Chad White
Loves: Good music comedy
Likes: A different approach to comedy, Country music
Dislikes: That slow country styled music
Hates: Cowboy boots
It’s a barn burner jamboree on WBEB
Comedy and music have gone hand in hand since as far back as whenever. There’s no real time table as to when someone decided “Hey, these two things work so well together.” Garfunkel & Oates, The Lonely Island, Flight of the Conchords, and countless others have tackled the topic of comedy based bands to much success. To even get into the space at this point, a group has to have incredible production values, catchy tunes and, most importantly, funny lyrics. The Reformed Whores have just that. This duo of charming ladies -- Katie Frame and Marie Cecile Anderson – take the main stage in their latest album Don’t Beat Around The Bush: Songs That Hit The Spot with a gaggle of songs that are sure to entice both comedy fans and music fans alike.
Rock, rap and even folk are genres that have been taken on but country is almost entirely new to the comedy music scene. Sure, it’s been, given a song or two but never a full-fledged album. The Reformed Whores have taken it upon themselves to work within the genre. Let’s get this straight right now: this album by the duo named Reformed Whore is almost entirely sexual. They cover topics like a bear used for masturbation, the woman’s “Hoo Ha,” oral stimulation and others. Their album has a few other characteristics that separate it from others. For one, it has an arc of sorts. The ladies are being interviewed on a fake radio show run by the giddy and uppy Thurston Dallas. With appropriate introductions to almost every song via questions or comments from one of the three, the audience is led into a part of the album that screams hard work. These sections are characterized by the regular capitalization and short interruptions from the interview. The songs, which are easy to find via their all caps design, are crisp and the content is focused. The moans for love in “Whorny” are easily identifiable from the groans from Connie’s gossip of venereal disease in “Connie Said.” Music is accompanied by all kinds of instruments including ukuleles, accordions, and acoustic guitars. It’s a mix mash of the genre that sounds like it should be spread over two albums.
But all of it works because the two are able to commit to the music. Frame and Anderson sound great – due in part to the great and famous in the genre backing band and where they recorded. Lines are missed because you’re too busy laughing at the ones preceding them. But, if anything, perhaps the interview segments are too sparse. The music is the star here and, while we’re here for the band, perhaps the Thurston Dallas segments could’ve been more fleshed out.
Should you listen to Don’t Beat Around the Bush: Songs that Hit the Spot?
It’s a well-produced album with a dedicated set of singers. It’s also nice to see something other than rap or folk music in the spotlight. Each variation of country, from the fast and hoppy to the slow and crooning, can be heard in the album. Give it a listen if not just to experience something new.