Tankus The Henge – I Crave Affection Baby, But Not When I Drive (2018)

Forget the uneventful, and leave the mundane at the door; the circus is in town, and its name is Tankus the Henge. Bringing genres from all over the map to life under a single colourful big top, with a taste of New Orleans here, a dash of British Invasion there, and even a seasoning of reggae from time to time just to keep you on your toes, the newly released, I Crave Affection Baby, But Not When I Drive is an experience from the box office to the exit doors.

Between great songwriting and brilliant instrumental work, this album repeatedly manages to pack its songs full of variety and interest, while maintaining focused and concise three-and-a-half minute song structures. You’ll get bright melodies to latch on to and sing under your breath all day long, complimented by witty brass hooks to keep the critical musician satisfied with substance; all supported by some great background vocals and the selfless teamwork of the rhythm section.

The first four songs serve to give the listener a thorough sampling of the full scope of variety Tankus has to offer. The first track, ‘Electric Eyes’, starts with a big, dirty guitar hook that is subtly maintained by the bassist in the verse, making sure it gets stuck in your head and stays there. A high energy track with a fun sing-a-long chorus. It does betray itself with an out of place saxophone solo in the softer bridge section, but overall is a wonderful start to the record.

The next track shows the softer, groovier side of the band. ‘Things Were Better Before’ is the narration of a submarine captain’s reflections on a dystopian future. The tight basslines and melodic guitar solo are reminiscent of the Pink Floyd sound of the late 70s, and they do it justice. Once again followed by a hard shift in tone, ‘Last Night in New Orleans’ fuses the uptempo Dixieland styles of New Orleans jazz with the gipsy jazz guitar style pioneered many years ago in Paris by legend Django Reinhardt. Rich with spicy Cajun flavours, like fast clarinet runs and raunchy trumpet melodies, the song culminates in a shout section that feels good to the soul. To complete the Tankus sampler platter, ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ takes the brass-heavy classic rock of bands like Chicago and combines it with the signature Tankus the Henge soul.

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The introduction of the extra fuzzy guitars in the bridge adds a very welcome new tone to this sound. ‘Shoeshine’ is a melodic ballad that gives a much-needed reprieve from the rollercoaster of the first four songs. While it does not try to do too much, being a song mostly supported by the beautiful ascending melody puts a smile on your face at the start of every chorus. They follow the tune with the clever, hook-driven ‘Weather’. This one keeps the playful New Orleans harmony, but the rhythm section slaps a reggae groove on the bottom of it making it enjoyable with a unique sound that works really well.

‘Onomatology’ is a weak spot on the record. There are lots of great ideas happening, but they don’t work well together, and the song sounds chaotic, especially in the choruses where the cymbal crashes in the drumset part. The guitar is a little overactive, just sort of wandering up and down scales throughout the verses with no clear purpose. A similar comment can be made about the track ‘Slippin’ and Slidin” where the guitar plays too many notes in the second verse, and the wah effect needs to be more subtle. However, before the wah is added, the guitar work on the song does have some nice moments.

The latter half of the album is dominated by a fusion of blues-influenced rock. ‘Floodwater’ is very well executed keeping a bluesy sound without defaulting to the cliche pentatonic wash heard from musicians in Guitar Centers around the world. The solo in ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ contains just the right amount of edgy dissonance to round off a song whose hook is ‘they’ve been lying to me, they’ve been lying to all of you’. Additionally, ‘You Can Do Anything’ makes great work of the Django guitar style already mentioned.

Typically, a record like this one might be criticised for being ‘unfocused’ on account of the vast array of musical styles, but I think this record deserves praise for it. Despite the wide variety of styles, every song is unified by the New Orleans-influenced chord progressions and the soulful rhythm section. The record was a blast to listen to, and this is a band whose live show is worth going to see.