A bit of retro pop tonight, from Helsinki, Finland, where there’s a musical surprise waiting around every corner. I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed anything coming out of the country that wasn’t at least a little off the wall.
The duo Mr. Dad describe themselves, tongue-in-cheek, as a “super group” and “the father of all bands”, which I take to mean a comment about their influences, which span many decades, “from The Beatles to Prince”. Perhaps that should be ‘the son of all the other bands’, though?
But the primary influence here doesn’t come from The Fab Four or Minneapolis’ finest, but rather from The Voice of Protest himself, Bob Dylan (also from Minnesota, I just realised).
‘The coke dealer’s depressed again’ tells of the effects the long and dark winter season can have on any one of us.
It’s presented musically in a Dylan-like fashion, as a folk ballad with a dash of Americana. The harmonies and a whistled bridge are both quite impressive.
Lyrically, some of the references reminded me of the early days of the counter culture thing in the mid-60s in the US, and especially San Francisco, as they muse about the benefits of meditation “I’ve heard it’s good but I don’t know if I’m doing it right… but let me have a go”) while contrasting it favourably with medication.
I dunno; I can’t decide if they are a ‘serious’ band’ or if they’re in it for a laugh, like Chumbawamba and Right Said Fred. I’m not even sure they’re Finnish. The accents, the nuances, the cadence, suggest they could be British. And the Cockney wide boy-like appearance. And one of them is, apparently, called Eugene Farmichaels (the singer here). Must be one of the famous Farmichaels of Lappeenranta.
Then there’s the sense of humour. “All the greatest bands have had at least two lead singers – The Beatles, ABBA and Milli Vanilli” as an Instagram post says. (And their handle is mrdad666). That’s devilishly funny.
The new single was released on 17th February, and more new music, “dealing with a wide variety of topics you might come across in the rollercoaster of life”, will be released throughout the coming months.
Find them on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrdad666/
