I still love Ten Story Relapse! After connecting with J.D. and the rest of the band for the 2007 Atlantis Music Conference (which ended after the 10
year anniversary in 2007), Ten Story Relapse celebrates its ten year anniversary with the release of Buddha and the .38 and ever inspiring is the
work on this conference call album.
The opening track announces a call like one would expect when doing international business. This conference call connects all listeners to the story of
a band who just “wants to make songs with [their] friends” (from “Sunshine On The Brain”).
“Space” is an enchanting opening to an album which feels like an intimate call among business partners where the business is creating art. The feeling
exhibited by lines like, “hope is a silhouette on an unlit cigarette” elicits catharsis. This is an album by a band who allows the audience the release
of letting go with the rhythm. “Space is a funny thing, the more you have the less room you've got to breathe”. How succinctly that captures the
essence of relationships and the pulling and pushing off of one another. We've all felt it. Now we can dance to it.
The title track seems to truly encompass the sentimental feelings of a poet who turned to music as an outlet for expressing a connection with friends
who inspire. The lyrics to “Buddha and the .38” may, at first, seem like the mad ramblings of a man stoned, but upon closer inspection phrases such as
“stranger in a mirror- used to know the guy” hit home as eloquent musings of a man simply trying to reconnect to himself. That is what we artists do
anyway. We seek stimulation and admiration in our peers. We seek inspiration which was found by those watching as J.D. clung to his microphone stand,
eyes closed, surrounded in a blue light at Saturday night's show.
The CD release party held at Atlanta's 183 Room in Atlanta on February 13, 2010 proved a meeting of the minds with the association of the
C5 Youth Foundation and the opening act playing on cigar box guitars. Ten Story Relapse
stayed true to their design without pretentious dramatics. A raffle to win a signed guitar benefited a great charity for children.
Please take the time to check out Ten Story Relapse and their latest release of The Buddah and The .38 as well as the
C5 Youth Foundation. A better use for excess money simply can not
be found.
Review and photo by Ellen Eldridge
