Record Review: Lovehandles - Seafoam on Speakerphone
Written by Russ Crandall   
Monday, 15 February 2010 07:59
Lovehandles is the project name of multi-talented musician and good friend of mine Tommy Yasuhara. Introduced me to my wife. Well, his wife did. Anyway, long story. Seafoam on Speakerphone is the latest in a series of songs recorded by Lovehandles, but amidst a butt-ton of singles released on MySpace over the years (my iTunes library is sporting nearly 100 songs from these sessions), this is actually his first proper public release.

Tommy has played in the bands Littlejeans, The Haunted Pines, Kitty Hawk, and Threads of Grass. We met in 2002 playing shows together, and I'd be lying if I didn't say his songwriting influenced my own music. Tommy's songwriting is both warmingly predictable and relentlessly diverse; so much so that it's sometimes hard to keep this guy in one musical project for long. He runs back and forth between styles and bands, moving on from great songs to write more great songs. The trick is to grab each song from him before he tires of it.

Tommy has a penchant for three things: diversity in songcraft, humorous storytelling, and natural accessibility; and you'll find all three in spades here in Seafoam. Each song is a catchy single that could get stuck in your head for days, and they are recorded lightly enough that anyone can enjoy them. Looking for a song about cocoa in wintertime? Check. Asian supermarkets? Check. There's such a wide array of instrumentation that it's hard to believe that all of it was recorded by one guy in his spare time. And finally, each song is a clever little story, with heartwarming turns of lyric and funny uses of phrase. His music evokes a dozen musicians: Jonathan Richman's fun, Bill Callahan's earnestness, and Panda Bear's unique use of the right sound at the right time.

Sure, I may be biased, but that doesn't mean this can't be a great album that everyone can enjoy. You can download this album for free here.

Release date: February 9th, 2010
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