Full Service – Recess

19Feb07

Bonesaw, Hoagman, Smellman and Twink are the persona’s behind Autstin’s Reggae/Rock/Metal group Full Service, who just released their new album, Recess (self-released, 2006). The album features an ecletic mix of vocal harmonies, reggae rhythms and distorted guitars. Even before listening to the album, Full Service’s self-proclaimed “duded-out” persona comes across. They might be the only band to have included a word search in their album booklet. While all of the songs on Full Service range in style and structure, the album has a surprisingly complete feel; each song builds upon the last.

The album opens with “Freezing Dub”, which serves to set the mood of the entire album. The song begins with a dual guitar riff playing over a reggae rhythm. The song sticks very close to traditional reggae, except for the original guitar riff which plays through out. The song ends with a distorted guitar solo, giving the whole song a jam session feel.

After “Freezing Dub”, Full Service shifts gears and moves into a heavy rock song entitled “Your Emo Band.” Heavily distorted guitar riffs push the song through, accompanied by “boom-chick” drums reminiscent of standard rock bands. With the chorus the band gives its listeners a break from the guitar riffs, opening the song up for one of Full Service’s well-executed vocal harmonies. “Your Emo Band” (save the chorus) has almost a ‘fight song’ kind of a feel, which fades away perfectly into the third track, a cooled down tune called “Ramona.”

What is most impressive about Full Service is their ability to really capture different sounds and feels in their songs. From listening to the progression of the first three songs you get a great sense of how this is done. They clearly pay a lot of attention to all aspects of songwritting, not only tempo and volume by rhythm and lyric content. “Ramona” allows the listener to relax after “Your Emo Band,” while keeping it interesting. The entire song features a very relax reggae rhythm, until about midway when the band enters into a heavy-distorted chorus, echoing “Your Emo Band” in rhythm and timbre. The song also features a great guitar solo, making use of a thick tone and sloppy lines.

Full Service continues to surprise the listener throughout the rest of the album. Halfway through, the song “Steel Drum Solo” moves the album again in a completely different direction. The song features loops of steel drums filled with reverb, and the band members singing “chuga-chuga chuga-chuga choo-choo.” Even though it is clearly a joke-song, “Steel Drum Solo” is really appealing. It’s offers the listener a glimpse of another side of the band.

Whether playing metal riffs, wailing solos, or reggae rhythms, Full Service creates music which can’t help but make the listener think “summer”. This Austin band has captured the feeling of a bright summer sun and used it to make a sound which is entirely their own. This spring Full Service will being a tour of the East Coast, and if you can, be sure to check them out.

www.fullservicemusic.com

www.myspace.com/fullservice