Review: Here We Go by Tony Memmel

Tony Memmel is a working class, blue collar singer/songwriter whose humble lifestyle is evident in his music. Listening to Memmel’s songs fully convinces you that this artist is living the life he sings about. This sense of authenticity is what really makes Tony’s music pop, from his first album The Tale of an Underdog to his latest album Here We Go. Going into a Tony Memmel album, you know that you’re going to hear a musician with something to say and an entertaining way to say it. Since his last album, Potter Road, Tony has been very busy, and on Here We Go the audience reaps the benefits.

Here We Go literally starts where Tony’s last album ended. As the organ plays on “Overture”, Tony sings lines from the final song on Potter Road: “Leaving Song Part II: The Adventurer.” The slower cadence of the song gives it an almost retrospective feel as it bleeds into the title track. You can instantly feel some of Tony’s influences shining through in this Bruce Springsteen-esque song, but they aren’t enough to overpower Tony’s own indistinguishable style. Through this first new song on the album we see Tony begin to discuss where he's come from, where he's going, and the adversity he’s faced along the way; themes to which anyone can relate.

The themes throughout Tony's new album, while speaking of his own life and experiences, can easily apply to any listener. On tracks like “I Know, I Know” and “Helicopters and the Riot Squad”, he deals with the theme of communication, while “If You'd Let Me” talks of reconnecting with a loved one after mistakenly moving on. That's the power of Tony's writing; his mix of folk and rock allow the songs to feel like they were written specifically for the listener, and his lyrical sense does the same for the themes within the music. He's also got a great sense for telling a story, as seen in “One Week to Philadelphia”: Philadelphia seems far away/ In a jet port on a Sunday/ You said, ‘Goodbye I'll call you when I've landed’,/In a crowded room I am stranded/ And I know it won't be long till I see her and then/ It could be so much worse I remind myself when/ The clock struck twelve and it had to end.”

Here We Go also shows Tony growing as an artist. While you still hear both the folk sound from The Tale of an Underdog and the more rocky sound of Potter Road in this album, Here We Go sees Tony taking more chances. On the track “I Know, I Know” Tony adds in a ska-like horn section and a “Hey, Hey” chant also reminiscent of the older ska style. The final track, “Sink or Swim” (a brilliant look at what could have been),  Tony adds a meditative electric guitar solo and experiments with vocal effects that give an impression of him singing through a radio from a distance, giving the song a pensive gravitas.

“The Vagrant” is a song that marks the greatest departure from Tony's overall style, and is, in my opinion, the most hauntingly beautiful track on the album. Here, Tony's views on the human need for contact and interaction in the midst of a lonely world are augmented by his best vocal work on the album and harmonies that send shivers up my spine every time I hear them. While Tony’s always been a poetic writer, that’s never been more evident than it is here: “Day after day the same thing/ Looking for signs it's changing/ And then one day out of nowhere/ I strike up a conversation/ With a stranger as she walks by/ It is a crime/ And the streets empty after closing time/ Then you're on your own/ Only skin and only skin and bones.”