Some bands toil away at practice for years before coming up with enough solid material for their first full-length record (and you can usually tell they thought about it too much). Some bands hash it out in just a few short months after their inception (and you can usually tell they thought about it too little). San Francisco quartet
The Fresh & Onlys are an exception to these rules. In just a few years since the band formed, they have consistently released great album after great song after great album. With two full-lengths already under their belt, and a slew of EPs and singles being put out by every sought-after underground rock label today, The Fresh and Onlys have proven to the world that they're
rock and roll super sluggers, knocking everything they commit to tape and press to wax way out of the park.
Play It Strange is their third full-length (and first for In The Red), that finds the fervent self-produced band stepping out of their home recording studio for the first time in their still young career, and into Tim Green's Louder Studios. And boy, does Green clean them up nicely. But Green's impeccable ear for rich tones and textures doesn't deserve all the credit here. Much of the Fresh & Onlys brilliance can be attributed to key songwriter Tim Cohen. While he certainly wears his tender heart on his sleeve (The Fresh and Onlys have been on almost every mixtape I've made in the past year), he rolls those romantic sentiments into expansive guitar hooks and twinkling piano touches that walk off into a distant, cold, dark desert night, leaving you with a head filled with crystal-clear memories and a heart covered in dust.
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