Bongo Poets
Ordinary Guise
Slipped Discs
From the Alice In Wonderland-inspired tune “Beyond His Looking Glass” to the wacky “Hypertext Elvis,” you don’t need to be a genius to know that a group with a name like Bongo Poets is going to be a little… out there. Ordinary Guise is built up with funny songs such as those two and Barenaked Ladies-like cafe soul (complete with bongos). “Forever You Will Be My Girl” has a late ’80s feel, and the ballad “The Sea of Light” is a weepy late night bar song, perfect for closing time. The remaining songs, such as “Ordinary Girl,” “The Warmth of Her Desire,” and their claim to fame hit, “21st Century Girl,” are all well written and well played, but they lack a niche, and in the long run, without a demographic and a sure style, they album looses a lot of its force. More than anything, Bongo Poets seem to be a live band, a group you have some drinks to or catch up with old friends over. If they train their abilities a little more and give up trying to create a sound that will please everyone, they will find their voices.
Bongo Poets: http://www.bongopoets.com
