I really hate clever bands. By that I don't mean smart bands, but clever ones. The difference is that between They Might Be Giants and Pavement, with one being a duo of goofs, and the other being a bunch of oddball geniuses. Woody and Jeremy flirt dangerously close to being smart-asses on Gravy in My Coffee. I mean, the title alone is cringe-inducing. However, some of this is quite good, almost in spite of the parts that irritated me.
"Rolling in the Basement" is like a cross between Ween and Weezer. Ahem. But the hook is not bad. Elsewhere, "LA Drivers" and "He's Cass McCombs" ride their respective jokes far beyond the distance they needed to go, atop moderately pleasant hooks. Still, "Closed Eyes" is direct and affecting, as is "Feet of a God", another gem here. Woody and Jeremy are spending so much time trying to be funny, that they sometimes get distracted from writing more good tunes like these.
There are things to like about Gravy in My Coffee, but I found myself annoyed as much as charmed here. The melodies are fresh, instrumentation on point, but the humor forced. I guess I'm not the audience for this, admittedly. If the "funny" bits don't annoy the shit out of you, you will find a couple of lovely hooks here and a few tracks that are memorable.
Gravy in My Coffee is out on Friday.
[Photo: ForceFieldPR]