Doris Henson are a band out of time. Had they appeared in the mid-1980s, their cheeky hard-rock riffs, campy group harmonies, and trombone accompaniment could have fit alongside those smirking early alternative acts that only get remembered for joke hits: Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. Had it been the mid-90s, their hard-driving melodies that keep the influence of Nirvana while showing humor and restraint. Today, their velvet-gloved take on modern rock might be an odd fit, but they've made a cohesive record that has a few memorable moments.
Give Me All Your Money is the group's second record (their first for DeSoto Records). The songs tread the line between light-hearted and detached, which at the very least lends them a unique personality. If their campy, defanged delivery is too much for you, and you like your rock sweaty and sincere, there's still more than a couple songs with wider appeal. "A Dark Time for the Light Side of the Earth" stretches its sludgy tempo into a success with interlocking guitars and a catchy vocal melody, while the perky "Day Is Done" is the perfect mix of a minimal guitar melody, trombone, and group harmonies. "Sidestepping" lays the album's most earnest vocal performance over a simple chord progression and build-and-fall dynamics, breathing new life into old gimmicks.
Then there's that trombone. They don't make a lot of noise about having one, just subtly slide it into the songs without announcement. However, they're not using it the way they use guitar, bass, and drums, as a primary instrument. Sometimes it works, and folds in seamlessly as another burst of melody as in "Day is done", and sometimes it gives me third-wave ska flashbacks, as when it's forced into the bridge of "Joybirds". Even if they make it fit, does this band need a full-time trombone player for the occasional blurt of a horn? (Maybe on stage, he dances in a plaid suit when he's not playing.)
Songs like "Let You Down" let their cuteness ("You'll never see me naked, I'll never let you down") overcome it's boisterous riffing. That's a shame, since Give Me All Your Money is for the most part a subdued album, one that could use more spirited performances like "Day Is Done". The tricky thing exemplified by "Let You Down" is that Doris Henson are capable players and songwriters, but that artistic detachment feels like a disappointing "comment" on guitar-rock . I love the fact Doris Henson have a sense of humor, but the flip between the smirk and the earnestness is awkward-- and tracks like "Sidestepping" or the dreamy closer "When You Go" just shine so much brighter to my ears.
