Arts in ReviewAdam Wiener shakes it all over

Adam Wiener shakes it all over

This article was published on November 4, 2015 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.
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By Glen Ess (Contributor) – Email

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Retro, lowbrow, lewd, cheeky, and absolutely, beautifully, batshit brilliant. That would be a quick-fire review of Low Cut Connie’s third full-length album, Hi Honey, which is this reviewer’s number-one album of the year, by some distance. In fact, to quantify just how far ahead this album is over its competitors would require me to learn how lightyears work. To be completely frank, I’d rather spend that time basking in Hi Honey’s ridiculously thrilling brand of old school rock and roll.

The album is a nostalgic love-letter (or rather, lust-letter) to the original pioneers of rock, with plenty of rockabilly and even early soul music influences weaving in and out of this sweet, sassy set of songs.

Hi Honey carries with it a sense of playfulness; Adam Wiener, the band’s energetic pianist, lead singer, and creative fulcrum, never takes himself or his music too seriously. Low Cut Connie’s primary concern is getting people to go ape, dancing without a shred of shame, and Hi Honey duly delivers. Wiener whacks away at his piano, taking you through a macho-man, masculine sound while subverting the whole thing through his lyrics, which are a balls-out, madcap ride through the joys of gender-bending. This results in the blunt, ridiculously self-effacing and courageously funny way that Wiener uses to easily discuss the joys of cross-dressing and sex.

Sex, lust, physical attraction — these are constant themes in music, just as they are ever-present in the real world. But for the most part, music dresses them up in subtle innuendo, crooning ballads, and love songs. Hi Honey is deliciously straightforward in its approach to tackling these themes. The album opener, “Shake It Little Tina,” makes use of the contrast between doing “all the macho things / sliced and loaded chicken wings” with the joy in pulling “down my pants / put on my heels and dance.” The entire song bounces between the two extremes, but also includes this absolute gem of a line, when Wiener seriously states that he knows that “even though it’s pretty weird / even though I got a beard / If I put on something tight / I can shake it all night.” Hearing that line almost always sends me into a frenzy; there’s just something so electrifying in Wiener’s confidence. He carries that same frenetic, pulsating aura of cool into the rest of the album, delivering lines like, “It hurts my pride when you call me spanky,” and, “Ain’t no stranger to the ways of men,” in the bouncy, Jerry Lee Lewis-esque track, “Back In School.”

The sense of the charismatic, sexually confident casanova is taken to its absolute peak in the opening line of “Taste So Good,” where Wiener, over a guitar line that sounds like peak-era Rolling Stones, unabashedly states, “Well I had a little thought that maybe baby you might taste so good.” However, while the album is a fun, feel-good, pelvic-thrusting, hip-gyrating salute to the original pioneers of rock and roll, it doesn’t shy away from softer, more emotional tones. “Little Queen of New Orleans” stands out in particular as Wiener lowers his pitch and the tempo slows, turning the song into an Otis Redding flavoured soul track. It’s this sudden emotional depth that sends my respect and love of Hi Honey into the stratosphere.

Adam Wiener makes me feel funny — there, I’ve said it. It’s true: his cheeky yet soulful delivery of lyrics that bounce maniacally from deeply touching to a sassy silliness; the way his powerful, yet oh-so-tender voice is so wonderfully accompanied by a bevy of guitars, pianos, and horns. Yes ma’am, Adam Wiener makes me feel funny.

You can catch Glen swivelling his hips on Friday afternoons at CIVL 101.7 FM

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