This guitar-free project featuring Land of Chocolate vocalist and keyboard player John Buzby dates back to 2011, when Buzby along with bassist Jay Rehm and drummer Wes Hare released the cleverly titled Slave to the Grind. This trio is quirkier and less technical than Land of Chocolate, with an undeniable Ben Folds Five vibe -- thanks to Buzby’s lead piano, dusty vocals and multipart harmonies from Rehm and Hare. You also can hear traces of the Nick D’Virgilio-fronted version of Spock’s Beard. Counterpoint vocals, intricate melodies, off-kilter arrangements and stellar playing abound.
Damn Fine Coffee would go on to release two more albums, 2017’s Sudden Fall From Grace and 2020’s For Richmond or Poorer. Whether there will be new music remains to be seen (and heard). But this much is clear: Damn Fine Coffee is a damn fine band.
Track Listing:
1. Do Us a Favor
2. Thyme
3. Another Wasted Moment
4. The Grind
5. So I Wait
6. We’ll Find a Way
7. Crumbling Down
8. Are We Near It
9. Figure It Out