Overview:

“Wait, Dexter Who? I’ve never heard of ’em, sorry.”

“A Life of Saturdays” was the 2000 debut album put out by the Austin, Texas band Dexter Freebish who won the 1999 John Lennon Songwriting Competition with their first hit single “Leaving Town” which was a top 40 hit on the radios and its video was played almost constantly on VH1 for a good while.

And if you’re wondering about the band’s name, they originally as The Twigs but was later changed to Dexter Freebish. The name itself was taken from a roller coaster ride at Astroworld theme park in Houston, Texas called Dexter Frebish’s Electric Roller Ride.

So is Dexter Freebish’ “A Life of Saturdays” an album you should pull from the dusty shelves at the back of your mind or is it a memory better off lost alongside the memories of your fourth grade bully making you throw up then force-feeding it back to you?

Review:

I actually recieved the album as a gift from my Aunt when I was around 10 or 11 years old. But back then I didn’t really appreciate anything that wasn’t played on the Top 40 radio stations all the time, therefore I really only listened to “Leaving Town” and “My Madonna” maybe 30 times before moving on to my Nelly album. Yeah, I sucked as a kid, I know. But thanks to that I can now give you a more honest review without my judgement being clouded by fond memories of youth. Anyway, I recently cleaned my room and found “A Life of Saturdays” tucked away in a drawer under some glass chess pieces, coin collector’s books, and one or two crusty socks. More like 13 crusty socks. I was lonely. (If you don’t get that joke, ask your parents)

Remember when I said Dexter Freebish won the John Lennon Song Writing Competition in 1999 for the exquisitely written “Leaving Town”? That same quality of songwriting and brilliant lyrical composition can be found throughout the entire album’s 11 tracks. Except for maybe one boring, lethargic song titled “Bring Me Water.” I hate that song.

Speaking of the tracks, most of them are absolutely great. Of course we have the no-brainers like “Leaving Town” and “My Madonna” while other fantastic songs include “What Do You See,” “Spotlight,” “Deeper,” “Falling Down,” and “Life of Saturdays.” My personal favorites would probably be “Leaving Town,” “Deeper,” and “Falling Down,” but they are all great songs.

The tracks that don’t really stick out but aren’t bad include all the other songs on the album except for “Bring Me Water.” That song is so boring that I’m not even sure it’s meant to be a song so much as an outro from their first album full of brilliant works, but that’s no excuse for being so boring.

One last thing I want to mention before I wrap things up is the lead singer, Kyle, has no last name. It’s like how some people are born without a left ear. Also, the band seems to have a fetish for girls who smoke.

Final Words:

Dexter Freebish’ “A Life of Saturdays” is a great album to listen to while on a nice relaxing drive in the country with the sun shining and windows down. Great, mellow, excellently written music with brilliantly composed lyrics complimented by the lead singer’s great voice makes this a great album and the most successful of their 9 year career. A great album all around, pick it up if you get the chance.

Pros

• Kyle’s voice
• The music is all gorgeously composed
• And lyrics are brilliant
• Great mellow sound that’s familiar yet unique

Cons

• Kyle (the lead singer) has no last name
• The band’s fetish for girls who smoke. Smoking is a man thing

Score:

Overall: 8.7/10 (Great album. Get it)

Lyrics: 9.0/10 (Easy to see why they won the John Lennon Contest in ’99)
Music: 8.5/10 (Excellent, seems familiar yet original at the same time.)
Entertainment Value: 8.5/10 (Great)

image via