antiMUSIC review of Native Tongue by The Tasty Kings with Blondie Chaplin
This is the third full-length album from The Tasty Kings, the brainchild of guitarist Andrew Morse. And Morse has chosen the journeyman singer Blondie Chaplin to handle all of the lead vocals here; Chaplin has been associated with the Rolling Stones but he is perhaps best thought of as a member of The Beach Boys.
And speaking of the Stones, you can hear the DNA of that band in opening cut “Done & Dusted” where Charlie Sexton plays guitar and former Stones alumni Darryl Jones (bass) and Charley Drayton (drums) keep a steady rhythm. Chaplin has a voice maybe best described as lived in; it’s filled with gravitas whether he’s rocking out like on “Birthday Girl” or in a tender mood as he is on “Maybe I’m a Queen.”
“Oceans Unfaithful” also moves to a Stones-like groove while the album’s socially conscious cut “George Floyd” is understated, slow and sad as it laments, without naming him in the lyrics, the tragedy that befell Floyd and that wracked a nation. Much of the music here has Americana leanings and the pedal steel guitar on “Flyboy” makes it sound particularly rootsy. To the contrary the reggae beat of the hook-filled “Steady Reggie” makes it the most fun cut to sing along (and dance) to.
The late Ian McLagan plays keys on numerous cuts including on the album closing “Girl Next Door,” a reminiscence of a fleeting moment that will tug at the heartstrings of many listeners. Some listeners will notice that Chaplin’s voice recalls that of Warren Zevon at times; whatever you hear in Chaplin he is completely enthralling. – Kevin Wierzbicki