Webmaster Rick has been raving about Maybe August's "A Fine How Do You Do" ever since he received the CD way back in, oh, I don't know, maybe August? So why didn't he write the !@#% review himself? I'll tell you why. Because writing is hard. Writing is painful. Writing is an exercise in tortured adjectivity (ok, that's not even a word. I just made that up.). But most of all, writing reviews is a time-sucker matched only by forum loitering and video games. You don't want to wank-off the first thing that comes out of your your noodle 'cause you'll regret it in the morning. But if you wait for inspiration to strike you'll keep everybody waiting....and waiting....until the band has broken up and moved on to their respective retirement properties Up North (see, here in Michigan we capitalize "Up North"). With that in mind, let's open the oven on this half-baked pastie of a review and see what's cookin' inside (copious amounts of extraneous commentary included ).Band: Maybe August
CD: A Fine How Do You Do
Year: 2003
Recorded at: Big Sky Studios - Ann Arbor
Recorded by: Geoff Michaels and Gregg Leonard
Mastered at: World Class - Ann Arbor
Band Members: Scott Robertson (guitar/vocals), Michael Robertson (guitar/vocals), Rosco (harp, vocals), Nathan Roberts (drums), Keith Carolan (bass)
Additional Musicians: Mike Brush (Piano), Mike Levinson (Percussion).
The Music Review as an Excercise in Tortured Adjectivity(sic)
(or click here if you want to skip right to a quick-review with sound samples)
Maybe August's sound is a refined blend (sounds like expensive coffee - but it's better than the "organic potpourri" I had there before) of acoustic guitars and harmonica supported by a rhythm section that's smooth and tight as Paris Hilton's as... (... tempting as that comparison may be, I think it would be considered a lapse in tone). As I was saying, the rhythm section is forbidding (that's better), but the band owes its distinctive sound to the impressive acoustic guitar work and vocal harmonies of brothers Scott & Michael Robertson. You can't do better than genetically tuned voices (e.g. The Beach Boys, The Everly Brothers, The Smothers Brothers, Nelson (Nelson?)) to produce a warmth that is especially soothing to the ear around the holidays (as opposed to yours truly singing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" in the shower to an exaggerated impression of David Bowie's "Peace On Earth". So I get a bit weird around Christmas). 
Stylistically, "A Fine How Do You Do" is all over the map (What map? The map to music-review cliché?); the band moves easily from a Dave Mathews (gotta' bold-face those celebrity names) type acousti-pop (hyphenated compounds - I just love 'em) on "Another Life" and "Pretty Ones" to a disco wah-funk (there's another one) on "Wish List" to a mountain-folk feeling (I'm a fan of alliteration too) on "My Own Little World" to a (from a, to a, from a, to a, that's just annoying!) beautiful Christopher Cross meets Cat Stevens meets James Taylor number called "Say Something" to a Blues Traveler meets The Grateful Dead pseudo-progressive jive (now there's a good hyphenated compound) on "Dear Clarissa". There's even a died-in-the-wool (another cliché), country-fried a-cappella ( hey, that's a compound hyphenatd compound) number called "Burning Out" that could make Alabama blush for its rustic simplicity, squarish melody and awkward syncopation. Though it's a tired cliche' (warning someone that you're about to use a cliche' is like saying, "No offense, but..."), there really is something here for everyone (ok, maybe just everyone over twenty-five who's abandoned the trendy retro-rock heirs and fashionable Hip-Hop flava' of the month offered by Rolling Stone, Spin & Blender. Whose your jaded critic? I am, aren't I?).
The funky-jerkin' hand-jive of "Jessica" (whoa - that's a dual hyphenatd compound with a double alliteration - I'm cookin' now.) and the free-striding "Gotta Run" sort of remind me of The Grins. But unlike The Grins, whose casual faults add to their friendly charm, Maybe August have ironed out almost every wrinkle, leaving a sharp crease in a squeaky clean production (I have no idea what the hell that means, but, intuitively, it sounds about right). Several cuts include complex instrumental forays whose near-flawless execution should earn the band respect from those "serious musician" types. Lyrically, "A Fine How Do You Do" is equally eclectic (Who'da thunk it? Different types of songs, different types of lyrics. Sometime I have a knack for stating the obvious. Don't look now, here comes another round of "froms" and "tos"); from immortality to moral failings, from fine women in fast cars to embarrassing personal revelations (for the record, Mike Robertson never slept with Tina Martyn) to the futility of good advice and the virtue of irresponsibility. Their smart sensitivity and self-deprecating humor reminds me of The Barenaked Ladies, especially on "Bell Tower" in which our protagonist proclaims, "I've got astigmatism and / (notice how he ends the lyric with a conjunction and then rhymes with it in the next line - very clever) I've got two left feet on my right hand / It's hard to steer with my head in my rear", and commands, 'Pick up all your shit, get out / I'm in love with the girl from No Doubt / it's Gwen and me / Mr. Scott Stephani'. Funny stuff.
"Restless Waters" captures the social, political and environmental insults suffered by a Native American who refuses to be marginalized by a culture that doesn't value anything but sex & money. According to the blurb on the CD's inner sleeve, this was a fan favorite before George W. took office and the threat of future terrorism by foreigners made us forget about past domestic genocide (Congratulations, we've just made the Secret Service's enemies list). This song plays to the band's vocal strengths and flair for intricate guitar arrangements. The lyrics, however, come perilously close to Reader's Digest-styled sanctimony for people who decorate their walls with fox-tail furs & rainbow-colored dream-catchers (macro-scenic illustrations, such as mountains, oceans, valleys etc.. always seem rub me the wrong way). But I'll forgive everything just for their coining the term "sexecution" (that's great) and having the courage to criticize American values in a year that began with flag-waving nationalism. Good song -good subject matter.
Wince Factor - The Hindsight Producer
The only thing I'd change about this disc (oh, do tell....~groan~) would be the opening track. The singular vocal on "Another Life" and its presence in the mix (Oh, so now you're an engineer. How convenient.) makes me slightly uncomfortable, as does the casual mention of Nazi Germany and Auschwitz in a relatively innocuous song. The tune has a nice feel but it's not their best track - which, as an independent, should be in the pole position (I think that's the first time I ever used a racing reference in a music review).
 The Food Metaphor: This disc is like a hearty bag of trail mix; it's loaded with healthy content to keep you musically fit, but it includes enough sugary morsels to give you a much needed jolt of energy here and there. The Obvious Comparisons: Maybe August is like The Dave Mathews Band meets Blues Traveler meets The Bare Naked Ladies. "A Fine How Do You Do" would be a good companion for a long drive Up North; the songs are varied enough in style and subject matter to keep you from becoming bored with the wide open spaces and long stretches of highway. The vocal harmonies of brothers Michael and Scott Robertson are a soothing salve for raw holiday nerves. - Mitch Phillips |
Track Listing
1. Another life
2. Restless Waters
3. Jessica
4. Pretty Ones
5. Lay Down
6. Belltower
7. Burning Out
8. Gotta Run
9. Wish List
10. My Own Little World
11. Big Sky
12. Say Something
13. Dear Carissa