Review -- Will Currie and the Country French's A Great Stage

OK, so first off – this is not going to be a fair review no matter how hard I try.

I’ve been listening to Will Currie and the Country French (WCFC hereafter) for about a year and half. For those unfamiliar with WCCF, they’re a piano based outfit in the vein of a swingier Ben Folds. I first met them in November of 2006, when I was participating in a competition called Last Band Standing with the Tyler Schwende Band. We made it through the quarter- and semi-finals and ran up against WCCF in the finals. There were two other bands there but I don’t think there was ever any doubt that it would come down to the two of us. In the end we wound up winning (a decision that was hotly contested, as I’m sure it would have been either way), but more importantly I had found an amazing new band to be excited about. WCCF was so danceable, so fun, so talented, so easy to listen to. I picked up their four-song EP the next show we played with them in (I think) September 2007 for $1, and caught them live as often as I could, whether I was on the bill or not. Then they got signed to Murderecords and released A Great Stage.

Intially I was very excited to hear their full length. I had assumed that there would be an immediate re-recording of a couple of the songs on the EP with a bunch of new material. Not so: all four songs from the EP are here (“Surprising Me”, “Centerfold”, “Thunder Bay Coastguard Radio”, “Honest People”) and while they definitely have been remastered there isn’t much different aside from the odd cymbal shot. There are technically five new songs, but when you eliminate the brief bookends “A Great Stage” and “A Grand Reprise” there are three: “Maybe”, Mannin Veen” and “Friendly Fire”. So my enthusiasm dimmed a bit.

For me personally, WCCF is at their best when they’re driving fast and dancing. So this includes “Surprising Me”, “Honest People”, “Thunder Bay Coastguard Radio” and “Friendly Fire”. You might notice that only one of the newer songs is included on that list. “Mannan Veen” is a mid-tempo swaying love song, and “Maybe” is a straight up piano ballad. They are both incredibly well done and are totally re-listenable; the only reason I mention this is to highlight why I was personally somewhat disappointed in the disc. If you have a bigger fetish than I for piano pop, then you aren’t going to have this problem.

A Great Stage is quite good, in fact. Had I come into it fresh I would have enjoyed the majority of the songs, and I think most people will. I like the use of “A Great Stage/A Grand Reprise” to open and close the disc. WCCF do all the big things that makes songs great (melodies, sharp musicianship, quality lyricism, etc.), but also have a great ear for smaller touches (vibraphones, shakers, whistling, etc.).

I’ve been telling anyone that would listen about WCCF for a year and a half, and will continue to do so. I really can’t wait to see what’s next for them. If you don’t have it already please go buy A Great Stage.