Blue Turtle Seduction
13 Floors
Azul Tortuga Records
Rating: 2
Originating from South Lake Tahoe, Blue Turtle Seduction – consisting of Jay Seals, Christian Zupancic, Glenn Stewart, Adam Navone and Stephen Seals – creates a strange blend of bluegrass, rock, ska, folk and a little bit of reggae in their latest album 13 Floors, which came out earlier this year. Since their first show in 2001, the band has been playing at venues nationwide and collecting new fans from all over.
When listening “What’s My Name,” the first track off of 13 Floors, the question “Really?” immediately popped into mind. “Get around the scattered thesis/ Get around the shattered pieces/ Get around the smelly feces/ On the floor, on the floor.” Maybe I would if the music was worth all that disgusting effort.
The lyrics to most tracks on this record seem more like a long series of unconnected phrases rather than ones that hold any deeper meaning. Because the lyrics are blunt and direct, listeners hardly have the opportunity to absorb or develop any of the artists‘ emotions that were (or were not) present in the tracks. “Perfect Gentlemen“ boasts lines such as: “She can flex in 25 positions/ She only works to pay her tuition/ Tantalizing teaser, table top pleaser/ Give her what she needs-a, MasterCard or Visa.“
Despite the trite lyrics (“Just because she dance the go-go/ It don’t make her a ho“) and lack of various musical dynamics on the record, there are quite a few interesting instruments used – such as the violin, mandolin, harmonica, guitars and drums – to create an overall unique and entertaining genre of music.
Most tracks on 13 Floors lack diversity among themselves, which is to say that they seem to merge into one overly long and ridiculously repetitive, droning and featureless song. To put it in Blue Turtle Seduction terms, I did my best not to explode (although my brain probably did).
Give these tracks a listen: “Antidote” and the hidden track on “Roses and Big Belt Buckle” about Lord of the Rings!
For fans of: Creedence Clearwater Revival, J.J. Cale
– Simone Wahng
