Kevin Bowers

Kevin Bowers is perhaps best known as the drummer for local trio the Feed, but his solo outings prove he's a singer-songwriter with a skill for arrangements and a penchant for genre-hopping. Nine Story Building, Bowers' second record (which is exclusively available online at myspace.com/kevinbowers) never settles on one sound. Most of the songs work on a rock beat, but the addition of horns and auxiliary percussion keeps the songs from becoming stale. "Desperation" kicks with a bit of new-wave energy and fun, falsetto background vocals which would make Prince blush with pride, while "Dirty Business" keeps the funk-rock vibe going with an organ-heavy groove that recalls the Meters at their most fervid. While these songs don't fall in the jam-band category, these songs recall no group so much as Phish, with Bowers' slightly bemused singing style resting atop the shifting musical styles.

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More About

• Michael Bowers
• Kevin Bowers
• Ben Reece
• Dave Grelle
• Phish

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Bowers plays many of the instruments on the album, but his Feed bandmates drop in as well: Dave Grelle adds a rhythmic piano part to "Destiny Falls Over," and Ben Reece's woodwinds add color to the more Latin and jazz-inflected songs. Of these, "Possibility" is the most fun, with Reece's flute and Bowers' congas creating a breezy vibe that's ready-made for hammocks and cocktails. For all of Building's precise arrangements and expert musicianship, though, it sounds like the vocals were an afterthought — they're often hard to hear over the music, and nearly all of his vocal performances could have been helped with a little studio sweetening. Either way, Building is a reminder that, now and then, you've got to give the drummer some credit.

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