Marmoset Records
2007
The Dimes
About This Album
The Dimes started a buzz with a bright, poppy 2006 EP that featured a "hit" single, "Catch Me Jumping," the story of a friend who enlisted in the navy, went a bit crazy, and jumped off of his ship in the Persian Gulf. The tune has a bright, bouncy beat, driving acoustic/electric guitars, a slightly surrealistic lyric, and the bright, breezy vocals of guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader Johnny Clay. The band's restrained performance puts the band's sound halfway between folk-rock and pure pop, while Clay's vocals are simply stunning. Just before they started recording their debut, second guitarist Pierre Johnson discovered a stash of depression era newspapers hidden beneath the floorboards of his Portland, OR house. Clay began reading the old papers, then writing songs about the colorful stories he discovered. The songs he produced maintain the band's folk/pop feel. Even when the subject matter is grim -- The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, the hard times families faced in the Great Depression -- Clay brings a ray of sunshine to the tale with his upbeat melodies and optimistic singing. "The Jersey Kid" gives us the brief outline of a murder trial that ends with a death sentence.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.