“If you were Shatner / you could choose / between a goddess / or a muse.” Such is the glib wordplay you’d expect when two wise-guy English professors from Widner University are left to their own “wicked” (pun intended) devices in a recording studio. Dubbed Philadelphia’s “rock band for thinking people,” the creative force of bassist/singer/composer Daniel Robinson and guitarist Mark Graybill evoke pleasant comparison to such sophisticated / tongue-firmly-in-cheek rockers as The Decembertists, Robyn Hitchcock, Morrissey (who is respectfully name dropped in “Too Old To Die”) and Ray Davies with and without his Kinks (another pun intended). Though Robinson’s vocal timbre and delivery could easily be mistaken for Brit-pop icon Damon Albarn, he maintains his own identity throughout this jangley collection with a decidedly upbeat middle-aged perspective. Loss (“Coward of The Conscience”) and lust (“Have To Have Everything”) are in abundance, as is vengeance (“I’ve Had Your Wife”) with snug back-beats, swooping bass-lines, and sweet guitar licks. Highly recommended for fans of the above mentioned references. I could easily end this review with a quip about achieving the Dean’s list or affording an A grade, but let’s just say these old chickens make the best soup.
--Tom Semioli
