“The lyrics for this song came about out of my frustration with the tug of war that we all go through with the media everyday. We are constantly being bombarded with messages telling us that we are imperfect and that the world is this horrible, dangerous place and that it will all be better if we buy a certain thing, or vote for a certain person. There is a feeling of being constantly manipulated. A lot of times the messages are conflicting. It’s hard to know what is true. The sheer amount of information out there can be overwhelming at times. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to know where your information is coming from and to form your own opinions.”
—Anthony Farrell, Greyhounds
Let us interrupt the noise of this contentious political season for this funky pronouncement from Greyhounds: “The ass and the elephant / have become irrelevant.” How has no one previously come up with such a succinct couplet regarding the two major political party symbols, crating up the quarrelsome critters and sending them back to the zoo?
The sentiment comes on Greyhound’s tasty new track “Before BP (The War is on For Your Mind)” that we’re happy to premiere right here at TVD. On a track that sounds as if it were built from fronds of Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie,” Anthony Farrell sings with some deadpan distance about the state of the political world, with its prescient parenthetical warning in the refrain, “The war is on for your mind—and you can’t give it up without a fight.” Despite its bleak overlook, its sound is upbeat and funky; Andrew Trube makes you feel better with some soaring blues licks.
The full album, Change of Pace, due out April 29, is the second of a three album deal with the revived Ardent Music. It’s full of their funky, spare, and sincere work, done with the social awareness of Curtis Mayfield. It was recorded in part at Ardent, the Memphis mainstay where the Staples Singers, Sam & Dave, and Big Star all recorded.
The latest tracks were laid down strictly analog using what the two say were entirely pawn shop guitars and rewired second-hand keyboards. If so, it’s all part of an ongoing quest to make something new from classic elements.
Though they first met up in Los Angeles, Greyhounds relocated to Trube’s native Texas where they’ve been recording for a dozen years. But the two dudes are nothing if not versatile, playing as part of the touring band of JJ Grey & Mofro for a time and even opening a tour for Taylor Hicks. But if Hicks was known for his Soul Patrol, Greyhounds must be the Soul Brigade.
They’ve got a funky authenticity and directness that at once echo R&B greats and yet are utterly of the moment.
