Oh, do I have something special to let you know about - Ringside! Maybe you've noticed the quiet revolution happening with Indie Electronica. It's getting damn good. Electronic machines co-mingling with serious singer/songwriters. This is the first CD to come along that finally bumped out that Postal Service CD that's been firmly in my dash for months now. Ringside is Scott Thomas (vocals/lyrics/piano) and Balthazar Getty (electronics). They met each other at a party while getting high with Timothy Leary and listening to the Bulgarian Woman's Choir. They recorded this CD without ever thinking it would be "something," hanging out in a garage with a dirt floor, a space heater and a couple of parkas. No preconception of "product," this project evolved as naturally as can be, driven by a passion for songwriting and a pioneering attitude with music. It's the kind of story that feeds my love and faith in music. It's the kind of thing that just "had to happen." And you have to listen to it.
"Struggle" kickstarts the CD. It's got some kind of smoky bar discotheque vibe going on fueled by the scotch and cigarettes voice belting out from Scott Thomas. A bluesy R&B guitar floats over a goovin' kick and bass as Thomas croons
"I just wanna move ahead, I just want to free myself, but it's a struggle... I just wanna stay in bed, I just wanna be myself but it's a struggle." Give Scott a few more trips around the sun and he's gonna be sounding like Tom Waits. Just incredible. "Cold on Me" is a plea to a lover who is gaining distance. I'm hearing the Beach Boys in the falsettos and horns, Velvet Underground in the chords, Bob Dylan somewhere, and yet this sounds so incredibly fresh and original. The first released single, "Tired of Being Sorry," which by the way has a tasty club remix provided by the Dummies, features a little flamenco guitar and some accordions over a 4 to the floor beat. Here Thomas asks for a little forgiveness and understanding "Maybe you were you were right, baby I was lonely, I don't wanna fight, I'm tired of being sorry... So far away so outer space I trashed myself I lost my way, I've got to get to you, I've got to get to you." "Strangerman" is next as a lazy beat keeps time underneath piano, guitar strums, strings and "Are you so aloof that you trade directions when the winds change?.... Oh and you walk ahead and leave me behind... Strangerman who are you, to leave this way."
His vocals sound great down low and gruff, equally as compelling when he reaches up for the falsetto.
"Trixie" follows and is about dealing emotionally with "tricks...."
apparently no easier for Thomas than the rest of us. The whistling at
the end says a lot, just keep movin' along. "Miss You" is a plaintive
call for someone gone "There is nothing I can take, there is nothing I can do, to keep from running away, and at any cost, to keep from
turning around, just to see what I lost...I miss you.". Beautiful,
sad magic music bound to make you tear up if you're given to that sort of thing. "Dreamboat 730" is the antidote to "Miss You," "Come aboard, let's go dreaming, no one's gonna love you like we love you, we understand you've been mistreated, been kicked around, we'll get even". All to a phatt downtempo beat and some rugged guitars. "Black As You" keeps up a driving, plodding beat with a sci-fi spaceship sound hitting about midway through the track. Only thing predictable about this music is that it's always good. "Talk to Me" is a sexy downtempo with lush ambience while the vocals lay a soft hand as Thomas sings "I know you got some damage, I know what you been through, but there's nothing I can't manage,
I'm gonna take care of you...talk to me." The beat, by the way, is totally head bobbin' and deep. "Raining Next Door" is about a girl next door who just can't be helped, she's always down, hopelessly devoted to a man who's never there. Next, the simple piano driven "Criminal" works up goosebumps as the drums come crashing down around the vocals "Why does everybody run away, tell me, tell me... When will I get myself straight... help me, help me." The final song, "Jackie" is a resigned tribute to a girl who's dealt some damage- "I know you'll be back in L.A. tomorrow, you'll break him as quick you broke me, tonight I lay with the stars on Mulholland.... Jackie, don't cry for me." And that's it, and it was an amazing trip. I've got some friends that get upset when someone refers to a "graphic novel" as a "comic book". Well, this CD from Ringside is a musical novel.
If you skipped to the end that's cool. You need to hear this music for yourself, not read about it. Ringside is brilliant. I cannot think of a better union of electonica and singer/songwriter. And let me just say that Scott Thomas' voice is great beyond description. This CD will end up being like that old T-shirt you know you'll never throw away. Thank-you, Ringside.
