High Horse

By Evan O’Neal

Tobacco City has already achieved startling highs on their first two batches of songs: First, with their debut EP, LSD and in 2021 with Tobacco City, USA. The band first came into fruition with the meeting of Lexi Goddard and Chris Coleslaw. Coleslaw, a man who has been in countless bands and has his own back catalogue, met Goddard when they worked at a café together in Logan Square.

For the Fourth of July (a theme and leitmotif of the band), they released two singles, “America” and “Motorcade” into the world and the songs build on a solid foundation of scenes, characters, and a dystopic America that is both beautiful and grotesque in its excess. They write about an empire that is nearing its bitter end and the nihilistic tendencies of its citizens; not directly but they paint a vivid and visceral picture.

The apt and timely “America” is a song that is catchy as all hell and reminds me of a Dorothy Parker quote: “What fresh American hell is this?” A shiny and upbeat exterior, but the lyrics delve into the dark underbelly of American gluttony.

Look directly into the camera
stare directly into the sun
keep your eyes on the turning signal
and your teeth down on the gun
its been a long time since we've had this much fun

The second track, “Motorcade” is a dreamy and delirious ballad that really smacks of the JFK assassination and a one night stand. This is absolutely one of my favorite tracks from this band’s oeuvre. Speaking of oeuvre, I’d like to get into this band’s work so far…

As a long time listener (first time caller), I wanted to do a deep dive into the first two albums and shed some light on what I think is a band on the precipice of realizing their potential and greatness. TC is a band to look out for. They are the real deal and I can’t wait to see what they’ve been up to.

LSD is an album that is full of so much promise for a band that is learning how to write and sing together. Like the name suggests, its a recording of country songs that stretch and breathe like the walls and the psychedelic carpet, with a tinge of something in the acid that shouldn’t be there. Of course, I mean this in the best way possible. There is a quality to the songs and the recordings that is beautifully imperfect and shows the potential of an incredibly gifted duo.

The song “LSD” opens the EP; an electric guitar with a slight tremolo flutter and the lines:

Love you like a dog loves a dead bird 
feels like TV from another roof 
yes i'm going swimming soon 

I was swimming free on LSD 
my TV was swimming with me too
I was feeling red, white, and blue
swimming in the Humboldt Park lagoon

That is all it took to pull me in. The four songs on this first offering from TC is a trip, bordering on a bad one, that harkens me back to being young but not that young; stumbling through life and love, basements and bars, and self-imposed poverty in a protracted high and drunken state. You can smell the carpets and the dank Chicago apartments in the humid months of summer.

The song “Landlord” is the second track from the EP that shows Chris Coleslaw’s range as a singer and a songwriter. He takes the lead on the first two tracks. A damn tasty chorus on this one:

“We put a curse upon the land and blame it on the landlord, naturally.”

Chris Coleslaw also adds in the last verse a recurring theme of a dystopic American holiday:

and the ashes hide
in a Canada Dry
On the fourth of July
A fucking Paradise

On the next track, “Blue”, we hear Lexi Goddard taking the lead. Her voice is one of the best I have heard in a long time. It is strong and natural, and there is not a hint of any affectation. She has a voice that is all her own and she seems to not be trying to sound like anyone else. It compliments her partner’s voice very nicely and they achieve an imperfect harmony that is refreshing. “Blue” gives us a more earnest country song that is both lilting and bittersweet. The pedal steel really adds something special to the track and the vocal overdubs work well to support the main vocal.

The last song on the album, “Rice and Beans”, wrecks me. It is one that I return to over and over again. This is, I believe to be the duo at their most powerful on the album. They trade off on lyrics at the beginning and the first verse that is delivered by Goddard is an incredible performance. I have restarted the song on more than one occasion to hear her sing:

I'm no angel, it's true
but neither are you
and when it comes to these devilish deeds
what else can we do

I've got no money, it's true
but on nights that I do
I'll probably spend it all
on some hullabaloo

Chris Coleslaw joins Goddard on the chorus that, again, rings true and heartfelt; it slices through to the guts to the end of a relationship or the potential to try and sew it back together where it is becoming frayed. It very simply paints a picture of a couple scraping by, going out and getting drunk, and paying for it at the end of the month in more ways that one. There is a lot going on under the surface of these words and the band does a lot with a little bit of poetry:

well its rice and its beans
its ginger and Beam
and when it starts wearing out
we'll stitch it up at the seams

This band will probably be compared to The Silver Jews. It would be an easy comparison to make. The lyrics are often clever, sometimes even brilliant. And like Berman’s best lyrics and poems, they are country songs that abide by the basic formulae and also hint at other more existential ideas and longings. In most cases, the songs walk this tightrope successfully.

There are so many good lines that make you smile and then feel something profound. Another comparison one might make would be to the Louisville KY based band, State Champion, who have a similar wit, countrified punk sensibility, and pull off the tongue-in-cheek lyricism with flying colors. These songs are filled with scenes that could have been written by Willie, Emmylou, Berman or Pynchon. (now that would be a dream blunt rotation)…

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Their full length LP, Tobacco City, USA (Scissor Tail Records, 2021), only adds to this band’s charm. You can hear they’ve dialed it in and added a backing band that sounds tight and competent behind the two lyricists. The album’s first track, “Blue Raspberry” is a strong opener and sets the tone for a more polished album.

Again, these songs abide by most of the rules of country music, but there is a undercurrent of nihilism and doom that I really find to be working with this band. Under the upbeat twang and major chords, there is a darkness. It adds another dimension to TC that I think many try to pull off but mostly fall flat on their face. It takes a special songwriter like Coleslaw/Goddard, Berman, Zevon to stick the landing.

I might also mention that, being a St. Louisian/Midwesterner, Coleslaw’s vocal range and delivery conjures up some Jay Farrar vibes. (See Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt) This is very much prevalent on the second track, “Tobacco City Waltz”, and throughout the rest of this album. I mean this in the best way possible.

Goddard takes the reins on “Never On My Mind”; a soulful country song with a slow burn and a nice breakbeat, percussive build up at the end, reminiscent of Timber Timbre’s “Hot Dreams” or a sultry Bobbie Gentry track.

“Half in the Bag” is another standout track led by Goddard. Another song where she really lets her voice wreak havoc on the listener’s heart and soul. It is understated, powerful, perfection. She has a way of never overdoing it that I think is special. Not that she doesn’t throw her voice around(she does); but it never seems like too much.

The album has been on blast and I can’t wait to hear more from this group. Speaking of group, Tobacco City has enlisted the Chicago chooglers, Glyders as a backing group for this album (I believe) and have all of the pieces to put on a hell of a show. Glyders have an excellent album out recently called Maria’s Hunt.

Tobacco City’s Lagniappe Session is wonderful. They have chosen a steep and bombastic list of covers by Warren Zevon, The Female Species, a deep Dylan cut, and “Margaritaville”. I say this because of the chops it takes to pull off. The cover of “Moon Dust Shine” is a standout track and their rendition of Buffet seems appropriate for many cosmic reasons: A similar kind of trickster songwriter with a glint in his eye. I found it surprisingly well done! The duo and their band are up for the task and deliver on these recordings! Again, I believe it shows the band realizing what they are capable of.

Tobacco City is a band that has won me over. In a sea of countrified punks and poseurs that are trying on cowboy hats and fresh wrangler jeans, these guys cut through the noise and are doing a lot of things right. Partly because they maintain an art-rock sensibility and avoid the sentimentality, they achieve a great balance of vulnerability and meta-awareness. Keep an eye on these Chicago wunderkinds. Can’t wait to hear more!

(above, an unreleased song from Tobacco City from last year’s Pickathon ’22)