Seth Kauffman – Ting

An early review of Ting complimented the funky rock band assembled by Seth Kauffman. Nothing against Kauffman, a founding member of the soul-rocking Choosey Beggars, but the recruiting was easy. He is the band here, playing everything from guitars, organ and upright bass to violin, agogo bells and llama toenails; he even provides his own falsetto background vocals. And just as he looked no farther than his bathroom mirror for bandmates, he traveled no farther than the next room over for a studio. So be forewarned: the sound quality of this truly homegrown, self-produced effort falls somewhere between lo-fi and no-fi, by design as much as circumstance. That Kauffman is able to build from this rudimentary base and create thirteen songs which bring to mind Motown, Marley, a couple Mayfields, and Mississippi (often at least two of those in the same cut) is a credit to his skill and righteously restless nature. Most noteworthy are Get Your Love Stole and Im A Martyr, which capture late 60s soul in both title and vibe, and Burden To My King, which quite possibly invents garage-gospel-reggae.