Seahorse - ekoostik Hookah
Review by Brad Weiner
2002-03-20
ekoostik Hookah has been wandering around the jamband world for many moons and their music has only improved with time. They are, in fact, one of the few jambands whose songs translate well in the studio as is the case with their new release entitled Seahorse. It is a typical groove-laden album with an eclectic chef's salad of styles and rhythms.
Seahorse deserves critical acclaim immediately for its presentation and artwork. The cost of recording and distributing music is at an all time low, and it is wonderful to see bands that are concerned with the visual stimulation in addition to the audio soundtrack. The liner notes feature a full nine-panel foldout painted with a serene blue aquarium pattern. The band members are painted on one side enjoying themselves in their underwater playland where, presumably, this music could have been created.
The title track is a simple, beautiful song about life under the sea. It features amazing three part harmonies that run after one another in a game of vocal duck, duck, goose (greyduck for the Minnesotans). Unfortunately, the band uses the ambient underwater feel as a vehicle for a monster funk jam in the middle. I find these sections cliché simply we already know these bands can jam; that's how they gained our attention in the smoky bars of the world. The true challenge comes in sedating the jam, and letting the mellow remain mellow. ekoostik Hookah takes a few too many opportunities to lift the music off the ground when it would be more palatable hovering closer to the surface. They pull off the same musical stunt in several other songs. In some cases, the jam amplifies the music, in others it diminishes the overall musical credibility.
Lyrically, ekoostik Hookah is all over the map. Two tunes penned by Ed McGee, the band's rhythm guitarist, are a little too fluffy to go by without notice. The first, "Bone", is an anthem about the flaky, big city club scene. One verse states "All your damn cologne is choking me/Your unfriendly words are aimed carefully/You take a look at me and roll your eyes/You call me names while your make-up dries". The words are a stinging representation of the sore thumb experience. McGee then goes into a full blown sermon about the benefits of loving one another. "I know people who are not afraid to smile/and being happy's still in style". The vocals are well done, but the barking diatribe followed by the lovey dovey embrace can become an intense emotional roller coaster.
Pianist Dave Katz, conversely, writes several tunes that are a little more bluesy and have interesting environmental ideas like those in "Ridgway Sky," "I Been Down that Road," and a wonderful railroad tune called "Silver Train."
By far, the album's true highlight is the bluegrassy number "Highway Home." It proves that ekoostik Hookah doesn't have to blast their audience with Hammond-generated tone clusters and hugely distorted guitar riffs. They pull off an authentic sounding acoustic anthem about life on the road. Guitarist Steve Sweney, who is one of the sickest musicians on the jamband circuit, puts away his plugs and picks up an acoustic guitar and even gives the high and lonesome a beautiful twangy tinge on the dobro. The tune also features several guests on mandolin, banjo and fiddle.
Seahorse is a noble effort in the studio. ekoostik Hookah generated a great marker of their musical possibilities at this point in their career. At times, the jamming takes over, a trait that is not unusual for bands who learned to play in the spirit of the moment. Seahorse is definitely worth checking out, simply because its sound is able to breathe despite its being submerged under hundreds of gallons of deep blue sea.
