really<\/em> knows how to sing.<\/p>\nLooking for some waltz-like blues that ought to make early-years Etta James proud? Try \u201cAin\u2019t My Baby No More,\u201d a broken-hearted ballad that wouldn\u2019t be out of place on a Christmastime rom-com, right at the scene when you think the couple du jour is about to call it quits. Harin\u2019s vocals ache, right up to and including the deep growl she intones ever so slightly about halfway into the track. Throw in some saloon-style piano and a break for Stefan Edward\u2019s refined guitar work, and you have all the ingredients for a deliciously sad four-star meal.<\/p>\n
They paint with the same color on the short \u201cToo Good For You\u201d and the moody \u201cBlues Chose Me.\u201d The former comes equipped with a fun callback to doo-wop days with its subtle-yet-playful backing vocals that echo the best of Motown. Better yet is the organ that kicks in around the 40 second mark, hitting all the right notes for a formula tried and true. The latter, meanwhile, showcases the six-string exquisitely \u2014 and it does so in a way that grants the song a striking level of honesty. Besides: When you have such a sultry voice offer a line like \u201cLook what I done\/Got no more tears to cry\u201d on top of that guitar, it\u2019s nearly impossible to fail.<\/p>\n
And while failure isn\u2019t something that comes often here, the only miss is \u201cDon\u2019t You Come Back To Me.\u201d Standing out as the only non-blues\/jazz tune on the EP, it\u2019s a bit of a sore thumb, even though it features a nice pop groove and Harin\u2019s tireless commitment to going for it despite the musical soul of the group being compromised. You need power for a song like this to work, and instead of asserting itself, the track winds up being three-and-a-half minutes of a band holding back. Or, at least so it sounds.<\/p>\n
None of that matters, of course, when they veer back to the jazzy side of things. \u201cTown That Swings,\u201d the best song here, introduces the EP with flair and elegance. At a crisp two-and-a-half minutes, it recalls a time when you were still allowed to smoke in fancy lounges and you\u2019d find rooms filled with tuxedos and cocktail dresses on a typical Wednesday night. Or, for those more modern, think Squirrel Nut Zippers without the camp. Also: It sounds like a vibraphone makes an appearance, and what\u2019s cooler than that? Outside of Miles Davis, the answer is nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLost My Love In Paris\u201d then takes a breezy trip down the Seine, fully equipped with warm temperatures and a bright sun. It\u2019s as close to world music as these guys get, and it works splendidly, Harin taking her voice into lazy territory, adding to the tropical vibe the track exudes. Adding more texture to the production is Ricardo Gutierrez\u2019s upright bass, which will make you want to fall in love even if its lead singer asks, \u201cWhy did you go and break my heart?\u201d on top of it.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny, a group so lovable making its bones largely singing about being unloved. And while you surely wouldn\u2019t want anyone in the Gin Rickys to feel even the slightest bit of hurt, they really do know how to turn those feelings into some affectingly soulful music. Suffice to say, that with \u201cThe Town That Swings,\u201d they prove that even if the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes seems impossibly dark, the tinniest sliver of illumination is always worth pushing forward.<\/p>\n
Especially if you have someone who can sing about it.<\/p>\n
*** 3 STARS OUT OF 4 ***<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s really easy to fall in love with The Gin Rickys. They\u2019re part throwback to the times when jazz music was pop music, and part lounge act that can sell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1359074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1359073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1359073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1359074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1359073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1359073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1359073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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It\u2019s really easy to fall in love with The Gin Rickys. They\u2019re part throwback to the times when jazz music was pop music, and part lounge act that can sell the blues with surprising authenticity. It\u2019s the kind of band where an upright bass isn\u2019t just a novelty \u2014 it\u2019s imperative, and if you aren\u2019t able to play tastefully, don\u2019t even bother picking up your instrument. Plus, without the right kind of leader, the whole thing would crash and burn in a sea of cheese.<\/p>\n