Phil Odgers, a.k.a. Swill, is best know as one of the lead vocalists with The Men They Couldn't Hang. But over the past couple of years he's been making a name for himself with his side project Swill & the Swaggerband.

In 2004, the band released its debut album, The Day After, which garnered a number of favorable reviews despite the fact that the band had never rehearsed prior to entering the studio to record it. Odgers was going for a more relaxed, looser approach to the recording process as well as a heavier reliance on acoustic instrumentation than he'd enjoyed with The Men They Couldn't Hang.

Now, in an effort to produce a follow-up album, Swill has come up with an intriguing financing plan. He and the Swaggerband have recorded a 7-track EP available by mail order. When you purchase this disc, not only are you helping fund the completion of the full-length album, but if you act quickly your name will be listed in the "Thanks to..." credits on the finished LP.

So what do you get in the way of music for your investment of 11 pounds?

Well, Doh, Ray, Me-Me-Me-Me-Me contains seven songs, five of which will be included on the forthcoming album. The songs here are alternative versions plus two outtake tracks, the hope being that you'll also want to purchase the new album once it's released. The EP launches very promisingly with "Elvis Lives Here," a catchy, mid-tempo piece that blends guitar, banjo and accordion and captures the beer-fueled jubilation of singing along with an Elvis tribute performer down the pub.

"Drag You Down" is a celebration of poverty proclaiming the evils of money, an appropriate, if somewhat ironic, inclusion on this fundraising release. There's a mandolin-driven instrumental ("Lusty Glaze"), a polished studio track that demonstrates that Swill hasn't completely abandoned his TMTCH roots ("World of Discontent") and a somewhat bland and anonymous "help for the downtrodden" track that would have benefited from the inclusion of more story in the lyric. "Just a Dial Tone Away" is my least favorite song on Doh, Ray, Me-Me-Me-Me-Me because it seems happy to nibble at the edges of its meaty subject matter rather than biting into the heart of the tale. The song ends up feeling like a jingle for the Samaritans' help-line, designed to inspire without exploring any of the less media-friendly images that would have given the song some heft.

The EP closes out with a pair of tracks that will not be part of the forthcoming Swaggerband album. The first of these, "Shed Fire," is a lyric provided by Atilla the Stockbroker that does exactly what "Just a Dial Tone Away" fails to do, zooming in for close-ups of its story rather than contenting itself with long shots. Finally Swill (guitar and vocal) and Bobby Valentino (fiddle) duet on the traditional track "Sam Hall," and their rendition of this tale of a chimneysweep sentenced to hang for thieving is wonderfully understated.

Doh, Ray, Me-Me-Me-Me-Me does what it's designed to do: it whets the appetite for Swill's coming release, providing listeners with an intriguing glimpse at where he's headed musically as he and his Swaggerband continue to explore the British traditions of folk music. It can be purchased by visiting the news section at tmtch.net, where you'll also find samples from four of the songs on the EP.

by Gregg Thurlbeck
Rambles.NET
13 May 2006