OFFICE
Issue #28
Q & A (self-released)
By Amber Drea
Published: June 1st, 2006 | 2:11pm
Though this Chicago-based four-piece wears business suits, writes songs with office-related metaphors, and hires temps to type onstage during shows, it’s not strictly a concept band. Singer-songwriter-producer Scott Masson offers up keen observations about life during and outside work, from staying out all night to getting up early and leaving your lover for your 9 to 5, from new relationships to ones long past.
His voice, a smooth and sassy tenor akin to that of Freddie Mercury, soars over new-wave pop rock to be filed between the Cars and Duran Duran. On “Busy With Other Things,” Masson apologizes for showing up late to the nightclub or party, though you can tell he’s not sorry at all. He chastises gossipers on “Dominos,” saying, “When facts don’t make sense, faxes get sent.” And “The Big Bang Jump!” sums up the “new millennial mainstream” of SUVs and media monopolization (“It’s a gas!”).
Except for the somewhat incongruous yet lovely ballad “Until 6 PM,” all tracks feature keyboard melodies, syncopated rhythms, Alissa Noonan’s bouncing bass lines, and fun backing vox from drummer Erica Corniel and guitarist Tom Smith. “Q & A” conjures up Cibo Matto, “Not Her Style” invokes the Flaming Lips and the Cocteau Twins, and “Had a Visit” represents dance-punk, with schizophrenic changes and harmonies á la Self (remember Matt Mahaffey?). References aside, Q & A will be stuck in your CD player for days — get it now at Reachoffice.com before a major label purchases the company and takes 80% of the profit!
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