Dan Bobek
Vibrating On Hi
danbeemusic.bandcamp.com
On Facebook, Dan Bobek has been posting a sort of slow motion performance art piece: Awkward personal observations, videos of himself playing the song he wrote an hour ago and dispatches from the trenches of the life of an Iowa City musician. Vibrating On Hi is a side effect of Bobek’s relentless self-exposure, except that it’s put together more carefully than what bubbles up on Facebook.
Vibrating on High isn’t starting any musical revolutions—its influences are clear: Rock music from about 1971 through 1994. But Bobek’s voice has personality: It’s a little nasal, a little growly and his diction makes every word clear, even though he double-tracks the lead vocals. Though the album was self recorded, he has a knack for getting good guitar tones; his acoustic guitars are resonant and his electrics are fuzzy and warm. I think that’s even him playing drums. While he’s no virtuoso, his drumming gives the songs what they need: a solid beat with plenty of boom and crash.
On “My Secret” Bobek sings, “I want to reach the top of the your charts,” and the chorus of the song has a hook that could make that happen. Bobek isn’t a lyricist trying to burn the world down with his profundity. When he sings “I believe you can hear me when I’m singing, I believe it will all come true somehow,” it’s so plain and straightforward I look for something hidden that may not actually be there. In “To Be Alive,” the chorus asks you to “remember to be alive.”
But shouldn’t there be room in the world for plain-spoken, sincere affirmations? Vibrating On Hi seems to be about Bobek convincing himself to live positively. He could write gnarlier lyrics if he wanted, but he doesn’t want to. I’d normally be bothered by “The truth will give you back yourself” as a song lyric, because I’m a cynical bastard. Still, it’s hard not to enjoy Vibrating On High. Bobek has some of Jonathan Richman’s wide-eyed, goofball sincerity, with a much less annoying singing voice. What’s not to like?
