Let me start by saying that Strange Friends delivers a peculiar foray of tunes. So much so, it almost left me confused and tongue-tied as to what to write about the band. The musical hodge-podge delivered isn't a bad thing, but it almost calls for a song by song analysis of the disc, which I don't have enough space for. That being said, I'll do my best to explain their CD, "Dave's Not Here."
Only one track left me disappointed and unfortunately, it was the first track. It set my expectations low for what was to follow, but out of nowhere, like a bolt of lighting, Strange Friends started delivering cool track after cool track. "Head Up Heels Down" rocked steady with a Rolling Stones-like groove, only to lead into the next track, "One Woman Fool," which sounded like something The Band would do. At other times, the chord progression felt like it was lifted from Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks." "Silly Boy" resonated a Fleetwood Mac-type vibe and "One More House Quake" came out of right field with a sexy groove and an outstanding vocal performance by Katy Thomasberg. The diversity continues throughout the disc hitting on nearly all the popular formats of rock music, even some honky-tonk.
The final comment on their short bio reads: "Give it a spin and write what you will." All right, challenge accepted. Strange Friends aren't consistent in one style of rock, but the performances are all up to par. The band's ventures into different musical styles will either leave the listener excited about the variety or skipping through searching for the few that do satisfy their taste buds. In the end, I was happy getting the sampler platter called "Dave's Not Here."
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