Mike Bennett Capsule Reviews, July, 2003

Scroll down for capsule reviews of releases by Heathrow, The Spectors, a Styx tribute, Clem Snide, Gladhands, Grandaddy, the Oranges Band and Analog Radio

Simply Saucer -- Cyborgs Revisited (Sonic Unyon): This is the second reissue of this ‘70s proto-punk rock album from a band that was to Canada what Rocket From The Tombs and Pere Ubu were to America and The Saints and Radio Birdman were to Australia -- ahead of the curve, making intelligent, inspired and aggressive rock music. Simply Saucer's primary influence, as demonstrated by both the nine track album and the generous helping of demos and live tracks, was the Velvet Underground. But the band tried some other things, including some forays into squonky keyboard noise that showed some Krautrock inspiration and predate the aforementioned Ubu. Of course, all of this history would mean nothing if the band didn't rock, and that they did. A few songs, like "Treat Me Like Dirt" are catchy in a Modern Lovers sort of way (high praise, me thinks). Some are kind of primal, like "Here Come Cyborgs (Part 1)", where the furious Velvet-y strumming is matched by some intriguing electronic stuff going on underneath. Then there's "Here Come the Cyborgs (Part II)", which breaks down into a bizarre mix of blues guitar jam and otherworldly noises, while singer Edgar Breau keeps repeating the title over and over. Intense. As great as the proper album is, my favorite cut is "Low Profile", a non-LP demo that is a slowed down grind, with chords similar to "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone". Attention noveau garage bands -- cover this fucking tune immediately, it can't miss! The other bonus demos and live tracks are generally not as experimental as the album tracks, but are of the same high quality (tunewise, not always fidelitywise). The disc even includes the single "She's a Dog" b/w "I Can Change My Mind" (the first time ever on CD). You could probably fool friends into thinking both songs were recordings of a nascent Violent Femmes. Oddly enough, though these were the last Simply Saucer recordings, they are the tamest. Nevertheless, they are ragged, charming and memorable. You shouldn't get this record to be cool, but if you do get it, you are, by definition, cool, in an odd, uncool way. sonicunyon.com

Heathrow -- The Listening Class (Easter): This Milwaukee band combines a blue collar rock sound (i.e., they rock) with some strong Brit inspiration -- some mod overtones pop up and they do an excellent cover of Pulp's "We Are The Boyz" that burns with the fury of The Godfathers in their prime. The band likes a nice thick rhythm guitar sound, which is contrasted by pithy lead guitar figures that support the melody. The ampage provides a good foundation for the gruff vocals of Matt Fletcher, whose style might be called Dairyland Cockney. Much like the aforementioned Godfathers (and The Jam, and for that matter, Leatherface), this band carries off tender affecting material off superbly. In fact, this album is dominated by numbers that sometimes smolder and sometimes slowly ignite. "Hey Marty!" rests on a simple piano pattern (with Jeff Lahl playing a nifty counter melody on his bass), with the guitars creating a unique atmosphere. The song takes a melodic turn into the chorus that is stunning. This is followed by the equally impressive "Just Like You", which mixes contemplative verses with epic lead guitar work, which seems to portray the maelstrom of conflict teeming inside the singer. This weird low-key yet arena size style has worked since the days of Mott The Hoople, moving on into today with Oasis and Coldplay. Heathrow puts their own stamp on it. I'm guessing that the sophistication of the songwriting coincides with an increased confidence in both individual abilities and how the band has come together. This is a good record that shows two things that need to be done for the next project -- a bit more balance, emotionally, with a few more up beat numbers like "Walk Those Shoes", and stronger lyrics -- the words here tend to be unspecific, which is not as damaging as it could be, since Fletcher's vocals are so engaging. heathrowpost@hotmail.com

The Spectors -- Beat Is Murder (Get Hip): Where was I in the ‘90s that I missed this outstanding garage band, whose work from 1992 to 1996 is spotlighted on this compilation. The Spectors are one of the few bands in the genre who explore the popper side of garage -- they tend more towards Paul Revere and the Raiders and The Hollies, than The Sonics and The Seeds. Which isn't to say they can't handle the nasty stuff. They do a boffo cover of The Monks' "Oh, How to Do Now" that manages to maintain the atonal blues edge of that legendary band, without losing the smiley face party time aspect that stamps a Spectors performance. The cover swings, as do many of the tunes on here. This is because the band had consistently terrific drumming, primarily from Eric Tretbar. The drumming on "I Fell in Love" is particularly grand -- perhaps the bluesiest number on the disc, notice how the work on the bass drum just keeps the song bouncing, even while the rest of the band is playing in appropriately ragged fashion -- it gives the song an extra dimension. The Spectors mastered sunny ‘60s rock numbers, yet they also did an impressive job on freakbeat-cum-psych stuff like "Treacle Toffee World" (by Fire, the forerunner of folkies The Strawbs). They even did tender well -- "The Trains" is wistful proto-power pop -- this song would segue perfectly into Chris Stamey and the dBs' "The Summer Sun", the melody is so dreamy. This is simply outstanding. gethip.com

Various Artists -- Too Much Time On Our Hands: A Styx Tribute Album (Salt Lady): My friends used to play a game where you'd challenge someone as to which band they'd pick if force to listen to one. The ultimate challenge was Styx or Journey. These two bands were about the biggest arena rock stars of the late-‘70s and early-‘80s. The only correct answer, I believe, is Styx. They could be treacly, but it was a better treacle. And their pop-prog rockers had some cool hooks and occasionally interesting (and ambitious) lyrics. This album attempts to pay tribute by recontextualizing the music, since most of the performers here are acoustic wielding singer-songwriters. After having some reservations on my first couple of plays, this disc won me over. As with most tributes, there are a few duds, but there are some nifty reinterpretations on this disc. First and foremost, Dag Juhlin, of Chicago perennials The Slugs, manages to retain the urgency of "Too Much Time on My Hands", while casting it in an entirely different rhythm, which also alters the melody -- this was a gamble that pays off big. It also fits Juhlin's edgy voice, which spits out the best lines Tommy Shaw ever wrote: "I've got dozens of friends/and the fun never ends/that is, as long as I'm buying." While Lost And Found's take on "The Grand Illusion" merely slows it down to loping folk mode, this gives a new poignancy to Dennis DeYoung's grandiose but heartfelt condemnation of superficiality. And I don't know what inspired Tom Freund to try "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" as lounge pop (hmm...blue collar man works with iron...irony...I like it...), but I'm glad he did. Not everyone will dig how Jim Roll & The Famous Authors de-cheese the ballad "Babe", yet everyone salutes this necessary attempt. The man who put this together, Jonathan Rundman, applies his friendly folk-pop techniques on "Come Sail Away" and a particularly spot on take on "Queen of the Spades" (aided by some members of Dolly Varden under the alias The Rostenkowskis). The best of all is Alva Star's "Lady". They give it a mid-70s laid back soul feel, and singer John Hermanson, one of the best kept secrets in pop, just nails his smooth and insinuating vocal. Very well done. saltlady.com

Clem Snide -- Soft Spot (Spin Art): When I bought this, I didn't know that lead Snide-r Eef Barzelay was immersed in the bliss of his marriage and family in general. But even before I had this knowledge, it was obvious that he was pretty darned happy. This iced tea on the back porch on a hot summer's day album is peaceful and sublimely satisfying, exuding a feeling of comfort and contentment that is not often heard in modern music. Clem Snide is pigeonholed as an alt-country band, though the Americana tag is more fitting. Barzelay writes clever lyrics that pack an emotional punch. Or rather, in the context of this disc, an emotional hug and tickle. And Barzelay's word play, though it sometimes verges on corny, manages to be clever while being expressive. He barely gets away with this on "Close the Door": "close the door/then sneeze as loud as you want/god bless you/you made the dust in this room", which is saved by the languid shuffling music, Barzelay's tender vocal and the overall empathy of the tune. He's on top of his game on "All Green": "summer will come/with Al Green/and sweetened ice tea/summer will come/and be all green/with the sweetness of thee". That this slow tempoed chorus is augmented by Jason Glasser playing both the glockenspiel AND a Fischer-Price TV bell -- well, could it be sweeter? Of course, this could get awfully precious, but it's not, because the performances are so well grounded -- everything comes across as sincere, instead of nudge-and-a-wink. Sometimes, this album falls somewhere between Dan Bern's folky rock and the pop drawl of Wilco's *Summerteeth*, yielding magical songs like "Happy Birthday". Other times, it is heart breaking in its simplicity (listen to "Strong Enough to Doubt"). So so nice. spinartrecords.com

Gladhands -- Once Upon A Song: Best of Gladhands (Air Mail): I'm not enough of a Gladhands expert to be able to state whether this compilation perfectly encapsulates their career, but it does represent a band that fell somewhere in between Jellyfish and Posies, probably a bit closer to the former than the latter. Twelve of the songs are from genuine studio recordings, with five songs (one demo, four live) tacked on. There is no disputing that power pop is a good adjective for the ‘hands music, as their early songs crackled with plenty of guitar energy, yet never skimped on gorgeous melodies. Nowhere is this better exemplified then on Jeff Carlson's first album compositions. "Happenstance" (not be confused with the dB's track of the same name) has a bed of jangly reverberating guitars, a creamy opening verse reminiscent of the early Posies, with a sublime bridge that winds up to insistent chorus. The variety of moods and guitar sounds is dazzling. Carlson topped this tune with "Dig". The song also is reminiscent of The Posies, but the chorus -- geez, it just suspends you in air with beauty. No comparison could do it justice. As the band matured, the sound became even harder to pigeonhole, as they incorporated some softer pop influences, at times sounding a bit like prime ‘70s Chicago, without the horns. Here, songs like "Smallsville" and "Plastic Soul" (a fine Doug Edmunds composition) and "...As I Go Along" (a must hear for Wondermints fans) found the Gladhands crystallizing their sound into a thoroughly distinct identity. The bonus material is not as critical, unless you're a big fan. In particular, the three full live band songs ("La Di Da", "Beautiful Losers" and "Gore Girls") aren't nearly as good as the studio versions. Still, this band was deserving of a compilation, and it's great that this is out. airmailrecordings.com

Grandaddy – Sumday (V2): The third proper Grandaddy album is instantly familiar. This is a mixed blessing. The band's sound really cohered on The Software Slump, as Jason Lytle's Neil Young/Wayne Coyne-ish voice warbled over simple melodies enhanced with a great use of dynamics, sonic space, and oodles of atmospheric keyboards to make everything swirly. This album basically continues in that vein, but the guitars are toned down and, for the most part, the some of the textures have been sanded away. This leaves the songs more naked. This is not a good thing. Lytle lets his limited voice limit what he writes. Thus, many of the melodies here are sing-songy and become cloying. That many of lyrics are dull, attempting to achieve depth through acute observations of the mundane, and only amplifying the mundane -- that doesn't help. Nevertheless, the album has its moments, when the band tries to reach for something more than that which they can do in their sleep. The harmony vocals in the chorus of "The Saddest Vacant Lot in the World" are haunting and lovely. "The Warming Sun" is a big ballad with swelling strings that has a grandeur not previously achieved by the band and is certainly a shining moment. And "El Caminos in The West" is too hook laden to be denied, with cool "doo doo doo doo" backing vocals and a great keyboard line. Too much of this album, however, is on cruise control. Grandaddy needs to find some new tricks, because their sound now can't sustain a 50 minute CD. v2music.com

The Oranges Band -- All Around (Lookout): I didn't know much about this band when I picked up this disc. Since this was on Lookout, I came into it with certain preconceived notions (something in a punk vein) -- and not necessarily bad ones. This did not fit within my notions. However, I'm very happy with what I now own -- a rock band that plays catchy tunes that take me back to my college radio days in the ‘80s. The first song sounds like a collaboration between Big Dipper and Mental As Anything. The next song is Hypnolovewheel trying to create a Strokes tune (fast faux-Velvet strumming guitars with a melody that slaloms through the rhythms. Yep, this is going to be a smooth ride. Lead singer Roman Kubler has an engaging voice that reminds me a little bit of Colin Hay (yep, the Men At Work guy). The songs range from the all-hook "Oh, Madalene", which just chugs along, to the sharp and tense "All Around", which sounds like Gang Of Four playing slow reggae, to the spunky "I'm Still Right...Still", which has a cool horn arrangement. If you can't wait for a new Superchunk record, then the propulsive "My Street" will tide you over, as Dave Voyles pounds on the drums and Dan Black and Virat Shukla play a nifty ascending dual lead guitar part. Every song has at least one memorable element and the proceedings are spirited throughout. lookoutrecords.com

Analog Radio -- This Is Grand (self-released): Chicago band plays light power pop that has its fair share of moments. The band amiably jangles along. On peppy numbers like "Read the Manual", they come off like a skinny tie variant of NRBQ or The Model Rockets, removing of bit of the rootsy aspect from their friendly rock and adding some new wavey keyboard action. The band slows it down nicely on "I'd Answer the Phone (If You Called)". The harmony vocals are quite solid and the song is a somber kiss off to an ex-lover. If there are such things as break-up mix CDs, this would be a very good lead track. On "You Can Only Try", the band hits on some ringing chords and manages a sound that falls midway between The Davenports and The Montgomery Cliffs. The middle eight on this song marries a fine sense of dynamics to a clever backing vocal arrangement. Throw in the terrific guitar solo and you have one hell of a song. The band has also perfected the wistful chord change, as shown on "Sometimes Girlfriend". At times the band could be more forceful, since so many of the songs are mid-tempo. Furthermore, the lead vocals are adequate, but they don't convey a distinct personality. This puts a big burden on the songs. To Analog Radio's credit, the songs generally hold up. analogradio.com

_______________________________________________________________

To reach any other page contained in this month's update on Fufkin.com, read the home page for the appropriate link and click on it. You can also search the site from any page using the search box located at the top of each page. Merely type in the word, phrase, name of the band, recording, name of the Fufkin writer that you are looking for or Whatever in the search box, and then click on "Search". If you would like to e-mail us, go to the About Us page for a list of e-mail addresses.

Go back to the home page by clicking here

________________________________________________________________