Written by: Michael Dill

Surely there must be a memorial somewhere on Cape Cod commemorating the decades Chandler Travis and his various bands have made some of the most enjoyable music you’ll ever hear performed on that big ol’ sandbar.

Or maybe an annual Official Chandler Travis Day, complete with parades, speeches, and block parties with music and dancing in the streets?

I think there should be.

If you’re not sure about that, give a listen to the newest release from the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, Waving Kissyhead. It’s seventeen tracks of musical goodness presented just for your enjoyment.

Drawing on American music from Dixieland (“Grand Rt. St. John”) to Rock ‘n’ Roll (“Going Back To Work Tomorrow”), and everything in between, this eclectic collection of songs is going to be in heavy rotation at my house for a long time.

From the opening bars of “You Got Me Started,” it’s immediately apparent this is a playful and rollicking tour-de-force only a writer songsinger (to borrow the title of his 1992 solo release) like Chandler would, or maybe even could make.  Occasionally silly (the song “Bobby Brown” in which the title also serves for lyrics comes to mind), occasionally hopeful (“Maybe This Is Our Year”), sometimes kind of sweet and sentimental (“Sure Gonna Miss You”), you’re likely to find a song for any mood here, provided you’re not looking for something to feed your gloom–sorry, this record can’t help you with that.

It’s been a long time since The Philharmonic has put out an album. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another six years for the next, but this is good enough and it just might keep me happy in the meantime no matter how long it takes.