Brian Charles Tischleder - This Town

​Brian Charles Tischleder

This Town
self-released; 2021

3.8 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

It’s nothing new for musicians to spark conversation about social justice, politics and much more. We really saw an explosion of this in the late ’60s with what seems like countless bands singing about the Vietnam war, Nixon and a lot of the issues that were on people's minds. Times have changed and there has been a near endless amount of  songs and albums created in response to this. Another popular topic has been demonstrations mainly in response to the murder of George Floyd. In his own words Brian Charles Tischleder mentions his latest release This Town is inspired by the fight against historical racial injustice and civil unrest in Minneapolis during the summer of 2020.

Tischleder recruited a formidable lineup of musicians to make this album including J.T. Bates (drums), Matt Blake (bass), Grant Dawson (piano/organ), Tonia Hughes (vocals), Walter Chancellor Jr (saxophone),  August Ogren (drums/percussion) and Joe Peterson (organ).

The opening song “All Night Hamburger Stand” incorporates a classic ’50s doo wop sound. I’ve always loved this sound and the band nails it here. Tischleder sounds great on lead vocals which have a bit of heart and hurt behind them that I really enjoyed. Great opener.

“Sixteen Candles” seems to jump up a couple of decades to the ’90s. The ’50s homage is gone and replaced with more of the verse/chorus/verse approach you heard throughout the ’90s.
“I Can’t Breathe” is obviously about George Floyd. There’s a juxtaposition of emotions in the song. The lyrics are dramatic and dark but the music actually felt very relaxing and soothing especially because of the sax.

“Band the Drum” is a sparse and organic sounding song. It’s more folk based and one of the highlights in my opinion. I loved the percussion as well as the vocal hook on the chorus. This is also one of the better vocal performances.

“Falling Down Like Rain” sounded like a run of the mill and familiar sounding blues and rock hybrid. “Marilyn Monroe” had an emotional backbone and again I loved the sax. Something about the song had this blue collar Bruce Springsteen type of energy.

The slow moving but emotionally resonant “Riding WithThe King” contains another good vocal performance. I was getting some Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen vibes on “Black Cadillac.” The upright bass hits the mark here. Last up is the slow moving but warm acoustic country like ballad called “This Town.”

Tischleder flirts with a number of different genres. He pulls off some better than others but for the most part plays into his strength. In my opinion he has a classic sort of pained vocals that work well with nostalgic and soulful music. He sounds good throughout but certain songs like “Band the Drum” and “Riding WithThe King” hit the bullseye.

Tischleder doesn't take any of the genres into new territory but creates a compelling album with strong songwriting and creative backing band. Take a listen.

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