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The
latest review of "Lucky" from the SF
Bay Guardian
Four
Year Bender
Lucky (Greasy Spoon)
Sporting
a delivery as honest and unpretentious as a hobo troubadour,
Four Year Bender singer Ryan Smith breathes weary life
and ragged joy into Lucky, the group's debut album.
The songs were developed when Smith led local funk mobsters
Boomshanka, a nationally touring outfit that had modest
success a few years back. After Boomshanka dissolved in
'01, parts of the crew plus a few friends regrouped and
cut Lucky in living rooms and studios across the
Bay. Amazingly, the album is completely unforced and natural,
like these guys were meant to be rocking laid-back, rusty
blues all their lives. Even "New Orleans Lament,"
about overwhelming rents forcing the singer's flight
from San Francisco, makes perfect sense; as the album's
most downtrodden number, it stands out in its defeatism.
But mostly we get the kind of tear-in-ma-beer, down-but-not-out
hopeful heartbreak that marks the best traditional country
music. The piano and lap steel-embellished "Hey Bartender"
reels with genuine twang, and the soft-strummed "Leaving
Today" comes off tender and real. "Talkin' Bout"
's jazzy acoustic swing and the soulful buildup of "What's
Good for You" are countered by the gorgeous ballad
"Wine and Roses." There's no alt in this country
– Four Year Bender are refreshingly uncomplicated,
just the kind of gut-level authenticity music could use
right now. Four Year Bender play Thurs/22, Thee Parkside,
S.F. (415) 503-0393. (Jonathan Zwickel)
KFOG
has selected us for their "Local Spotlight"
section of their website for the month of March. Go to
KFOG.com
to check it out, or read it here...
They've
also been giving "Let Me In" some spins which
is pretty damn cool.
KFOG
also invited Four Year Bender to play the Fox Theater
with fellow "emerging artist" Wheat.
Read
more about it on KFOG's
website, and hear "Rainy
Day" recorded live from the concert
Check
out the
San Francisco Bay Gaurdian's 8-Days A Week entertainment
calendar featuring Four Year Bender
40 oz. to freedom Hey fella, good to see you. It's
been a while. Heard about the breakup, man. That's rough.
Ya get older, find different directions and ideas to chase,
and then everything changes. One day you're killing it
as local funk mob Boomshanka; next thing you know, you're
a booze-drenched, front-porch country blues band. Well,
you're handling it damn fine. Dove headfirst into that
Four Year Bender we all know how that goes. Lazy acoustic
strumming, harmonica humming, some accordion here, upright
bass there ... thing is, it all sounds so honest. Maybe
it's your bristling, world-weary vocals. Maybe it's the
sparse, understated production of your recent debut, Lucky
(Greasy Spoon), or the rowdy, dedicated crowds that follow
you boys all over town. Either way, the music makes a
deep impression and takes the pain away like a good blues
binge should. I'll be sure to see you playing tonight
with the Mother Truckers and the Bellyachers. 8 p.m.,
Slim's, 333 11th St., S.F. $8. (415) 255-0333. (Jonathan
Zwickel)
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