Well, yes, but also their new album titled “Original” with its songs (about half of which are holiday songs) now available for enjoyment on Spotify, YouTube, and for purchase on iTunes. It’s been available for pre-order since August 15th (to be shipped after August 30th) and it was available when the guys were performing at the Minnesota State Fair.
I have my copy, and although I had heard the songs on Spotify prior to securing my copy, I hadn’t yet sat down and really listened. Now that I have, following this are my thoughts on the songs and the album as whole.
Eleven tracks, coming out to about 40 minutes of audio, starting with Northside Gal. As an opening track, it’s a good one to start with. There’s a certain... flow, or something of the like, to it that gives it a kick that just keeps on kicking throughout the whole track. Once it starts, it doesn’t stop moving. If ever I had to pick a song off this album to dance to (a sight no one should ever want to see), it’d be Northside Gal.
True to the album title, there are original songs, the very second track being one. The River Is Wide is a song I would, frankly, expect to hear if I switched on a radio. If this song had a music video, I’d wager it be aired on TV. It really is on that “next level” and I’d love to see that and all the work put into it be recognized.
Number three of eleven is a cover the guys have been doing for a while, but hadn’t been released as either a single or on an album. With it being one of my personal favorites that the guys perform, I’m very happy that Holiday is on this album. Shaun’s high notes through the song happen to be the highest points in it for me, too. He has an impressive vocal range and it’s always been cool when the opportunity to see (or hear, as the case would be) it showcased comes up.
We’ve got a gospel tune as track four to hear, Free At Last. Let me just state right off that I am not terribly fond of gospel in general and tend to steer away from the genre as a whole. However, because the guys are ridiculously good at their jobs, I do like what they’ve got here. Particularly Shaun’s extended note around 1:27 on the track; it’s the part I’m anticipating when they’re performing it at shows. But back to the album track, I really like how well Jared’s vocals come through. Not to say his part doesn’t usually come through, but it sounds like he had more space to “move around” vocally on this one. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I’m getting from it.
Shaun’s got a high note to start with in I’ve Got a Woman/What I’ve Got. Jared’s got some solid raps for everyone. Greg’s got the vocal glue keeping the beat together. I’d say they’ve got it going on, but none of them are Stacy’s mom, so that’s irrelevant. They do got a good medley going on, that’s for certain.
There’s one last non-holiday track before things get real festive, and on top of it being an original, it is a spectacular original. Marching Soliders is possibly their best released original to date, if not their best song overall with covers included (I fully expect it to become one of their overall most popular). There is a longer intro than usual, however, it is a beautiful intro; it sets the tone for Shaun to come in and emotionally destroy the listener (nothing says “you done a good thing here, son” than sobbing hideously and loving every moment while you do so). Now don’t misunderstand me; I mean all of that in the best way as I really do love this song. It is very much an emotionally powerful tune and done so well. I can’t say it actually did bring me to tears, but with the last couple of lines of “I used to love, I used to be, won’t you please remember me?”, it was a struggle not to. This is a big one, or it will be.
As I mentioned at the beginning, about half of this album is holiday music. It seems like an odd choice, considering the time of year, but the holidays really aren’t that far off anymore at this point. Speaking of the holidays, reminder that the guys’ holiday tour schedule is up on their website and tickets are mostly available for the shows.
We’re starting the festivities with Santa Claus is Coming To Town, featuring Twin Cities rapper MaLLY. My initial thought on that was something like “rap on a Christmas song? That’s an... interesting choice”. And I stand by that thought, but I need to expand on it here: with how the song is set up, it does work well. Ultimately, it works if it’s done right, and the guys did it right.
Jingle Bells is the second of the five holidays tunes. With the sound off intro, I didn’t even know what song it was initially. Personally, I’d not have included that and just gone right into the music intro. That aside, I do love the guys’ updated cover of this song. It was a beautiful cover in their holiday tour last season, and that still stands with it as a studio track.
Third holiday song, ninth song overall, and second song to feature a special guest artist (Ivy French in this case). Peace On Earth really highlights how much different this album is if we compare it to albums the guys have released previously. It’s hard to miss the difference when there’s an entirely new voice featured on the track, not to say it’s a bad thing; it’s just a newer direction from the past (and that could very well prove to be the best thing for group).
As their fourth holiday song, the guys have their cover of Sleigh Ride that they debuted last holiday season in their tour. If I had to pick between the live version and the studio version, I’d probably pick the live version. This is a good track (they all are, really), but it’s just one that works better for me when it’s their live version (sometimes, less is better). Don’t skip over it, tho; you’d be missing out on Greg showcasing his mad rap skills.
Speaking of Greg, it’s him who leads in the guys’ final song of the album, Leaving Heaven. And it is a very refreshing change and kind of a breath of new life into a song they’ve been doing awhile (it maybe hasn’t really been so long, but I get to a few more shows than a lot of people, so I hear the same songs much more often). It’s another highlight of how different this album is from most everything else the guys have done previously.
Ultimately, I love the new album. There is a LOT of percussion on this album, and it could very easily be overpowering and detracting from the vocals (how much instrumental can you add before your group is no longer acapella, that sort of quandary). I think the guys do have a strong grasp of when it’s too much, and the amount they do have probably gives them more freedom to explore vocal possibilities.
This album, to me, is a showcase of how much of a change the group has undergone within the past year (or less). I very much like their new sound and, tho it may sound a little strange, I’m proud of Shaun, Greg, and Jared for powering through and producing what I feel is a strong, solid album. It really sounds like they’ve hit a new level with this one, and I hope for them that they’ll get the recognition for it they deserve.
Alright, so the guys of Tonic Sol-fa have holiday show dates up on their calendar now.
Their first show is gonna be in Big Lake, MN on November 20th and their last one of the season’ll be in St Cloud, MN, where they always finish out their tour, on December 28th and 29th.
In between, they’ll be in the following cities in Minnesota: Fergus Falls (11/22), Luverne (11/28), Woodbury (11/29), Rochester (12/11), and Burnsville (12/15).
They’ll also be in the following cities in Iowa: Algona (12/3), Des Moines (12/18 and 12/19), and Sioux City (12/20).
South Dakota will see them in Sioux Falls December 4th and 5th, and Wisconsin will have them in Wisconsin Rapids December 10th and Eau Claire December 17th.
Assuming this is their full line-up for the upcoming season, they’ve got a pretty good run coming. So I’m hoping there’ll be at least one show you can all get to. This’ll be their first holiday tour as a trio (with special guest Theo), so it’d be really great if you could all make it to even just one show to show your support for the guys and all their hard work (we know they appreciate us, so let’s show we appreciate them, too).
For those of you planning on going to the MN State Fair Aug 27th and/or 28th, go on and see Tonic Sol-fa perform in the Leinie Lodge Bandshell at 1pm and 2:30pm both days.
The shows are free with your admission into the fair, so if you’re there already, go give them a chance!
