Joe here!So way back when some time in February (March?), I decided I needed a break from school and skipped on down to Austin for an Old 97's show at Stubb's, where I encountered the Small Stars.
Remember Fastball? Maybe just this song:
Well, two of them (Miles Zuniga and Jeff Groves) plus three more members, some over-the-top costumes, and some music that's even more so--that's the Small Stars.
I walked away from the show with their second album Tijuana Dreams in my hands. After a couple weeks with that, I ordered their debut.
Tijuana Dreams is an eccentric collection of caberet-pop that doesn't hesitate to go all-out with either instrumentation or insincerity. But don't be fooled by the show: every one of these guys is an very talented musician. I enjoyed their show, but what really hooked me was seeing them pull out a Charles Mingus jazz stomp on stage at a rock concert and knock it out--the entire crowd was bobbing along by the end of the blazing piano-to-saxophone-to-guitar solo section.
As for the album itself, it hits a balance of styles that their first disc missed (it held on too much to the showmanship and ended up being rather limited). From the true cabaret of "Let's Hit The Town" to the mellow mystery of "Tijuana Dreams" with a few surprises along the way (how about Joe Ely singing a country tune titled "That's What God Made Whiskey For?"), Tijuana Dreams is a great ride that doesn't wear thin with time.
The Small Stars - Let's Hit The Town
The Small Stars - Girl Trouble
Labels: joe post, The Small Stars
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