Mark Robinson - Tiger Banana
(Teenbeat)
Mark Robinson's last band, Flin Flon, was his first major
stylistic change in about 8 or 9 years, trying a more
bass-centric, post-punk sound. While both of Flin Flon's
records were quite good, Robinson was underused in that
band, serving mainly as frontman, his guitar work (by
design) never fully utilized. His new solo album, Tiger
Banana, fills that void quite nicely as most of the music
here is just electric guitar and Robinson's smooth, buttery
vocals.
Any of Robinson's fans who were put off by Flin Flon will
adore Tiger Banana. However, the record is not a true
return to form for Robinson as the music here is somewhat
straightforward and quite a bit more subdued than his
previous bands. This is not infectious pop that hooks
the listener during his first listen to the song; these
are delicate, soft melodies that need time in order to
ingrain themselves into the subconscious.
This album is the first in Teenbeat's Warm Series, a series
of limited edition CDs that doesn't seem to have any point
or theme to it other than being limited edition and having
the artwork be a tribute to Teenbeat's back catalog.
Or perhaps the series does have a "point," as its title,
"Warm," is a good description of the music here as the
main components to the sound have all edges neatly rounded
off for utmost ease of listening. If items other than
guitar and voice are used, they are done so sparingly--a
simple conga beat, a few organ whole notes, etc.
While most of the album is simple, warm pop music,
Robinson does include two rockers. The first doesn't start
off that way, using guests Versus who appear several times
on the album to add vocal harmony. "Starfighter" starts
off sounding like much of the rest of Tiger Banana with
Robinson and Versus' Fontaine Toups singing over quiet
guitars. After Richard Balayut adds a spoken vocal
portion, the song gets a bit more aggressive, turning the
song into something much like a Versus song. "Putting
Up Good Numbers," on the other hand, is a chugging
anthem from start to finish.
Tiger Banana is far from Robinson's best work. The sound
is bare but warm, and the music is straightforward. His
lyrics are interesting but not outstanding, the veiled
sexual references either more thickly veiled or totally
not about sex at all. Still, as most pop seems to
get more grating with each listen, this is decent pop
music. It seems to only become more endearing.
|
