Timbuk3 - Greetings from Timbuk3 (1986)

'For most people, Timbuk 3 is the answer to that music trivia question of what band had the one hit in the mid-1980s about the future being so bright you have to wear shades. But for those of us living in Austin, Texas in the 80s, they were the little band made good on the same Indie label as R.E.M., and when their second album didn't strike the same national chord as the first, we shrugged and thought the third would. But it didn't, nor did the fourth or the fifth even though fans like myself bought them. Pegged as a novelty band, their fifteen minutes were used up in that one song, to be replaced on national radio by quirkier bands like Smash Mouth, Barenaked Ladies and Cake.

I like all their albums, but I find this debut to be the most consistent although certain later individual songs are stronger. At the time of this release, Timbuk 3 were the husband and wife team of Pat and Barbara McDonald. Pat played guitar and harmonic while Barbara played bass or guitar. The unofficial third member of the group was the boombox with drum loops. For their live shows, for example, Pat would place the boombox on a stool on the stage of the Hole in the Wall, a burger joint on the Drag next to the University of Texas, and he and Barbara would swap out cassettes depending on the song they wanted to play. (They would later expand to an actual four piece with a rhythm guitar and drummer.)

Greetings from Timbuk 3 captured perfectly the quirky and unconventional arrangements fostered by being a two-piece trying to sound larger (think They Might Be Giants). The opening one hit, signifying its difference from the run of the mill with the opening funky guitar and harmonic, then the nasally voice of Pat singing, "I study nuclear science / I love my classes / I've got a crazy teacher / He wears dark glasses." Personally, the song appeals to me as much for the intertwined voices of Pat and Barbara (recalling some kind of 80s indie Fleetwood Mac) as the implied sarcasm (or is it understated irony) of the lyrics. Like the Mac, each song features the harmonies of a male and female singer, with one voice taking a slight lead.

The album switches between the goofy ("Hairstyles and Attitudes"), the serious ("I Love You in the Strangest Ways"), and the indescribable ("Facts About Cats"). But all of the songs have infectious melodies on the order of "The Future's So Bright," albeit neither vocalist has a strong or soothing voice, typically sounding more like Stan Ridgway and Exene Cervenka than Elvis Presley and Karen Carpenter. What then becomes the focus is the lyrics, which, even in the love songs, are clever and surprising. For example, in the song "Just Another Movie," Pat sings:

"Presidential elections are planned distractions
To divert attention from the action behind the scenes
Like a game of chess when the house is a mess
Or a petty money squabble when your marriage is in trouble
Or a football game when there's rioting in the streets"

I'm sure some of why I like this album is its Austin roots. But the main reason it appeals to me is its strange blend of cynicism and humor and the egalitarian union of male and female. It's an album that reflects me, my beliefs and style, and that proves it irrestible.' Amazon.com review



Tracks:

1. The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
2. Life Is Hard
3. Hairstyles and Attitudes
4. Facts About Cats
5. I Need You
6. Just Another Movie
7. Friction
8. Cheap Black and White
9. Shame on You
10. I Love You in the Strangest Way

my vinyl @256