We Approve This Message $0.62

About We Approve This Message

We Approve This Message, the first album release from The Expansions, stings with social commentary, politics, irony and humor. The band plays loose with a variety of styles anchoring the rich storytelling. Characters come and go throughout: "The Agent" found in "the rubble" in the opening lines of The Lower Frequencies; the Black Label-drinking "Mr. S" who laments his waitress' tattoo in Midnight Breakfast; "The Salesman" who embodies our temptations; or the ultimate scapegoat - "Dr. B." The political theme is decidedly non-partisan in Left Right Left Right, masked by its military intro, but it takes a more direct and opinionated approach in the epic Power Struggle. The song covers the political landscape of the last eight years, right up to the global financial crisis and the current President Elect on stage at Grant Park. Building for almost 13 minutes, this reggae-infused jam skewers both sides for the struggle, gives no free pass to the voters and laments that "the children will pay, 'cause somebody must." It hammers to a close on a more optimistic note with the refrain "I see a world with no need for trouble."

Musically, The Expansions deliver an independent sound that draws on many inspirations: From early classics like Dylan & The Band, The Beatles and The Stones, to The Clash, XTC, T-Bone Burnett and some more recent. Or at least that's what they think - see what you hear. Chris McHugh and Dave Hess lay the foundation on drums and bass respectively. Gary Gomes and Jim Crakes handle the guitars and backing vocals. Gary solos on tracks 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9. Jim takes the solo on tracks 3 and 4. They trade licks throughout Power Struggle (track 6) with Gary ripping the distorted sound and Jim delivering the cleaner tones. Keyboardist Bill Hensley takes most of the lead vocals, but that's Jim out front on the lead track "The Lower Frequencies." Jim and Bill share the vocal duties on Dr. B.

1. The Lower Frequencies
2. Left Right Left Right
3. The Salesman
4. Midnight Breakfast
5. Speed of Money
6. Power Struggle
7. Doctor B
8. Throwing Michelle In The Pond
9. No Opinion
10.We Approve This Message

About the recording: Bill says "95 percent of it was cut on a single day in the rehearsal studio. We didn't really set out to make a record, but we were multi-tracking it all and really liked the sound." Most songs were just two takes and Power Struggle - at 13 minutes - was just one. As it was all cut in one room, the mixing focused mainly on separating the tracks - Jim and Bill re-cut a few vocals where the bleed-through was just too much to fix.

About the title track: Think of it as the paid political ad version of the whole album. Seven songs in 25 seconds seemed seasonally appropriate.