For his fourth album Chemical, Portland, Maine-based singer-songwriter Jason Spooner expanded his band from the long time-trio of Reed Chambers on drums and Adam Frederick on bass, adding Warren McPherson on keyboards. The quartet then hunkered down in Hear Studios in Camden, ME, taking pages from various playbooks of musical icons such as Dave Mathews Band, Paul Simon, Dylan, and the Band and fusing a musical mixture of roots, country, jam, soul, and island sounds into thirteen new tunes. At the center of each track is Spooner with his fresh, boy-next-door tenor, solid rhythm guitar, and optimistic lyrical textures. The band backs him up with solid musical explorations, demonstrating their obvious prowess without going too far-out into overt, “chops for chops sake” playing.
The album opens with the soulful “Top Hat” — its funky interplay between the players sets the tone for the conversations to come. The loose grooving “After All” follows, with some Phish-like instrumental passages. The band then digs deep into the driving “Long Cold Grave.” Spooner and company found a radio friendly track to hang their hat on with “Fireflies,” a perfectly conceived sing-along-while-your-head-is-bobbing tune. It paints a glorious picture of good times on summer nights. The explorations then unfold as Spooner delivers the subdued lament “Shrouded,” the socio-political world beat track “Read Them Their Rights,” an island-tinged sermon called “Blind Side,” and the spaced-out instrumental “Weld.” Mcpherson’s funky organ sounds perfectly offset the gritty riffs and rolling drums on the slow-burning blues rocker “Red& Green.” The hippie-dippy folk-funk and tongue-twisting lyrics on “Blink Of An Eye” are infectious. The aound goes completely acoustic for the lilting “Back And Forth,” adding Latin flair and channeling “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” The second instrumental, “T ‘ump,” conjures an African sunset, with each player taking a moment to shine before Spooner closes the album on his own with “Spell” — a gentle lullaby to send us on our way.
Rick J Bowen
