THE MUSICAL WORLD OF THOMAS DIETZEL
Thomas Dietzel is a terribly clever individual. He's been in several bands over the years, self-released on his Discorporate Tape label... in addition to his various projects, including (but not limited to) the band Last Prick Standing, the indominatable acoustic rock duo Shed, Inc., his solo music and perhaps the greatest of all, the "bro country" band Redneck Baby, he can also freestyle rap, and he even raps in Greek. I dunno if he's ever done stand-up comedy but he's pretty hilarious too. The guy just has a ton of energy. Redneck Baby, his project with girlfriend Megan Mai, has been mostly covering the best of the worst of Nashville country-pop, but they recently debuted their first original track (as far as I know), "What About You", which displays the couple's full internalization of the tropes of bro country--delievered with both a ginormous ironic wink and a genuine appreciation of the irresitible genre of Nashville pop. The narrator is attempting to woo the sister of an former fling, presumably because there's not a lot of options in their small town, and as he says she looks like her sister, so it's a natural turn on. He invites her to copulate on a dirt road. This is of course very romantic. How she feels about this is not mentioned. Everything about this track is perfect, from the arrangement to the vocals--Thomas and Megan's harmonies are always fanastic. They could easily sell this song to Nashville and no one would even realize it was satire--then again, I don't even know if this is satire anymore. It's so funny that it's dead serious. Thomas also recently released a solo album, which finds him in more straight pop mode, though the rhythms of bro country surface on "Medusa"--although maybe that's also the rhythm of 90's R&B.. no matter. He appears here strictly as a singer and songwriter, with studio musicians providing the backing arrangements, like some lost pop star. The four tracks were made over two days, and there's a spontaneous energy in them, the tunes pulled out of the aether like a rabbit out of a hat. "Amsterdam", the opening track, is a great new wave-style tune, while "Paragon" is more of a 90's adult contemporary feel. "New York" has a weird fusion jazz vibe with trumpets and loungey keyboard. The varying styles are united by Thomas' passionate vocals. As with his other material, humor and sincerity sit side-by-side... there's something comical about the rapid shift in styles, but every one of these tunes is a fine entry into its genre. It's kind of amazing this stuff was put together so quickly, especially in a town where it's cool tantalyze people for months and months with some masterpiece-in-progress. Thomas Dietzel dosn't have time for that, he's just got too much to say. Here's hoping he finds the time to say it all.