On his new album PTO singer-songwriter Dave Keener deals with everyday chores, appliances acting up, and craving for a relationship. The songs were "road tested" at his Songwriter Deathmatches appearances in Brooklyn. Getting up on stage and make people listen to a brand new song can be scary, but Keener can always rely on his way with words. He can cram a lot of them in a song, but somehow it never feels crowded.
He has a good eye for his surroundings, always on the look out for something (or someone) to write about, with compassion (Old Hero, Someone, Mmm), but also with a sense of humor (Labor Of Love Song). The oddball rhythm smothers the bubbling frustration about a "smart" toaster and a fridge with a mind of its own in Internet Of Things. It is actually quite hilarious and it will strike a chord with fans of Jonathan Richman and They Might Giants. Now that he is getting older he decided to try his hand at writing to ballad and the smooth 70s vibe Wait Till You Love Someone, with call-and-response vocals thrown for good measure, proofs that it can be done on a shoestring budget.
Keener is well aware that he will never make enough money to give up his day job - it is the subject matter of the album's closing track Put Me With The People - but PTO ("paid/personal time off") will surely break even and maybe a little extra that he can set aside for the next one.
PTO is released on Keener Boy Records. Buy it from his website. Release date: May 29.
Tracks:- Labor Of Love Song
- Love To Me
- Old Hero
- Hidey Hole
- Internet Of Things
- Wait Till You Love Someone
- Someone
- Mmm
- Being With You
- Put Me With The People
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