Seth Kauffman
is one of those nerdy guys who inexplicably knows how to groove, and is willing to show off his skills with remarkably little provocation. 2014's
Body Questions
is
Kauffman
's fourth album under the
Floating Action
rubric, and while it isn't exactly funky, it sure sounds soulful and you can dance to it, even when the songs suggest
could have written them while daydreaming during a freshman chemistry class.
plays nearly all the instruments himself on
, and the smart-guy-in-his-rec-room attack works well on these songs; unlike most music built through overdubbing,
feels organic and human, and even when
flubs his drum parts (which happens more often than you'd expect), he generates a gentle but powerfully insistent rhythm as he sings, usually about love and relationships, in a style that doesn't exactly camouflage his nerdier side. But as we all know, nerds need love too, and think about it even more than the average guy, which certainly befits
; if the soul and R&B moves in his music occasionally appear just a shade rickety, they're deeply felt, and whether he's thinking about the ladies or pondering his place in the larger universe, these songs are open, honest, personal, and engaging.
knows how to write, he's a good (if not flawless) hand with various instruments, he has a real knack for working in the studio, and his voice sounds modest yet quietly confident at the same time; if you're going to get your nerdy groove on,
is the guy to do it with, and
's
is an ideal soundtrack for the thinking person's quiet storm. ~ Mark Deming