JD McPherson: Socks
Details
Genre: Blues rock, r&b, RockPros:
Funny, amusing, hooky, dancey '60's rockabilly takes over the entire set, a disc totally full of zany originals. And it's a Christmas riot!Cons:
Except for a few midtempo moments, there's really no room for balladsHumorously cool ’50’s rockabilly and soul dominate JD McPherson’s highly entertaining holiday LP
Humorously cool ’50’s rockabilly and soul dominate JD McPherson’s highly entertaining holiday LP
Oldie revivalist JD McPherson is a really cool slinky thing. For his entire career, the Oklahoma musician has been ravishingly executing rockabilly nostalgia consistently on our ears, almost sounding like a Buddy Holly loyalist. On his holiday adventure Socks, the “North Side Gal” singer stays the course and drops ten tracks of complete originals, all designed by himself. And it’s a majestic flash in the past.
Mostly all the tracks included are wittingly brewed with humor: “Bad Kid,” the album’s most infectious jewel, expressing lots of rebel pride for landing on Santa’s naughty list; “Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy” shimmies with sneaky innuendo by celebrating the first names of schoolyard girls; “Hey Skinny Santa!” shows off Chicago style pizza and spicy New Orleans dishes with such temptatious audacity to a millennial St. Nick sporting a 32” waistline; the title track fires up the ancient disdain ego manic bros have regarding seeing gifted knee-high and tube socks stuffed in a holiday stocking. The latter is spunky enough to make you wanna dust off the original stroll dance.
Oddly there’s pretty much only one mood here: uptempo adult ‘60’s rock ‘n blues eggnog-spiked party, which pretty much wrecks the idea of Socks being considered a fully versed set. But McPherson’s love for the throwback and his jammy rhythm section is a joy to hear. Thanks to its comedic timing and lively mood on a fun set of all-originals, expect this one to gain traction in the years to come. Even if it feels like a flashback to the 1950’s, this is poised to become the go-to holiday album of the new century.
