/toweling down my wet hair") or odd asides ("Take me down to the noodle house/three bucks for a bowl of pho") that don't seem to jibe with the slinky grooves they are playing underneath them.
The band's instrumental prowess more than makes up for their lack of substantive lyrics, however. The interplay of Pierce's fuzzy rhythm guitar lines with Thomas' ringing lead work is wonderful enough on its own, but it is augmented in often surprising ways by the snaky work of bassist Eric Mellor.
Being Chores' first recorded work, and with all the good things they have going for them, it certainly feels like they can only get better from here on out. If not, at the very least, it's given Thomas a way to be loud before he has to return to the business of being quiet.