Tin Can Phone

It's spring, 2011, and you're probably heading into it much like we are, with the hoary tendrils of Winter still clinging to your attitude like the smoke smell in your hair from last night's soiree. Time to change tunes, and we can recommend a bearer of said tunes: Tin Can Phone.

Here's the guys right here. On the right is Bert Mesa, who gives 'em their nice reggae-ish percs. Next to him is Josh Nicholson, who's got lead guitar. And over on the far left is Matt Rusin, who does the singing and strums guitar. Next to Matt is his cousin Tyler Rusin, who bears their bass.

Now these fellas are Michigan transplants; moving here and forming the band back in 2007. But that's OK - They don't sound like white-bread yankees, but more like dreadlocked Rastafarians with beach sand still wedged between their toes.

Take a listen to "Slow Down"; see if you don't catch the vibe:

Hard to tell from that number, but we can't say they're straight-ahead, unveeringly Reggae. Nope. Though their compositional roots grow from the soil of the Jamaican sound, they venture away from Timbales and prominent riddims, instead putting acoustic rhythm guitars front and center, then topping that off with Matt's understated vox.

We're going out of turn here, but take a listen to "Leap of Faith" for a taste of broader influences:

That "going out of turn" comment is about Tin Can Phone's gift for story-telling. Their "15 Songs" LP is saturated with stories, and the afore-embedded "Leap of Faith" comes as the post-script of the previous cut, "New Orleans":

Further, the guys don't just tell stories, but, true to their reggae roots, can also drive home social issues with subtlety and conviction: Be sure to take in "Drugs" and "Amero" (below) to witness some surprising ferocity.

The fellas have been gigging here in town, but have also jammed Corpus Christi, Dallas, Galveston, and New Orleans, to name a few. Meanwhile, they're DIY-ing their way through their next LP, "Adapter", and it should pop out "late this summer":

The album ... will be a more accurate representation of how we sound live than anything we have released previously. We spent all winter cooped up in our home studio laying down tracks...
--Tyler Rusin

We're curious to hear what being confined to winter quarters will do to the sunny sounds of Tin Can Phone. But we're confident, in that everything's-gonna-be-all-right kinda way, that it will turn out as brilliant as their latest, "15 Songs", which we'll leave you with:

Find out more about Tin Can Phone on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Bandcamp, and Home Base.

[All photos courtesy of Kelly Wendt.]

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