I'm listening to the new EP from the New York City singer-songwriter Ten Ton Man. His new three song EP is called Dangerous Women & A Desperate Man. There are three other albums listed on his Soundcloud page so this isn't his first project but that's evident due to his street smart and somewhat world weary world view. Although he's been compared to Nick Cave I hear more Lou Reed and little Leonard Cohen. He has a nice, rich baritone voice and a cosmopolitan mind. The title track to Dangerous Women & A Desperate Man has been described as an alleged encounter with a dominatrix but I feel that's actually sugar coating it a bit. After all, dominatrixes (dominatri?) are professionals and the "lady" in this particular song seems more like the amatuer psycho bitch type.
Ten Ton Man is very American and urban (meaning a city dweller, not a black man). His competent band is straight-out Rock & Roll and can play. Again, I'm reminded of Waiting For My Man by Lou Reed when listening to his track, Mary. I don't usually do this but because I have very little information on Ten Ton Man I Googled him and discovered that, first of all, Ten Ton Man is a BAND, not a single performer, and the band has a nice collection of online videos.
Basically, if you're interested in spending some time in the same world Tom Waits inhabits but want to be able to understand what he's singing about since Tom's voice has turned to "sandpaper and glue", Ten Ton Man might be just your cup of tea, with a splash of bouron, and a cigarette butt floating in it. Naturally, this band is from New York City and Americana Neo-Noir is as good a sub genre as any to describe its music. Otherwise, it could be described as founding
member Paul Livornese on guitar and vocals, Paul Dugan on upright bass and Paul
Triff on drums. That's a pretty accurate description as well.
Ten Ton Man plays music with the authenticity of someone who's out much too late looking to get lucky and finally accepts the fact that the luck he, or she, found was discovering this colorful, as in idiosyncratic, little trio playing the sound of the bar's sights and smells while tucked away in the tiny corner stage under the flickering light of a dying neon bulb. If you walked into this bar while they were playing you'd feel you just entered a movie set where "getting lucky" would undoubtedly lead to a murder, a frame up, and a dame with gams that just don't stop.
One more round for the road and one last song to remember this evening by.
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