'Loudmouth' Speaks for Itself

Singer songwriter Jim Bianco has been touring in California for his album, Loudmouth, but he is no stranger to the sunny state. He’s a regular at Los Angeles’s Hotel Café.

According to Bianco’s bio on his Web site, “The songs on Loudmouth explore the reckless depths of a troublemaker, the devastation of a broken heart, the irony of being in love with someone who treats you like shit and the whimsical inclinations of a temporary secretary who dreams of being an elevator.”

Did you catch that last one?

Apparently, this album is not your typical album filled with only inconsolable tracks. It’s actually one of those song lists that one could see playing in a commercial for health insurance. You know that one song that you just have to know the name of while you search feverishly on every site.

“Shut Up and Kiss Me” might not be the next commercial for MacBook, but don’t harp on me when you see an elderly couple on television laughing and dancing to this song. Kidding aside, the lightheartedness already dodges away from what Loudmouth supposedly covers. Everything from the playful piano banter to the poking fun at dating makes this track true Americana rock.

Take for instance, “Take You Home” with its blatant flirty lyrics: “Everybody who meets you wants to take you home.” The trumpet-driven chorus gives the song its all-eyes-on-you bar vibe as if a trophy of a waitress is jaded by her surroundings. Easily one of my favorites, this electric track injects a much-needed attitude halfway through the album.

However, like a drunk drowning his sorrows away, Bianco concludes the set of songs with “Slaughter” and “Home.” Both are slow burning tracks, but “Home” especially is bittersweet with its mentality of no place like home.

Bianco may have prefaced his album to be depressing, but he and his band churn out every track on Loudmouth like it’s a celebratory race with only nine songs. Too short of a race if you ask me.