by David Wilikofsky
Within the first ten seconds of Recurring Dream, Jeff Tobias sings “by the time they figured out who the real fascists were it was too late.” The line feels like a perfect introduction to his debut album, released one year and one day after a failed insurrection by (for lack of a better term) the real fascists. Tobias is perhaps best known as a member of weirdo avant-jazz band Sunwatchers, but he has collaborated prolifically over the past two decades, contributing to some of my personal favorite albums of that era. A cursory look over his credits shows that Tobias could easily be a one man band, which is exactly what he does on this album. Playing nearly every instrument, Tobias’s warped pop is a reflection of and meditation on the messy times we’re living through.
Closer and lead single “Self Portrait In A Convex Mirror” gives a succinct summary of the album’s raison d’être: “…you know there’s a problem / But no one can agree on what’s wrong“. Tobias’s songs are all about problems, specifically some big ones that plague modern society: fascism, inequitable wealth distribution, foreign intervention, the human cost of technological progress. It’s the kind of weighty subject matter that can easily veer into self-serious territory, but Tobias largely avoids that pitfall through his musical choices. The interactions between his arrangements and words are consistently engaging, playing with and off of each other throughout the album. On “Venezuela”, the pulsing beats in the background imbue the story of a “minor invasion” with a dystopian edge. “Thank You For Your Service,” a song about the commodification of marginalized identities, is set to cheerful handclaps and a bouncy melody that feel sinister by the time the track ends. Even small sonic details feel carefully placed, such as the brief whoosh of an airplane that coincides with a lyric about flying on “We’re Here To Help”. The sheer variety of sounds and tones keep things interesting, but these sonic interplays (both large and small) add a sense of surprise and fun.
“We’re Here To Help” is my personal favorite track on the album, and it exemplifies what Tobias’s music can do at its best. A cutting look at the ultra-wealthy, it not only feature the catchiest use of “expropriation” you’re likely to ever come across in a chorus but wickedly drawn caricatures (a man whose “inner life was a tax write-off” and a woman who wanted to work in human rights but never helped a single person) that quickly spring to life. All of this is set against a cheerful earworm of a melody that makes the lyrics about greed and excess veer into black comedy territory. It’s the single song that best captures the maddening reality of living in the modern era; you don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or just try to forget it all and dance.
In many ways, “We’re Here To Help” is just a microcosm of the entire album; it’s a reflection of the complexity of living in the world as we know it, capturing all the contradictory emotions that come with it. You can interpret the album as a call to action as easily as you could bill it a personal reflection on our times, but one thing is for sure: it’s a damn good set of pop songs.