Coconut Records’ “DAVY”

Hello,  SuperDPS fans. Since this is my first article written for the site, I’d just like to do a quick introduction.  My name is Cole, and I will be providing you with some weekly music reviews.  Some of these reviews will be specifically suggested by Alex or Dave, others will be very relevant (meaning that they just came out) and others will be ones that I think just deserve some attention. If there’s anything you’d like me to review, just let me know.

I have an extensive catalog of music, and if there’s something I do not have, I should have no problem acquiring it.

With that out of the way, I introduce you to my first review, suggested by Mr. Alex Gross himself. I will be reviewing a CD called Davy, the sophomore effort by Coconut Records.

If you are not aware, Coconut Records is a musical project comprised of songs written, sung, and performed by widely known actor Jason Schwartzman.  There are a few musical guests, but for the most part every instrument you hear  is played by Schwartzman.  Jason is no stranger to the music business as he was drummer and main song-writer for the band Phantom Planet.

Back when Phantom Planet was relevant to the music industry, he wrote some of their finest tunes.  His brother is also the singer and main songwriter for the band Rooney.

The first thing I had heard from Coconut Records was a song called “West Coast”, which appears on his first release Nighttiming. From the first time I heard that song, I loved it and wanted to know where it came from. It’s extremely catchy with a great chorus, and it had me hooked immediately.

I couldn’t wait to hear what the rest of the album would sound like. Unfortunately , I was disappointed with the rest of that freshman effort. There were a few pretty good songs, and it wasn’t a horrible cd, but nothing came close to the sing-along pop song that is “West Coast.” Everything else just seemed bland and instantly forgettable.

To this day “West Coast” is still a song I am excited to hear, but when I heard there was another album coming out, I certainly wasn’t rushing to listen to it.

I did, however, add it to my music catalog and only briefly gave it a listen. Now this brings us to the present where I was asked to review this CD. I knew in order to do that, I’d actually have to give it a good listen, so yesterday I went outside in the beautiful weather, laid out on a beach chair and just listened to the album straight through.  I am glad I did this.

In my opinion Davy is extremely impressive and holds up much better than Nighttiming did. Even though Nighttiming had that one killer song, I’d much rather listen to Davy, a short but sweet album full of indie pop tunes.

The album is comprised of 10 tracks clocking in at right under a half hour, making it a perfect summer cd. I happen to be a person that believes that the mood you are in, and the atmosphere around you helps shape how you perceive certain songs.  It definitely helped that I was listening to Davy while being outside on a nice sunny day, and I’d very much recommend doing that. This is a phenomenal release to listen to while driving around on a nice day with the windows rolled down.

Obviously this record would be placed under the indie pop genre, but to me it was much more than that. All ten tracks represented something different to me ranging and touching on all different genres. You can certainly hear Schwartzman’s influences throughout, which I always like to pick out.

It was like he was making us a mix-tape of his favorite songs by recording new songs that sounded similar.

Schwartzman’s voice is light and airy, nothing exceptional about it, but somehow it works perfectly against these songs. The instrumentation is incredible as well. Twangy guitars, cool keyboards, and even horns are all scattered throughout and placed at the right moments to keep your feet tapping.

The first track, “Microphone”, is the “West Coast” of this release with a catchy chorus and an infectious arrangement.

In “Drummer” Schwartzman sings:  “And I was a drummer in a band that you’ve heard of…” which made me laugh.

“Saint Jerome” sounds like it could’ve been on a Beatles album, in contrast to “Courtyard” which is done in the same acoustic simple manner that the late great Elliott Smith used.

“Wandering Around” and “Summer” especially with their back-up vocals, sound like something that could’ve come off a  Beach Boys album.

My favorite song from the release is track 8, “I am Young” which starts out as a light summer song and completely changes tempo into a sing-along romp in it’s last minute or so.

“Wires” has a country feel to it, very reminiscent of Ben Kweller’s more recent efforts.

In closing, this is an album that is not to be missed. If you are like me and weren’t interested after the disappointment that was Nighttiming, give this is a listen.

If you liked Nighttiming, then you will like this even more. If you have no idea who Coconut Records is, check this out.  It’s the perfect time of year to do so.

It may not be the best, most experimental or even different release to come out recently, but jump in the car and pop this in. It’s the perfect soundtrack to a summer road-trip, with no direction in mind and the open road ahead. This album is a welcomed addition to Schwartzman’s long list of achievements in the entertainment industry.

Thank you, super dudes for reading my first review. In the words of Max Fischer, “Maybe we’ll meet again someday…when the fighting stops.”

-Cole

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