Tony Sly
12 Song Program
Fat Wreck Chords
Buy at Amazon

I am not always a fan of the punk guy with a guitar decides to do an acoustic record, it just doesn't usually work. With Greg Graffin it just highlighted his really poor singing voice. He is great in Bad Religion, but when the focus is on vocals it just didn't make it. The acoustic record also puts the lyrics front and center. I can't count how many times I have heard someone go acoustic before I realized how bad they are at writing lyrics. The third factor to an acoustic record is they sometimes take it as a reason to get all wimpy. I am not the most macho guy, but if I wanted that I would listen to Dashboard Confessional or Bread (look em up kiddos).

So back to the record at hand, can Tony Sly from No Use For a Name beat all the odds and put out a good acoustic record? The vocals are there. He would be kicked off the first round of American Idol (which isn't a bad thing), but his vocals are not bad, he has a solid voice that I want to listen to.

The lyrics are great. Songs like Via Munich which I think is about drinking on tour and Toaster in the Bathtub have all the lyrical kicks that make me want to listen more than once.

So what about the wimp factor? Well by definition one guy and acoustical guitar is a bit wimpy, but I think that he passes this third test pretty well too. The squeaking strings on tracks like "The Shortest Pier" give a legitimacy to the sound. This underproduction makes you feel like you are sitting listening a friend sing some new songs in your living room.

-Dave