Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores – Everyman for Himself & God Against All (Corleone, 2003)
(This originally appeared in Canned Magazine)
Let us all pretend that men birth babies and that another man has the ability to impregnate him. And if a man has multiple partners, each man’s DNA some how meshes to create the next generation. Now, put Zappa, Weird Al and Tom Waits in a room with a buncha liquor and a bed. Nine months later, Alec K. Redfearn pops out playing tracks from this slab on his accordion. I don’t know if that’s an endorsement or a condemnation, but the redoubtable talent and uniqueness of this release is indisputable. You know that once a man sings a love song and repels the aire of mediocrity in the lyrics, there is in-fact talent. These folks do it on “Ohio” and it’s even amusing while they’re amidst the groove. Most of the time, the music makes me feel as if I should be walking down a tree-lined pathway with a mule and a silly hat on – I’m not. There are a number of songs (“Black Tar and White Slavery”, “Nail/Total Eclipse of the Head/K-Hole”) constructed with minimal lyrics to shift focus to the bizarre, off-kilter melodies and funky rhythms of The Eyesores: damned enjoyable. The lone musical quandary reveals itself on the final two tracks that are ostensibly one. “The Green Hat” is a seven-minute drone, while “Coccyx” is a drone of only one minute and eleven seconds. As innocuous as the pair are, they’re alternately charming and a waste of time. Yet, the closing is only a finite blemish on an otherwise genuinely inventive release.
Tracklisting:
1. Mole
2. Candy-Ass
3. Heartpunch
4. Ohio
5. Black Tar and White Slavery
6. Nail/Total Eclipse of the Head/K-Hole
7. Black Holes
8. Cold Little Knife
9. Screeching Halt
10. The Green Hat
11. Coccyx
