This project’s single, “Gimmie What It’s Worth,” which is a smartly mashed up combination of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimmie Shelter” and Buffalo Springfield’s “What It’s Worth,” might lead you to believe that the project it’s attached to, Faux Pas, is also more of that same protest music. It’s not. In fact, except for that lead-off track, this five-song effort is a relatively relaxed and many times humorous project.
After “Gimmie What It’s Worth,” Alias Wayne gives us “Broke Down In Texas,” a harmonica-colored and blues-y rocker about experiencing mechanical failures, while not know exactly where one is. It could be taken as strictly about car troubles. Then again, Alias Wayne could be singing more about a broken-down emotional state, using auto issues as an analogy. “Nobody But Me” also draws upon the blues, but then ups the ante with a jazzy horn section and a swinging rhythm. Furthermore, Alias Wayne vocalizes it like a laidback saloon singer. The recording also includes a plunked out acoustic piano, which sounds a whole lot like the kind you might find in a dusty old saloon. “Caveman Jack” has similarity to “Nobody But Me,” as it also includes those same jazzy horns, as well as Wayne returning to his nightclub-y voice. Lyrically, though, Wayne comments on strained male/female dynamics. He sounds to be having a little fun with the sometimes-bad reputation of many men. We men can sometimes behave badly, like the cavemen they say we once were. He’s likely exaggerating, of course, but the song’s story sounds to have been inspired by some actual bad public behavior. Wayne also works in a little of the Jack and Jill characters into his lighthearted story.
STREAMING:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7p4CegUNdxNDU2UVStdSn2?si=KaRmN-y0QuqCofWPBDLMXQ
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https://ranzelxkendrick.bandcamp.com/album/faux-pas
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https://soundcloud.com/ranzel-x-kendrick/sets/faux-pas
The five-song project concludes with “Just Because.” This one is a sparse guitar rocker, with a vocal that’s half-sung/have spoken. It’s a simple sentiment, but nevertheless effective. Through it, Wayne is telling us about all the things he’d do, just because he’s in love with a girl. Love will make a man do some unexpected things. In this case, though, this particular guy gets excited about doing (sometimes) just normal stuff. Newlyweds often enjoy even simple tasks together, such as going to a supermarket, or in this case, a “drive through a drive-thru,” just because of love.
The way Alias Wayne incorporates seriousness (“Gimmie What It’s Worth”) with the less seriousness (“Caveman Jack”), reveals his wide perspective. It’s easy to get caught up in the utter seriousness of life. “Gimmie What It’s Worth” is a timeless song combination because, as long as humans are on earth, there will be good reasons to protest stuff. However, the best songwriters can see the good, bad, ugly and funny. Alias Wayne has given us plenty of points of view with Faux Pas. Ironically, the album’s title is the French term for a mistake. However, that word combination in no way describes the music under that title’s umbrella. There isn’t a misstep in the bunch. It may be a short, five-song trip, but traveling with Alias Wayne is a fun little jaunt. It’s like taking a drive with a great conversationalist, where there’s never a dull moment.
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-Dan MacIntosh