Search - The Good Graces :: Bring On The Tambourines

Based on the songs that comprised Sunset Over Saxapahaw, last year s debut release from The Good Graces, one might not expect Kim Ware (tGG principal songwriter) to follow just a year later with a fun, lighthearted record. In fact, she wouldn t have expected it herself. I once took a personality test that said I was drawn to sad things , she explains. And I guess I am, but at the same time I do like to try and find humor in unfortunate situations. And doing just that finding humor in unfortunate situations was Kim s primary inspiration for much of the songwriting that would result in Bring on the Tambourines!, the band s 5-song EP. Bad Driver, the lead-off track, is Kim s true-story-set-to-song response to a hit-and-run accident she was involved in last spring. I had spent about a month or so moping around feeling sorry for myself, having to deal with chiropractors, insurance, and an almost-totaled car, and then I guess I just got tired of feeling so negative about it. So she sat down with her guitar and began what would mark the beginning of a new direction, songwriting-wise. If Sunset... was a post-divorce record, perhaps Tambourines is a post-post-divorce record, as Kim has clearly moved past dwelling on failed relationships (she wants everyone to know she s now happily re-married), and now touches on topics ranging from the aforementioned Bad Driver to missing the 90s and Kurt Cobain. There s even an attempt at singing in Spanish, in the bouncy, spaghetti western-influenced Yo No Puedo Hablar Español (we ll let you dig up the translation). Kim notes that even the title reflects a lighthearted attitude change. I ve never liked playing the tambourine, or even incorporating tambourine into my music, she explains. But something about these songs just seemed to ask for it. As a result, it s prominent in three of the EP s five songs. So maybe it s about getting older and putting things into perspective, or broadening horizons, or maybe it s just about having fun, but it s obvious that Tambourines does reflect a bit of a shift in tone as compared to its predecessor. It s the product of a band that doesn t take itself too seriously, and doesn t want you too, either. Tambourines is also more of a collaborative effort than Sunset, on which Kim had handled much of the instrumentation herself. John McNicholas s lead guitar work and Jim Combs s layered keys add a rich depth to Kim s otherwise minimalist arrangements. Recording engineer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Kingsbury Manx) also lent his drumming talents to two tracks, and members of his band Regina Hexaphone supplied backing vocals for the dreamy Pretty New Song, which closes the record. The culmination is a fun set of jangly indiepop tunes that engage the listener out of the gate and don t overstay their welcome. Add to that Kim s direct, personal lyrical approach (and an admitted potty-mouth), and you ve got what Kim says is the record I always wanted to make.