BestOfWNY.com - Bob Silvestri - September 24, 2001 (cd review)

Consider this my acceptance speech for bonehead of the year award. Let me explain. I received The Contortionists new CD titled Get Sweet For You quite a few months ago. Due to my sometimes (OK, always) anal state of mind, I allowed it to become buried under the mountains of mail, magazines, LP’s and CD’s that is my basement music room. So while looking for something else I found the CD.

Well let me tell you, this is one of the most enjoyable CD’s I’ve heard in quite some time. The songs have the hipness of Steely Dan, the pop sensibilities of Squeeze and the smart sophistication of Paul Weller. The lush harmonies and the melodic hooks make this a very sweet treat.

Rob Falgiano founded the Contortionists after his last group, Plaster Sandals, disbanded. The core band on Get Sweet For You consists of Rob Falgiano (lead vocals, guitar), Rob Lynch (drums, vocals), Tim Mroz (bass) and Guillermo Izquierdo (guitars). Also helping out is a who’s who of Buffalo musicians including Cathy Carfagna, Eric Starr, Charlie Quill, Doug Moody, Tom Fenton, Ken Peterson, and Nelson Starr among others. The esteemed Marc Hunt from Ear Candy Audio recorded and engineered the project and co-produced it with Falgiano and Lynch.

The fourteen tracks run the gamut of influences as snippets of country, bossa nova, power pop and more form some incredibly smart and sophisticated songs. Love, loneliness and introspection are covered in Falgiano’s lyrics with a wry sense of scene. His references to “mountains of snow”, “electric trains” the club scene and the break up of Plaster Sandals, gives this a definite Buffalo feel.

The CD starts with the instantly catchy track “Girlfriend” which finds Falgiano cleverly blending naivety and sincerity as he sings, “If I asked politely do you think God would send me a girlfriend?”. “World A Little Cold” is a perfect three-minute pop gem with outstanding drum lines and cymbal rides from Lynch. He also adds vibraphone on this track. On this Falgiano looks inward as he sings, for all of us maybe, “This is not what I had in mind, Intended as a child, Am I all grown up?”. Another gem of a song is “Brilliant”; with it’s runaway bass lines from Mroz and beautifully textured guitar fills from Izquierado. “See and Read” is a scathing condemnation of today’s media landscape of call-in shows and the sometimes-slanted view of the news that is presented to the public. “Nightfall” is a mellow country tinged song with a Steam Donkey sound as Charlie Quill and Doug Moody from the band lend a hand. Nine other tracks round out this perfect CD. I’ve been listening to this for almost three months straight, at home, the car, work, and I still find new and exciting things going on in each song. Accordions, handclaps, and well placed backround vocals keep turning up on repeated listening.

My apologies to Rob and the band for not reviewing this sooner, this is such a great CD. More on The Contortionists can be found at www.thecontortionists.com

Bob Silvestri, BestOfWNY.com, October 10, 2001 (live show review)

Also on September 22nd The Contortionists played Mohawk Place. Although we arrived mid-set we were still treated to Rob Falgiano and band running through a reggae inflected “This Life” and great versions of “Another Man’s Song” and “Lounge In B Flat” among others. Highlights included a Who styled trashing of the drum kit and a mid stage tackle by drummer Rob Lynch on his bass player at sets end. Check out more on them at thecontortionists.com . Be sure to pick up a copy of their great CD “Get Sweet For You”, it absolutely kicks ass.