Basham’s latest is dripping with Mortfell Oktorium’s goofy-yet-relatable character of humour and DIY production, in the form of some seriously up-tempo numbers. Seriously, no one can deliver a punch line like that of “Bad Mood:” A mermaid pops out of the river and makes a come-hither motion. “I wasn’t really in the mood / But I didn’t want to be rude! / She was quite the dish / And I wanna return that fish!” This is his third solo album as a follow up to Thick and Thicker, and he recently, to really prove that he’s serious, started playing with The Upsides and they’ve donned themselves The Girth. Unfortunately, length is seriously lacking here (none of these tracks break the 2-minute mark) but that’s not a problem as they certainly are thick with lightning-quick quips and proto-punk energy. “Seriously Not Serious” is the album’s “Marquee Moon” as the most serious number (or is it?!) with Basham analyzing his own talents and it ends with a palatable guitar duet in under a minute and forty seconds. (Independent, www. soundcloud.com/stevebasham) Taylor Burgess
Review: Steve Basham – Thicker
Local weirdo-rocker Steve Basham’s follow-up to his previous solo disc Thick comes at you with the same lo-fi hilariousness that his music collective Mortfell Oktorium are known for. The first cut, “Bored Like a Dinosaur Robot with His Magical Pet Dog,” is an hilarious tale of honesty and intrigue in which Basham laments about writing songs because he’s bored until he starts another year of art school. That sets the stage for a series of rockin’ playful songs about underwater spiders and dead whales. With help from his Mortfell bandmates J.R. Hill and Toby Gillies, Basham’s songs are a lot catchier and thoughtful than his previous efforts without losing their charming silly spirit. (Mortfell Oktorium, www.myspace.com/stevestbasham) Kent Davies