2018 release. Pat Thomas has been known as a driving singing / writing / bass-playing force behind San Francisco band Cool Ghouls for years and, over those years, in tandem with the band's group effort, has cultivated an interesting voice as a solo act. 'Solo' isn't really the correct word though because the tracks on I Ain't Buyin' It showcase recordings complete with fully fleshed out arrangements, not unlike other ambitious California classics like The Beach Boys or Love. These comparisons seem lazy, given the obvious associations of the west coast with this sort of sonic imagery, which bands from San Francisco or LA-but SF especially-are seldom able to shake off. But at the entry point of this record, you welcome it as you would a lover of this style. As this album's initial feeling moves forward, you get better acquainted with Thomas's idiosyncratic song-writing and production style, which are playful and groovy and light-hearted. But these songs also convey a deeper inner dialogue which reflects the inherent paradox of life in a city such as San Francisco, or many other American cities. The feeling of general displacement and falling victim to commerce is real. A feeling that includes everything from the seduction of empty suburban idealism, to the city being robbed of it's creative force by pointless commerce, to the entire USA being literally robbed from Native Americans. It's hard to maintain a positive outlook when one reflects on the depth of this situation, but Thomas has succeeded in presenting a way to embrace these circumstances: through this music. -Emmett Kelly The Cairo Gang.