When I first sat down to hear Dance of the Porcupine's latest, And Why Not?, I thought that this California-based band's 12 song CD was going to remind me a little bit of early 80's Cheap Trick. This disc very quickly settles into a pattern more closely recalling the Document era of R.E.M. There are moments when ghosts of "Old Man Kensey" and "Life and How to Live It," two unheralded favorites from R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction record, come creeping in as well. Since it doesn't seem anymore that every college band coming down the pike is borrowing from R.E.M.'s songbook, I am at liberty to actually find this disc refreshing.
The musicianship on And Why Not? is solid throughout the disc. There are lots of nice guitar hooks and a couple of inspired solos in the guitar pop vein by fretman Reed Sutton.
Danny Webb shouldn't take it personally that I find his singing a bit bland overall; I enjoy his songwriting quite a bit, and occasionally he does come through with a nice melodic twist on the vocals.
It's tough to give much of a first impression on the lyrics, as the CD comes with no lyric sheet. The overall tone of the album, though, is upbeat.
By the way, drummer Patrick Roche claims that the band took its name from a sermon title at their home church. I'll be looking for that scripture reference...
