Drummer
Feel Good Together
Audio Eagle Records
By Micah
McLain
Apparently not content to allow his Black Keys band mate to have
all of the side-project related fun, Patrick Carney has joined forces with four
other drummers from his native Ohio to form the aptly-titled Drummer. The
percussion super group retreated to Carney's studio in North Akron to record
what would become its first LP, Feel Good Together.
Carney and crew incorporate a variety of classic rock sounds into the album,
ranging from keyboard-driven '70s style rock to the more intricate, fuzzy
guitars of '90s independent rock scene.
The album's title track leads
off with a noodling, hazy guitar lead, an infectiously churning beat, and the
echoing vocals of Jon Finely (former drummer for Kent, Ohio's Part of
Helicopters). "Lottery Dust" begins with what sounds like a church organ before
the soon familiar guitar and drum beat kicks in, albeit it at a more intense
pace than "Feel Good Together."
The keyboards that Drummer uses on tracks like "Lottery Dust" keep the album light yet firmly anchored in the '70s era rock
that the members of the band were no doubt raised on. The angular guitar work of
more recent indie rock lays the foundation for "Serious Encounters," another
track that is instantly familiar to the listener since it draws from such a
variety of proven, if not ambitious, rock staples.
Feel Good Together,
for better or worse, is an album that will instantly remind you of so many other
albums from the last 30 years. Each track seems to effortlessly flow
from the group and all seem like they were are lot of fun to record – which was
no doubt one of the main objectives of this project. Drummer doesn't push itself
far enough to make anything resembling a classic record but they have definitely
created a light, enjoyable collection of classic rock tributes that is sure to
please a wide variety of fans.
Drummer play The EARL October 16. Tickets are available at Ticket Alternative.
