Get Up

Album Review

Perhaps destined to be remembered as the funky blues pop piano troupe that was the first band to be booted off VH1's Bands on the Run television series, Joshes Dodes Band turns in a surprisingly accomplished debut album with Get Up. Made up of equal parts funk blues tracks and brittle solo ballads, the album is winning almost from start to finish. Only on a couple of occasions does the band sink into never-ending jams, as on the John Scofield gone Dawson's Creek party song "Be My Friend, But Be Naked," the Medeski, Martin, & Wood-inspired contrived noise pop of "Rhinorocerous," and "Do the Do," which sounds a tad too much like the theme song to The Jeffersons. Otherwise, Get Up showcases Dodes' considerable songwriting talent and his striking vocal range. "Looking Back At You," a beautiful ballad, marries a citified Joe Jackson shuffle with a little bit of Michael McDonald's tenderness to nice effect. "American Angel" is wholly pleasant, organic jazz pop with some diva background vocals thrown in for good measure. "Windows" is every bit as good as a Dave Matthews' ballad. If the backup vocalists sometimes get a bit noisier than need be, it's okay because the music is so fun and airy. Why not throw an accordion into the mix on the addictive, entertaining "The On and On"? Get Up is far more cohesive than one would expect, what with the constant shifting between sweet ballads and energetic funk songs, but it's a strong, exciting album that holds up no matter how big a flickerstick one waves at it.