Lefty at the Washout – That Just Happened
Track Listing:
1.) The Get Down
2.) Roll On
3.) That Just Happened
4.) That’s Cool
5.) Boogie Man
6.) Rules
7.) Lyrical High (ft. Ben G)
8.) Mucho Culo
9.) Be Mine
10.) Reeses To Pieces
The Pier Album Rating:
Release Date: July 1st, 2015
Record Label: Washout Records
Official Website: Lefty at the Washout Website
Artist Background:
Lefty At The Washout is one of those rare reggae groups that make it out of some uncommon state like South Carolina. They’ve been at it since 2007, and the band says it all started as a group of guys just trying to have fun making music. They just recently released an album called, That Just Happened, and the end product turned out to be pretty good. New listeners will be able to hear influences from some of the bigger bands in the reggae scene today, but they’ll have a southern spin to them.
Album Review:
The first song, “The Get Down,” is a good indication of all the musical elements the band has got to offer. The intro is diverse, with scratches, saxophone action, and a guitar solo that turns the listener on to the song. The lyrics and composition on this track makes for one the album’s strongest songs. The vocalist, Charles Wilkie, has a voice that’s pleasant to listen to, and the saxophone outro is epic. It’s rare to hear fade outs in music today, but Lefty went for it, and it worked out.
The next three songs are the band’s radio friendly endeavors, and would fit well in an alternative rock station mix. The songs are concise and to the point, but lack that energy that is found in some other songs in the album.
“Boogie Man,” is an eerie song with a strong compositional structure. The pauses in the song during the chorus are original and keep the listener on their toes with effects flying at them left and right. While on the topic of effects, the outro for this song features an appropriate usage of a low fidelity transition. The song was meant to be eerie, and the lo-fi hits the mark on that goal.
“Rules,” is by far the strongest song on the whole album. The vocal mix makes Wilkie’s voice a feature on this track. The varieties of effects on the vocals throughout the song are well thought-out, and keep the listener interested. Although it’s a bit on the slower side, the little saxophone fills make this quasi-rock-reggae ballad a great listen. The delay on the saxophone solo is perfect, providing that warm tone directly and then decaying immediately to the right to create the effect of a dual saxophone presence.
In the production sense, this album is absolutely phenomenal, which is rare for a band that isn’t really big or that doesn’t tour often. The only thing that would benefit the band would be easing back a tad on the vocal effects, which at times seem slightly overdone.
“Mucho Culo” is a perfect example that this band is doing this just for fun. It’s a song that highlights what is probably one of the band’s favorite past times. It’s a playful and enjoyable track. A nicely thrown curve ball was then thrown to finish off this song in what seems to be a sample from a 70’s/80’s track. With this band, you never know what’s happening next, and that’s a good thing.
The next ballad on the table is “Be Mine,” and this one is a bit more heavily skewed towards the rock spectrum. It seems as though whenever the saxophone was added to any song, the song instantly became better. This song was no exception to that rule.
Overall, this band is strong and has the potential to make headlines and stir up the national reggae scene as a whole. The album is a very good sequel to their debut album that was released in 2009. This band, although they say the play music just for fun, seem to be very good at having fun because the music is great. Give this album a listen and hear it for yourself. Also, we’d like to have Lefty play a show on the west coast soon.
Written & Reviewed By: Juan Barragan
[Editors Note: All reviews are reflective of the album in it’s entirety, from start to finish. These reviews are the honest opinion of each writer/reviewer expressing their feedback as a genuine fan of the music. Each star rating reflects their review of the album, NOT the band. Music is subjective. Regardless of the review or star rating, we encourage you to listen to the music yourself & form your own opinion. Spread the awareness of all music in its art & contribution]