Spike &The Gandy Dancers What You Gonna Be?
This album was released earlier (2025), but this is the main push. It starts with a pensive ballad sung in a strong, authoritative voice by Peter VanDusartz (aka Spike), who plays acoustic guitar. The introductory “Be Here Now Now” is engaging, while track 2 is unnecessarily steeped in vocal treatments to give it more presence. A good rocker (“Crazy Blue”) is performed with mild excitement as Peter gets into it vocally & drives the musicians. It does have a nostalgic whiff to it, along the lines of country oldies like “Ghost Riders of the Sky” & “Sixteen Tons.” That tradition is basically followed here, like a pinch of salt into boiling water for pasta. You don’t know if it’s there, but it’s needed.
“Believe” is strong, in the style of John Lennon’s ”God,” but to a lesser degree. Still effective. While “Teardrops in Paris” is a Brecht-Weill-style swipe. Excellent. It has just enough creepiness to keep it from being deviant. It’s a colorful romp with a 1920’s carnival accordion. There aren’t any horrific tales in this story, the way Tom Waits would. This is a wonderful interlude & quite a contrast to “Magic Carpet Car,” which has lots of creative soundscapes & hoi-polloi going on, but it can be a distraction.
12 songs explore What You Gonna Be? (Drops June 6/Independent/45:38) produced by John Munson & Peter. It was recorded in Minneapolis, MN & for those who don’t know what “gandy dancers” are: they’re the early railroad section hands who laid & maintained tracks by hand before it was mechanized. They’re known for their synchronized movements & rhythmic call-and-response work songs as they drove spikes, replaced rail ties & aligned the heavy steel rails.
Peter has constructed a set of songs with that kind of muscle — steeped in atmosphere, mood & sweat. They’re not light-hearted melodies or narratives. The only missteps are the reliance on cliches, though they’re well-articulated despite their triviality. It isn’t a consistent issue on the album. Peter is more than qualified as a songwriter & vocalist.
The majority of his tunes have the illusion of iron hammers hitting a spike into position. “Voyageur” comes close to the Leonard Cohen vocal bellow. And surprisingly, it’s well done. With the title track drenched in deep sousaphone, Peter tackles a sound that was the domain of Marc Campbell’s 1980’s critically acclaimed RCA band The Nails. Songs like “Darkness Comes Uncivilized,” “She Is Everything To Me,” & “Home of the Brave” have this atmospheric essence & Peter does it here with skill & style. It’s all compiled exquisitely. I like this band.
Highlights – “Be Here Now Now,” “Crazy Blue,” “Believe,” “Teardrops in Paris,” “Voyageur” & “What You Gonna Be?”
Musicians – Kent Mortimer (drums), Aaron Smith (bass/sousaphone), Jeff Neau (electric & acoustic guitars) & Bill Turner (keys/accordion/trumpet).
B&W image courtesy of their website. CD @ Bandcamp & Apple + https://spikeandthegandydancers.com/