The disc gets off to a good start with “Talkin’ Out Loud,” a song title that caught my attention, for it’s something we all say from time to time when we mean “thinking out loud.” The song itself is a bright pop rock number with a joyous shout of “Woo!” before getting into the lyrics. “We’re going to wake up/In the end we’ll make up/Temporarily shaken up/Talkin’ out loud.” Ah, I hope we do wake up soon. I’d love to discover that the last five years or so were just a bad dream. This song is like some sunlight pouring down upon us, with a sound that feels like summer. That’s followed by “Tim’s Basement,” which has a seriously catchy sound. It’s a delicious pop song, and I think my brother Tim is going to dig this one, in large part because of its final line “We’ll hang out down in Tim’s basement for a while.” Hey, the basement is where my brother has his bar, so it’s fitting. Let’s all meet there. Boy, will he be surprised.
“Did Ya?” has a gentler, mellower sound and vibe, and features some nice vocal work. “They say the late night scene is cool/The architecture and the fools/ Not much reason bothering you.” I like the laid back feel of this track. Then in “Put It All To Bed” they sing, “Running with a feeling/That we just can’t put off today/Running with a feeling/Save it for another day/Some other way.” This one has something of a country vibe, but gets there via the beach. That’s followed by “Dun’ Me In,” a song that feels like youth, a song to play while you’re driving around. I’m not sure what the apostrophe is for in the song’s title, for it sounds like they’re singing “You done me in,” but since they spelled “done” as “dun,” it’s not like they need to show us the “e” is missing. Well, no matter, particularly as this is one of the album’s highlights. This is also the song that gives the album its title, in the lines “Could’ve played war games/Might be hearsay/A case of willy nilly ensued.” It features some good work on electric guitar.
“Sofia (CMU)” also has a youthful, cheerful vibe, and even includes hand claps. It’s a song about a girl going to college in Pittsburgh. Kyle O’Donnell joins the group on saxophone, adding more fun to the mix. Actually, I wish there were a bit more saxophone to this catchy song. Then The Popravinas veer more toward country rock with “Almost Sick,” another of the album’s highlights. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “I know what you’ve been saying/But it ain’t quite what you do/Must be really stupid/Just to stand here like a fool/Saw the look on your face/Knew it wasn’t my place/And I’m almost sick of losing my mind.” And for some reason these lines make me smile every time I listen to this track: “Saw the look on your face/Could you pick up the pace.” That’s followed by “Hard Way (To Make An Easy Living),” in which they sing, “Go ahead and play it stupid/Go play it as a big clown/Every day is another stage/Beats hanging around/Hold your wallet close/To your heart and guess/Who’s coming around.” The album concludes with “Up The Coast To San Francisco,” which has more of a folk and country vibe as it starts, and it features both banjo and pedal steel. There is also some interesting, unexpected percussion, and some really nice guitar work. This is another of my favorites. “And when you put your jacket down/You can start to play around/And pretend that you might be from California.”
CD Track List
- Talkin’ Out Loud
- Tim’s Basement
- Did Ya?
- Put It All To Bed
- Dun’ Me In
- Sofia (CMU)
- Almost Sick
- Hard Way (To Make An Easy Living)
- Up The Coast To San Francisco
Willy Nilly was released on February 7, 2019 on Zesty Smiles Records. Since then, they’ve released another album, Goons West, which came out in August of last year.
Note: On March 16th, I heard back from John Adair with a bit of clarification regarding the song title “Dun’ Me In.” In his words, the “Dun’” in the title “refers to someone’s last name and is inspired/interpreted by true events.”
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