James Baumann
Reviews:
April, 2005

Scroll down for reviews of Nic Armstrong, Branden Blake, Manic Street Preachers and Manda and The Marbles

Manda and the Marbles
Angels With Dirty Faces

(Addison Records)

www.mandaandthemarbles.com

You gotta love an album that starts off with a mission statement. That's what Manda and the Marbles do as they cover The Fast Cars and kick off their record with 100 seconds of bass-driven punk-pop that simply repeats the assertion that "kids just wanna dance" over and over.

If they are right, then every kid needs to get a copy of this disc as it is chock full of danceable, humable, and sing-alongable songs. Sounding like a harder-edged Kim Wilde ("Kids in America"), vocalist and bassist Manda Marble strikes a delicate balance between approachable and attitude. The guitar comes fast and furious with the requisite Fender buzz. The drumming - which needs to be dead on and strong for these types of songs to work - is everything it should be and more. And the band has fattened its sound a bit on this disc with the addition of a keyboard player. The new layer helps lift Manda's melodies (both bass and vocals) and thrust them even more front and center.

This is the type of disc that the "cool" aunt or uncle passes on to a niece or nephew to stop them from treading dangerously close to teeny-bob territory. Kids just wanna dance. But they also don't want to be talked down to. They will respond to the honesty and catchiness that keeps Manda and the Marbles rolling on. I don't mean this as an insult to the band, and maybe it's just because I've got a couple young music fans running around the house, but some Nickelodeon producer really needs to get their hands on this disc and start inserting the songs onto every soundtrack they can

Nic Armstrong & the Thieves
The Greatest White Liar

(New West Records)

www.nicarmstrong.com

The first time this disc slid into the car CD player my immediate thought was, "Hmmm, I didn't know New West was getting into the reissue game." It was an honest reaction because this album has all the sound and feel of something done four decades ago.

As it turns out, The Greatest White Liar isn't something that's been gathering dust in some vault for all these years. Rather it's the product of a 25-year-old English kid who sings and plays with a heart, soul, and voice far beyond his years. As splendidly rough and tumble tracks like "Down Home Girl" or "The Finishing Touch" come spilling out of the speakers it is easy to point at touchstones like the early Kinks or Rolling Stones singles, The Who when they were a blues band, The Beatles when they were Merseybeat, or other acts like Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry (whose "I Want To Be Your Driver" gets knocked right out of the freakin' park as a bonus track). Yet because they are delivered with such grit and spirit - and because everything old will eventually be new again - they still come across as fresh.

The album is a winner right from the opening track, "I Can't Stand It," as the vocals and guitars emerge in a fuzzed-out wall of distortion. Next, "Broken Mouth Blues," (the first single) bounces along with a "Highway 61" beat and features shout along choruses and harmonica blasts. From there, the hooks keep on coming. He shows he knows his way around a ballad with "I'll Come To You." "Back In that Room" is a real toe-stomper. "She Changes Like the Weather" is two-and-a-half minutes of delightfully dusty pop. And if you can't dance to "On A Promise," check yourself for a pulse.

Armstrong cuts straight to the point in his songs musically and lyrically ("I'm going to take you to the muddy river, and push you right on in / just to watch the water roll down, down your very skin" is a typical sentiment). They are generally unadorned by anything other than a fuzz pedal and handclaps. In many ways they are entirely unremarkable except that I just want to listen to them over and over again. These days, that might be the most remarkable thing an artist can do.

Super Deluxe / Solo
Lolita EP

(Self-Released)

Braden Blake
A Year In Pajamas

(Embryo Records)

www.bradenblake.com

Back in the '90s when everyone looked to the Pacific Northwest for their dose of angst, I thought I (and, later, Scott McCaughey) was the only one who knew it was also home to the power-pop stylings of the modestly named Super Deluxe. They had some regional radio success and, with the fantastic song "Farrah Fawcett," they perfectly captured the joy and tribulation of first kisses and lusting for a 24-by-36-inch glossy image. I am glad to see the band is back with a five-song EP that picks up right where they left off, with loud guitars and aggressive pop hooks.

Each track here is strong (the benefit of EPs over most LPs) but the real shining jewel is "Knockout." This track epitomizes the three-chord power pop song coupled with the perfect power pop love story. The singer (our hero) longs for a girl and detests her neglectful yet controlling boyfriend. Inspired, he makes his move and by the time we reach the chorus we learn: "He's out of reach and I'm picking up the slack / I took her out and she got me on my back / We're in my bed and we're listening to the Knack." Each and every music-loving misfit in the country needs to buy this EP just so they can have access to that track for their next mix-tape love letter.

Super Deluxe singer Braden Blake has also recently released A Year In Pajamas, a "solo" disc (he played most, not all, the instruments) that was recorded in his bedroom in, yes, his pajamas. As befitting its name, this is a decidedly sleepier affair than his full-band albums. Not boring, mind you, but the tempo and volume is toned down to Elliott Smith / Crowded House levels. Catchy melodies and gentle "whooo hoooo" background vocals abound through the eleven tracks. Poking through Blake's Web page it's not surprising to find MP3s of a visit to a radio station where he acoustically covers Big Star and Warren Zevon

Equal parts lush and jingly - and amazingly clear considering the alleged low-fi recording techniques - this is an album that has dramatically grown on me with each listen from "nice" to "good" to "I really want to hear that song right now."

Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible - 10th Anniversary Edition

(Columbia Legacy)

www.manics.co.uk

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I - like most of the United States - am woefully ignorant of The Manic Street Preachers' music. I had heard of the band, but the focus always seemed to be on their soap opera / tabloid like story. The band's politically charged lyrics drew equal amounts of fire and fawning praise. Then there was the disappearance of lyricist Richey Edwards that furthered the "mystery" of the band and scuttled plans for the release of a U.S. mix of The Holy Bible.

That record has now been rescued as Disc Two of the three-disc set that Columbia Legacy released last month. Disc One is a digitally remastered version of the original disc with four additional live tracks. Back in 1994 the NME described the explosion of popular acts as "Blur brought pack the pop. Oasis brought back the attitude. Manic Street Preachers brought back the brains." That might be reason enough to explain why MSP didn't catch on in America the way the other two acts did. Anthems of rebellion wrapped up in Queen-style bombast (not to mention catchiness) might have been a bit much for us Yanks to wrap our heads around.

This dichotomy is best evidenced on Disc Three of the set, a DVD collection of live television appearances, festival shows, and publicity videos plus interviews with band members reflecting on the album. Seeing the band in their camouflage outfits and netting in front of tens of thousands at the Reading Festival, or in their military uniforms (complete with medals) on a television soundstage, while they sing about topics like anorexia and "political correctness" doesn't necessarily jive. To hard to imagine raging against the machine when those raging are seemingly larger than the machine.

Without regularly reading the NME and being inside the British hit (legend) making process it may be impossible for me to fully-grasp the impact that The Holy Bible had a decade ago. But this package, through its words, images, and - of course - the songs themselves, is a great document of a great record.

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