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Shoes And Socks Off - Robin Hood Waiter Champion Have-Not

Rating

RIYL

Nirvana’s “Unplugged in NYC”
Meet Me In St. Louis
The Evens
Radiohead

Release Date

08/09/2010

Label

Big Scary Monsters

Tracklist

01. Spit/Shake
02. Smithereens
03. Psychological Tinnitus
04. I Hope You Know What You're Doing
05. CYF
06. Sit Down Shut Up
07. Here's My Head On A Plate
08. A Massive Excavation
09. Throwing Opinions At Walls
10. No Fighting In C101

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Tobias Hayes has been making noise in the UK post-punk scene since the beginning of the last decade as a member of essential bands Meet Me In St. Louis and Shield Your Eyes. Since 2008, however, Hayes has been performing solo under the guise of Shoes And Socks Off, an outlet for his hauntingly personal songwriting. His solo work may be significantly less noisy, as the majority of his SASO work has been primarily acoustic, but his voice and passion are just as impactful as ever. Make no mistake, this is not your typical singer/songwriter fare, Shoes and Socks Off is able to accomplish far more with vocals and an acoustic guitar than you would expect thanks to his soulful voice and simplistic sound design. As Robin Hood Waiter Champion Have-Not unfolds, however, the rhythms seem to get progressively more complicated and the sonic backdrop more expansive, unveiling strange time signatures and a growing range of electric instruments. The personal charm of the record is not lost in the music, as Hayes’ recording technique is exceptionally lo-fi, sounding almost as if it was recorded in his bedroom. The honesty of this record is fantastically jarring, leaving listeners hanging on each word being sung from one of the UK’s strongest vocalists.

“Spit/Shake” opens the record with a gentle lullaby of a chord progression, as Hayes softly sings with his gorgeous tone and thick English accent. His storytelling ability is unique as his melodic choices seem to counter his actual lyrical subject matter. It’s this quality that makes the songs ever so repeatable, as you piece together his lyrical wit with the beauty of his guitar melodies. “Smithereens” begins with the line, “Truth be told, I crapped myself, same as everybody else,” a stinging opener delivered with woozy abandonment before later singing, “Stiff upper lip, and all the shit,” with complete emotional disparity. “Psychological Tinnitus” picks up the intensity as Hayes’ vocals are belted out with a loose and infectious energy. Forgoing all things gentle, his voice really opens and expands, remaining gorgeous but significantly unrestrained. “I Hope You Know What You’re Doing,” continues with the loose passionate warble, led by an intricate finger picked guitar line and enormous acoustic bass accompaniment that nearly recalls something from Radiohead’s back catalog.

“CYF” begins with a scathing minor chord progression that could be considered grunge if it weren’t for its clean and acoustic delivery. Hayes’ guitar playing is exceptional throughout, opening into new fast paced territory if only momentarily after he wails, “If no one’s looking, can we get some skin contact?” during the song’s emotionally hopeless refrain. Shoes and Socks Off’s biggest strength could very well be his ability to make beautiful and emotional music without ever sounding contrived or soft. Where the dreaded “emo” of the past decade had a general whininess and pathetic nature to it, SASO escape that all together, sounding stripped yet raw and fairly badass in its melancholy. “Sit Down, Shut Up” continues with the increased aggression in Hayes’ vocal tone and delivery, offering a sense of coming apart at the seams as the record progresses further into madness. The shift is incredible and well defined, as each track pushes it slightly further. “Here’s My Head on a Plate” finds his guitar joined by some extremely lo-fi disjointed drum patterns that snap and crack before leading into the album’s first electric moment of bass, guitars, and a full drum kit for a monumental texture shift of a crescendo.

From this point forward, the record rears its other head, continuing with the full on electric assault. While the songwriting is still dripping in low fidelity, Hayes has swapped his acoustic for electric guitar, bass, and tasteful drums on “A Massive Excavation.” The tone is gorgeous and apocalyptic, billowing with sludgy distortion and grungy feedback, while the vocals still remain the centralized focal point. “Throwing Opinions at Walls” has an epic stop/start riff joined by a twinkling violin as Hayes belts out, “Although you feel a pulse, I just see a wallet,” in emotional splendor with undeniable strength amid the sadness. The song pounds out with a serene post-rock clarity and a delicately blistering sonic wall. “No Fighting in C101” closes the album with its strongest offering, bending the rhythmic structure in every direction with mesmerizing time signature manipulation. Hayes voice sits comfortably above the manic finger tapped exploration as he poetically sings, “There’s something about you, I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like I’ve always known you, and there’s no telling what could happen if you want to listen in, we won’t lose sight of this. Paper boats that never sink, what must everybody think?” before the haunting repetition of “fingers and embers” until the album unfortunately screeches to a halt.

Shoes and Socks Off has created a stunning album, much like a candle flickering in the wind. The record draws equally from beauty and danger, developing with a necessary patient restraint, gently building in force, and eventually achieving its full triumphant glow. There’s really no telling what will come next from the enigmatic Hayes, but rest assured, it will be well worth listening to.

--Dan Goldin