Sundowner

Singer/songwriter Moris Tepper has adopted the band name Eggtooth for this side project (released in Japan by Polystar Records), performed in what he calls a "folk-alt" style. The other major participants are Miiko, who sings and plays flute and bass, and Michael Tempo and Christian Teele, who play drums and percussion. Another reason for calling the ensemble Eggtooth is that Tepper indulges in a series of spoken word fairytales ("Eggtooth's Adventure," "Tiki-Tiki Boom-Boom," and "The Simmering Pot") featuring a character named Eggtooth that he recites over percussion-filled music in an exaggerated voice that resembles Tom Waits' (another artist for whom he has served as a sideman). He also howls his way through a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talkin'" and adopts a gruff tone on "90 Miles an Hour," which is a cover of the 1963 country hit by Hank Snow, "Ninety Miles an Hour (Down a Dead End Street)." Vocals are turned over entirely to Miiko on "Too Many Times," and her flute is the lead instrument on the instrumental title song that closes the disc. When Tepper isn't kidding around, he does provide some good folk-rock singer/songwriter fare in a Bob Dylan/Neil Young mold with such songs as the rollicking opener "When She Arrives" and "No One's Mind." Sundowner never sticks to any one approach for long, but it is consistently entertaining, if a minor entry in the Moris Tepper catalog.