The Town Pants have a funny name. You have to admit that, as far as strangely named groups go, this one is right up there. But before you write them off as some oddly monikered, gimmicky band, have a listen to Weight of Words, their latest release. It is filled with great songwriting and talented musicianship. The quartet of young musicians handles ballads as well as they handle more raucous songs, and they do have a rather good sense of humour!

Beginning with the title track (which, strangely, comes near the end in the liner notes), the album starts off with a great original song. "Rum Runner" is another great original track, written from the point of view of a woman but sung by a man, and it had me convinced it was traditional until I looked in the (oddly arranged) liner notes to discover otherwise. "Bottle of Rain" is a jaunty tune with clever wordplay to describe how quickly time passes. Humour rears its head on two tracks, "The Old Landlord" and "Mr. Valentine's Dead," with the latter featuring a corpse partying hard.

Two other tracks of note are a rendition of "Boys of the Old Brigade," which is thoughtfully done, and the final track, "Ships Made of Wood." This last track is based on a rather hokey sounding chorus line: "There are ships made of wood/ There are ships that sail the sea/ But the best ship is the friendship/ That there is 'tween you and me." As with the band's name, do not be fooled! This song is really lovely; a song that you will want to give to all of your good friends as it so aptly expresses the importance and uniqueness of friendship. There are plenty of love songs; friendship songs, however, are rarer and if this one is any indication, they should play a larger role in many groups' repertoires. Plus, it has a funky calypso beat!

The instrumental solos and pieces are handled deftly by Aaron Chapman on whistle and Virginia Schwartz on fiddle. Chapman also contributes backing vocals, mandolin and melodica, adding some intricate instrumentation to the album. Schwartz blazes on her fiddle. She is absolutely amazing and her self-penned "Diggin' the Grave" features her fantastically dexterous fingering to go along with an infections tune.

Brothers Dave and Duane Keogh make up the other half of the group, and their vocals are solid. They manage to express the emotions of each of the songs, providing lead and backing vocals throughout the album. Though their voices are similar, they are different enough that they can be differentiated, but are able to harmonize very well. They both have excellent voices for folk music and their love of the music is evident. In fact, the whole band seems to be having fun, and they must put on a great live show.

Weight of Words is well worth the investment. An album with great pieces, played by great musicians, the Town Pants' third recording is very much recommended.

by Jean Emma Price
Rambles.NET
3 December 2005