I have to admit it took me two listening sessions of Don't Plan On before I really "got" The Weekenders. Don't ask me why although my best guess is I didn't pay attention. If that's the case shame on me because this band from Salt Lake City are shit hot!!!
The foundation of their music is deeply rooted in 70's rock and even though they don't play long jams on the album, I instantly get the feeling they do jam a lot live which isn't bad at all. Don't Plan On starts of withYankee Easy Sugar a mid-paced song where I'm immediately struck by frontman Rob Reinfurt's distinct voice. He has an interesting vibrato but easily switches to whispering, belting, desperation you name it in no time without skipping a beat. And this ability works so well with the music all throughout the album.
The drums and the bass have a solid blues foundation mixed with the aforementioned 70's rock roots but John Murphy(drums) and Rob Reinfurt(vocals/guitar/bass/drums/keyboards) aren't afraid to step out of that frame and which allows the songs to grow and expand beyond standard rock songs. It especially allows Rob Reinfurt and Mike Sasich(guitar/keyboards/bass) to let themselves go and lose whatever constraints there could have been. Like I said above, I get feelings of jamming when I listen to this album. And even though The Weekenders keep their songs at no more than 6 mins, each song still have that take-it-as-it-come aura allowing them to do whatever they want to live. Do I need to tell you I love that?
Despite my mishap of not paying attention to their music at first Don't Plan On is that type of album where there are no bad songs where each track compliment the other. However there are a few that do stand above the rest: Yankee Easy Sugar a bold first track since it's not a typical heavy in-yer-face album opener. Instead it 's a mid-paced song where frontman Rob's voice catches your attention and pulls you into their music. The title track Don't Plan On defintely brings out their 70's influences the best. I close my eyes listening to it and I'm down memory lane! Penn Station is the last track on the album and The Weekenders have put the piano in focus here. It's mellow, dreamy and kind of trippy. My favourite song though is Somatic Spirit mainly because of Rob's voice...again. It's a good rocker where Rob's singing elevates it to another level. I've been going on and on about the vocals but lets not forget the music. All three musicans really know how to handle any of the instruments they play and they do seem confident in that. That allows a lot more freedom for the band to find their groove and just let their music flow and I love it!
If you like 70's rock, hard rock and more mellow trippy jam music do NOT miss out on The Weekenders and their debut album Don't Plan On. It's filled with feel-good songs and a good vibe, every time I listen to it I feel happy, elated, only to hit play again. Check this out folks, it's great!
--Swedebeast
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-Jack