Putios
The Problem Is Not A Problem Anymore
99 Hours of Secrets (BMI) / Cerebral Cliff

Putios’ The Problem Is Not A Problem Anymore is the second full-length album Bob Mason has recorded under a pen name. This album’s folksy, bluesy do-it-yourself combination is a unique and successful formula. Mason’s vocals are sad, straightforward, and simple, but they paint a hopeful picture. The lyrics are an effective and simple amalgam of repetition, rhyme, and vivid imagery, resembling more poetry than music. And the music itself – also of a high caliber, uses subtle diminished chords, weepy picking and dynamic strumming.  “Our Stand” is perhaps the best song, echoes surrounding the lyrics, “He led the women and men/ he led all of us too/ and we made our stand/ and we raised our hands/ and all was not lost”. It reminds us of a heroic person, solving a problem too great for ordinary people – timeless lyrics. However, the album cannot rely on only one song. And a particularly weak one is the last track, an instrumental keyboard song. The music is well written, but the keyboard work is off-putting, because it lacks dynamics. In spite of its weakness, the album leaves you wanting more. – Jonathan Mendick, Mannerist Zine

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