Toques and Beards

It is amazing how many local bands came out with CDs this year.
The latest is a relatively new alt-country band called Toques and Beards, who often host the jams at the Slice, featuring Taylor Ackerman and Brett Skauge on guitar and vocals along with Jason Schultchen on bass and vocals plus drummer Clayton Smith.Click here to hear Toques and Beards

Their music is a cross between the Band, the John Henrys and the Sadies, with a touch of Treeline inspired old school country.
As Ackerman and Smith are both in Treeline, Toques and Beards takes Treeline’s old country sound to a new rocking level.
The CD was mostly recorded in their basement studio and sounds like it, but it shows the essence of the band, though it doesn’t quite capture the psychedelic energy of their live show.
There are some solid tracks, like ‘Big Hip Girl’ and ‘King of the Castle,’ , and the noisy garage rock psychedelia of Little Buzz.
The upbeat rock of the title track ’Smoke’ is also a catchy highlight reminiscent of Canned Heat.
’Talking’ is also a classic rock/country style song with the mournful refrain “I’m so sick of rock and roll” which also has a contemporary feel.
While there are nine official tracks on the CD, there are also three extras. Surprisingly, these ‘hidden’ tracks have a better quality recording.
“Underneath These Days” is immediately appealing because of the subdued slide on this bare bones, acoustic guitar and slide arrangement. I can almost picture hearing it on on CKUA.
An older track, recorded in 2008 with Papa King “Eyes on the Road,” is a popular live track, though it is much quieter on the CD.
It ends on a quiet note with another bare bones arrangement— “Barbara Dan.”

Essentially ‘Toques and Beards,’ debut CD shows a band in progress with a lot of potential.


- LA Beat