I love Whitman’s Samplers, those yellow boxes of chocolates set in tiny plastic containers. Usually when confronted with a Whitman’s, I eschew the list detailing what’s in each chocolate and take a chance. Sometimes I get the one with hard toffee inside, of which I’m not a fan, but I don’t suffer too much — it is surrounded by chocolate after all.
Numbers, the latest effort from Oregon’s John Craig and The Weekend (though it was only recently when The Weekend included others not named John Craig), shares a certain affinity with a Whitman’s box. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into song by song, but ultimately I left with a feeling of satisfaction and a bit of guilt for liking it as much as I did.
There is a melding of genres within Numbers you don’t see too often in today’s music – this album brings elements of funk, 80s pop, rap, soaring piano ballads, electronica and indie. Echoes of Stevie Wonder and Prince share time with Radiohead, Coldplay and Death Cab for Cutie, and I swear certain songs remind me of Billy Joel, though I can’t quite figure out why (maybe it’s the whole having two first names thing).
There’s plenty of experimentation going on – “Newstories” opens with dramatic piano and a funky R&B groove before diving into a pure 80s bridge paired with a voice talking over the pounding drums. It’s plenty to digest. The funk returns in “We Are Whatever,” a song with comical Seinfeld bass lines but a killer sing-along chorus. Wasn’t sure what to make of it as a whole – it wasn’t quite hard toffee, but it wasn’t too far off.
“The Only Way (Neck)” was a wild surprise, an ordinary tune hyped up properly by rapper Gold of Sandpeople, who’s lyrical clarity and intonation works well.
But the best work on Numbers are the songs where the band doesn’t do too much. The duet “Sink or Swim” – on which Craig joins forces with Nicole Berke – is a bright song that climbs and falls ably with their voices. “Old Faces” is simple and elegant, the light piano and subtle slide guitar merges well with Craig’s lyrics. It’s a song that never outstays its welcome.
The album ending song “Numbers” takes a page from the Thom Yorke playbook (but that whistle is pure Billy Joel), giving the album a soothing yet odd end (perhaps caramel with nuts?) All in all, John Craig and The Weekend has created a gratifying treat — one worth trying again and again.
