The Washdown: Yes to Everything

Hailing from Tampa, Florida, the Washdown are the kind of band that, upon hearing their debut record Yes to Everything, you will want to see them live. Here, the Washdown’s members — Ryan Hess (guitar), Michael Waksman, (guitar/vocals), Bryan Bates (bass), Heath Dupras (drums) and Phil Salick (guitar) — offer us 11 songs, all served straight-up with the distortion and some danceable rhythms that most “guitar-based” bands these days can’t muster for their lives. So that’s a good thing. There are also some interesting sonic breaks in the songs’ structures too. Their vocal style reminds me a little bit of the Joggers, only these guys are clearly more into the fuzz and volume. On “Bad Connection w/ a Lover” there’s a nice intro that reminded me of the English Beat, then they go back into the familiar sonic structure.

My initial observation on this album, was that out of the first four or five songs, I had a very hard time distinguishing one song from another. Bear in mind, that’s not always a bad thing. There are countless bands that have a distinctive sound that follows one song right into the next, and it lets the album give out a resounding “feeling”, so this is an open-ended opinion. The Washdown have a nice, danceable groove, so it made up for my desires for more variation. Yet, I found myself enjoying the record the more times I heard it, and the songs started to resound in my head, so I was fooled.

When people talk about songs being “danceable”, that’s an indication of the drums and bass creating this sense of dancability, right? Without the rhythm section creating this, how can we move in the first place? Here, the Washdown’s rhythm section really does it well, and I would have liked to hear them more than the mix here would provide. Given the way the album was recorded, it sounds like it’s all sort of part of the whole with the guitars and vocals. Was that the bands’ intention? Perhaps. Sometimes the more democratic mixing attitude of bands does them more harm than good, but hey, I’m on a limb here. These guys are rock and roll, and it might be an injustice to crank up the highhat and bottom end if that’s not what the band is about. Danceable? Yes. But that doesn’t mean we should mix them like a ’70s disco record. So I refrain.

The disk really started to pick up for me on “Pull. Out. Work. Space.” Ironically, it’s an instrumental song with a great display of musical chemistry, and I wish they’d do more songs like this one, (only with singing!). Next up is “Ladies and Gentlemen”, which is probably my favorite song on the record. It reminds me of the Gang of Four, only made more danceable, with Michael Waksman’s distorted vocals finally inquiring “Why do we always fall apart like that?” I also enjoyed “Learning Makes You Handsome”, which reminded me of early U2 in a weird way. Who can argue with a title like that? Not to mention a title like “Confusion…(Confusion?)”. Imagination pays off, doesn’t it?

Overall, I enjoyed this album, but I felt the mix probably doesn’t do the band justice in terms of what they’d sound like live. Hearing and seeing this band in person is probably a more rewarding experience. But this album certainly won’t do you harm. In the end, it’s a fun record. So kick back and enjoy it, then do yourself the favor and go out and see them.