I wanna be your Fresh and Only!

The Fresh and Onlys - Self Titled Debut LP

Ok, let me get this out of the way. This has got to be one of the greatest "rock" records I've heard in a dog's age. It's as if lightning struck the Golden Gate Bridge and out of the smoke came The Fresh and Onlys with sideways smiles and songs in their hearts. It's rare that I like something right off the bat, but upon catching wind of 'Feelings in My Heart' I was hooked. The Onlys are like some horror show version of Bay area flower power filtered through mid 70's American punk, (think The 13th Floor Elevators throwing down at a hulla hoop party with the Cramps) but that's only on the surface. Because beneath all the scuzzed up guitars and clownish rhythms lie real songs, all penned by the songwriting team of fellow travelers singer Tim Cohen and bassist Shayde Sartin.

The good people over at Academy Records (Brooklyn) turned me on to this little goodie. It came out on John Dwyer's (Thee Oh Sees) Castle Face imprint sometime before the summer of '09, just as the heat wave was beginning to settle over the eastern seaboard. And just in time to become my summer jam record of the year. What's really amazing about this record is that over the span of 14 songs there is not one dull song, and even crazier is just how timelessly classic the stand outs are. Take the irresistible bounce of 'Shattered Moon' complete with Link Wray inspired guitar leads and bad ass harmonica wailing, the delirious stomp of 'Love and Kindness' with it's odd harmony double lead vocals, the hallacinogenic carousel ride of 'Imaginary Friend' and straight up Fresh and Only theme song 'Peacock and Wing'. The album plays like the best parties play out over an evening. From the high gear lead off track 'Feelings in My Heart' and ending with the brilliantly sober ballad 'Arm's Advice'.

Tim Cohen has one of those voices I never hear anymore, a charming timbre with great turns of phrase. With his restless quavering and odd ball delivery he manages to evoke singers like Jonathan Richman and Mayo Thompson, singers that weren't afraid to bring a little theatre into the mix. And his lyrics stand out as actual pictures, which most dudes in bands can't even begin to attempt to pull off. They even put a lyric sheet in the LP!

There's a definite practice space vibe to the record, as if the songs were amassed from a collection of rehearsals, albeit rehearsals where the band invited all their friends to party with them. I'm not sure how it was recorded but however it was done it was captured beautifully. There's a thin veil of distortion lying over everything on the record, but rather than sounding intentionally harsh it feels fuzzy in the best way possible.

I was lucky enough to catch them live last Fall as a supporting act for Golden Triangle and Thee Oh Sees. Even having opened the night they easily eclipsed the other bands. The thing is...from the get go the Onlys have been lumped in with the current lo-fi pop craze, but most of these bands working the hype machine are content to bury their nothing mumblings under obscene amounts of reverb, whereas the Onlys have the songs to back it up. Not only that but there is a real grace to how they perform. Wymond Miles' guitar tone is blisteringly great, Shayde's bass is perfectly groovy and Tim Cohen, although somewhat droll onstage has a commanding presence, a master of ceremonies that could rival Gibby Haynes. I like to think that The Fresh and Onlys pride themselves in being steeped in tradition, and as part of a lineage of great American bands.

Do yourself a favor and hunt this thing down. It will make you believe in rock again. And consider this only chapter one for the Fresh and Onlys as they've already released a second record on Woodsist and an EP on Captured Tracks, not to mention a couple 45's in between. These dudes are serious and I'm willing to bet they will be around for a long time.

Buy it at INSOUND.
Buy it at Midheaven Mailorder.