Ty Dennis and Angelo Barbera first met in 1997, when the latter joined The Motels, while stints with Lita Ford, the Robby Krieger Band and The Doors of the 21st Century have also entailed during their respective careers. Their original plan for a full scale band line-up didn’t work out, so Today Was Yesterday settled on becoming a duo.
Dennis takes care of drums, percussion, and programming. Barbera acts as primary songwriter, singer, bassist, guitarist, pianist, and programmer too. They’ve also got Alex Lifeson on board, playing guitar on six of their self-titled debut’s ten tracks, plus Robby Krieger too. But if you’re expecting anything like you might find on those two totally different styled guitarists’ resumes, you’re in for a surprise.
If anything, this is more the alternative direction Peter Gabriel might’ve took had he not begun to lock himself up in the studio for decades once he became entranced by a Fairlight keyboard, and this despite the duo both taking credit for what I presume some might look suspiciously on for their mutually taking credit as programmers – One suspects this means computer generated sounds, by which you can hear echoes of Japan and Tears For Fears, who they acknowledge among their influences. But, add to that some Adrian Belew-era upbeat King Crimson, and on opening track ‘Grace’ if not Led Zeppelin, then most certainly the droning arrangements and empowering chordal undertow Jimmy Page was integrating into the latter part of their career and his own duo set-up with Plant.
Under a weaving barrage of sounds you get guitars droning deep, chinking brighter chords and something that at least affectively imitates a mandolin in the background, while a bass progressively coming on like Tony Levin, and fluid drumming of a classic rock nature that plays the song; about which I remain a little unsure regarding its theme or lyrically meaning, but the breathy sighing voice that comes in over some dramatic chord changes often calls out: “Everything starts to fall in your grace” and so I take this as an overture of sorts.
The emphasis is sound over style, with an ear towards accessibility for mass communication without dumbing down. What you really latch onto is an overall modern art rock initiative, happily veering into instrumental passages with overall production values that defy the recording budget they likely had at hand. As Dennis noted: “We come from the days when pop musicians weren’t afraid to be good players,” and it shows, albeit it takes a few plays of ‘Grace’ to see quite how it fits into the overall album, with it’s heavier rock template.
Lifeson’s controlled wailing guitar opens ‘A Louder Silence’ and comes into play within it’s the scope of its structure but it’s the overall bass guitar that limbos all over the shop in funk-popped reggae-offbeat syncopation that’ll most draw your attention. Kind of Gabriel meets Prince. It’s at least in part about dealing with the modern world’s masturbatory cancel culture desires towards social media, but truly what you’ll be hanging onto is where Barbera sings: “Keep on trucking” where it all gets extra groovy. Part acoustic guitar driven with gentle tinkling sounds accompanying, ‘On My Own’ is one of two where it’s the nearest you’ll get to a love song, and it is actually quite lovely. I presume it’s Lifeson who adds a classical guitar passage before the music switches to electrical instruments taking precedence.
Barbera’s voice does its finest Peter Gabriel impression on ‘I Take All’, and I write that with due respect. Symphonic soul fusion if you will, but at its core it’s also Wang Chung’s ‘Dance Hall Days’ given a Sounds of Philadelphia workover before more prog-like excursions ensue. It guest features one Ed Roth, who if I’m correct has played keyboards with acts as diverse as the two fronting this band, among which you can include Annie Lennox and Rob Halford, The Brothers Johnson and Ronnie Montrose, and if that’s the case then it’s him responsible for the jazz-inflected organ solo.
A rush of synthesisers spew forth, followed by a bustling rhythm section on ‘My Dog Is My God’, a song that on the one hand is a hefty R ‘n B number; part Robert Palmer, still Gabriel (a man can’t help his voice) that trimmed could be a crossover singles hit, but decides to ride on where the hell it feels like, crisscrossing cosmic highways, again with a lot of fusion-led space-tripping keyboards. More laid back, soulful, and concise, but a suitable album partner to it follows with ‘Faceless Faraway Song’.
I’m particularly fond of ‘If I Fall (Silly Games)’. Atmospheric, a little jazzy, Dennis’s drumming totally steers, leads, and somehow keeps it’s oh so slow live beat a stirring piece of work, while the slide guitar playing by Robby Krieger is so understated, and egoless, yet totally majestic. Then comes ‘Rukus’ with its bouncy, upbeat sharp, funky prog. Somehow, these two tracks reminded me of the original Ian Gillan Band, on those rare songs where they were less interested in making complicated music for its own sake and relaxed, swimming their rock fusion musical tide enigmatically. ‘Borrowed’ follows in a similar manner to ‘Rukus’ but adds a somewhat Bowie apocalyptic makeover to proceedings. Ironic then, that ‘My New Low’ closes the album – Here treated hypnotic percussion lays out a beat, with keyboards dancing gently between, as a slow soulful tune ensues, Barbera’s voice somewhat huskier here, and in dichotomy with the lyrics the middle eight chord changes inexplicably make me smile; the whole work drawing you in, listening keenly, and then a beautiful blues soaked guitar solo arrives – presumably Lifeson – and it tugs at your heart; it’s brief but says all it needs, then the music plays out, fading gently away on piano.
Mellow arty-pop prog album music that wears its influences on both sleeves but rolls them up and gets busy intent on creating something individual, and succeeds more often than not.
- Reviewed by Paul H Birch.
- Today Was Yesterday is released via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group and is available here.
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Track List:
- Grace
- A Louder Silence
- On My Own
- I Take All
- My Dog Is My God
- Faceless Faraway Song
- If I Fall (Silly Games)
- Rukus
- Borrowed
- My New Low
