Topaz & Mudphonic
Music for DorothyThe shrieking power hook of “Euclid Street” sums it up: “Ah yeah! Summer heat, got dirty feet and a funky beat.” Recorded in a barn on the bank of the Colorado River, the debut album of Austin fourpiece Topaz & Mudphonic is canned Southern heat, a hooch brew of dirty bayou funk and redneck rock. Hit-and-miss funk jams are outshined by wistful “Twin Oaks,” a sleepy ode to Dripping Springs with multi-instrumentalist bandleader Topaz McGarrigle bottling the down-home soul of Bill Withers (“Cicadas and frogs used to sing me to sleep, the world’s best lullaby”). The harmonica-driven blues-rock of “Lonely,” “Dirty Water,” and “Fly w/ Me” anchors the set while leaning on an overused muffled vocal effect. A symphony of crickets and the faint barking of Fido accompany the longing slide guitar of “Brothers” at the close of Music for Dorothy in just the right key.
This article appears in August 8 • 2008.
