Album Notes

From Cd review ,written by Jerry McGowan.

You would never guess that this band has only been together as a unit for a little over a year-and-a-half. Their sound is much older...not "old" in years but experience. What follows is a brief synopsis of my own cursory impressions from each of the eleven tracks on this disc.

The first song, CUBISM is also one of the first songs I ever heard this band play. This could easily be TGFE's trademark track...but that would be misleading. This band is not defined by a single song, no matter how good that song happens to be. The energy of this track is inescapable though. You want to move to this.

Song two is called ON THE TAKE and opens with a funky clavichord riff courtesy of Ben Kiner's dexterous keyboard skills. This is another mover and quite literally a shaker anytime this song is performed live. I love the arrangement on this song. The whole band shines here on a tune that feels like a classic funk song you've known your whole life.

SPOOKY NOOK ROAD is new for me. This is a subdued composition that eventually segues into track number four, BURLESQUE ESQUE. My only complaint about this track is that I wish it was longer. It has a very cool ambient groove created by Ben and underscored by Eli Huebner's subliminal bass slide technique, accented by Mike McGowan's subtle guitar melodies, and held together by Curtis Smith's lightly played but expressive drum rhythms.

BURLESQUE ESQUE has an Eastern vibe, invoking not unpleasant visions of scantily-clad dancers and smoke-filled dens of ill-repute.

Track five is called HIPSTER HENS. This song has more of a Cuban feel accented by hand-clapping and cowboy-calls from the band. It's a song that you just know has a good story behind it.

VOLUPTUWARRIORS DEPLOY may be the ultimate chill-out driving song. Suitable for both cold winter nights as the album title suggests, humidity-induced moonlit summer adventures, late afternoon drives in autumn or long busy commutes. You may just hit repeat until you get where you need to be.

KING RED, track number seven is a return to the band's Latin flavor. I defy you to not at least tap your foot to this one if not use it to hone your dancing skills when you think no one else is home (yeah…I got caught.) As in several of the tracks on this CD, there is a hand-drum break which will have you reaching for whatever utensils you can get your hands on to play along. This song also features the superb whistling skills of Terry Kiner, Ben’s dad.

The eighth song is entitled BROWN CHICKEN COW COW. I have no idea what that means. I'm sure I don't want to. But this is a great funk song. Mike and Ben's interplay really stands out here and Curtis and Eli create the perfect groove to set the needle in (metaphorically speaking of course.)

The title track to the CD is number nine and is a great example of modern jazz-funk. This song is also the longest at 7 minutes 37 seconds and features an interlude that allows each member of the band to add their particular flavor to the piece before returning to its main theme.

Number ten is called BUMPIN' A ROW and immediately struck me as a departure, though it never strays far from the feel and vibe of the whole or the identity of the band. It's another classic jazz-funk tune that could easily find its way onto the soundtrack of some edgy Indy-film or as a theme song for an HBO original series.

The final track on the CD is called SMOKIN' and the title is a true reflection of the character of this song. This song (BLEEPED) rocks! From its funky bass opening and organ work to its soulful interlude of simple powerful guitar lines building with the drums to a crescendo that launches into orbit like someone hit the button for hyper-drive!

Was that biased? I guess it was. I am happy to admit that I have a bias for well recorded, well played, original music. HIGH MOON COLD NIGHT does not disappoint. This band and their music have progressed to a new plateau (though I feel confident that it really just represents their next evolutionary epoch.) These are songs that have been crafted over time, not just the time since October of 2007 when the band formed but the time that each member of the band has worked to become who they are individually as musicians.