Review: Tucker Finn – The Cup And The Lip

Tucker Finn’s “alternative country croon” may not be my area of expertise, but I don’t give a shit what kind of music you play, if you’re talented, it will shine through. My contention is that to make a real stab at being a songwriter, you must possess good skill sets. To be extremely successful you must have great ones.

The Cup And The Lip is a darkly engaging collection of material that begins with “Desperado on a Bike”, which after hearing, I was struck by several things. First, the production and sound quality of the track is first rate. Second, Finn’s vocals immediately catch my ear with an absolutely distinctive style. Her voice reminded me of Victoria Williams mixed with the bohemian cool of Tom Waits. Third, the lyrical imagery is engaging and unfolds like watching a good movie or reading a great book.

“I’ve Been Doing OK”, offers satirical poetry on the verse and solid vocal harmony on the chorus. The sparse musical accompaniment is well placed and pushes the highs and lows of the song with interesting nuances in the bargain. I found this first verse particularly amusing:

“I stole stuff from work
And I got myself fired
Where I once locked my bike
There was now just a tire
I had a flu shot
But I still got the flu
And at the opera
A pillar obstructed my view”

This song segues nicely into “Vertical Road Trip”, which convinced me the Finn has a precise vision that she is conveying with her writing and musical approach. So precise in fact, it canbe compared to the workings of a fine clock. This includes a good sense of how to tier the instrumentation and dynamic elements of her presentation. This is the key in making her simple material keep your interest. After a hard day of work, this song might inspire you to jump in the car and drive to your nearest mountain or national park.

“The Intermission” is a delightful waltz that begins with the tuning of a string quartet. The strings are subsequently used in a beautiful arrangement with bells and brass augmentation. Though Finn’s vocal abilities are not technically exceptional, she has a good command of how to use what she has to achieve the requisite effect. This song is also the kind of standout material that I look for when  istening to a journeyman effort. Another one that hits the mark is “Great Work of Fiction”, a song that is an anthem for anyone who has a dream of success imprinted upon their consciousness. “The future’s a great work of fiction entirely written by me”, a line from the chorus, is the ideal metaphor for the collective hopes of those who seek to leave their artistic imprint on the world. This will resonate with anyone who is looking for affirmation for their creative endeavors. I rarely listen to music with the headphones; but in the case of the closing track “Sleep Mode”, I’m glad I did. It was the ideal way to appreciate all the subtle contributions of the instruments, which included standup bass, clarinet, assorted drums, percussion and beautifully economic guitar work. The backing vocals are strategically placed around well phrased lead vocals in a whirling 6/4 arrangement. I listened to this song three times to capture all of the hauntingly delicate qualities.

Without over thinking her lyrics and arrangements, Tucker Finn demonstrates she has talent to spare. Though the material has an inherent sadness about it, there is conversely an underlying sense of optimism that should keep the listeners emotions afloat; though I felt slightly empty when the last song was finished. It is akin to the feeling I have when I finish a good book. This should be the goal of any gifted story teller and Finn offers that in spades … little tarnished ones. (Jayne Wayne)

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