Mike
Bennett
Capsule
Reviews:
September, 2006
Scroll
down for capsule reviews of Marty Rudnick, The Studio Fix,
Alcian Blue, The Cosmopolitans, The Handsome Family. Andy
Kim, Happy Hate Me Nots, a Winnipeg punk compilation, Magnolia
Summer, Beatnik Filmstars, Boys on Trial and Golden Bear
Marty Rudnick -- More
Songs About Cars And Girls (Sandbox):
But will they be heard? Rudnick has a pleasant voice and his
talent as a songwriter is well-developed, as evidenced by
this collection of sunny California-inflected pop. He obviously
loves The Beach Boys, but many of his songs are more in the
pop-rock vein of Marshall Crenshaw and Dwight Twilley, with
a Brian Wilson gloss. Working with producer Michael Carpenter,
this disc is consistently entertaining, whether Rudnick dons
a cowboy hat for a Western influenced tale on "Coyote"
or blisses out with the soft pop Curt Boettcher-esque lilt
of "Lucky Day". But Rudnick's bread and butter comes
in the form of happy go lucky pop tunes with simple melodies
and harmony vocals. "Yes I Will", an old Hollies
tune written by Gerry Goffin and Russ Titleman, is Merseybeat
by way of Malibu, a marriage that works quite well, and "Some
Summer" sounds just like a summer single should sound,
and how can you go wrong with that? Particularly when you
bring in some impressive hired guns to help out on the harmonies,
with Rubinoos Tommy Dunbar and Al Chan doing what they do
best, which is sing perfectly. Rudnick throws in some bonus
demos, doing swell versions of The Beatles' "Yes It Is"
and The Beach Boys' "‘Til I Die". A sterling
pop effort. sandboxrecords.com
The Studiofix -- Will
Change Your Life (Avebury): These
young women don't fit easily into any particular genre, and
in many respects their music harkens back to the alt-rock
of the early ‘90s, mixing a bit of an R & B/funk
lite rhythmic spark, with basic rock guitar chords. This band
could have played with Frogpond or Bikini Kill back in the
day. The songs are solid, but there is room for improvement
in the composition department. What makes this record worthwhile
is the creative, focused playing and the superb vocal stylings
of Nicole Deleon. Simply put, she's a powerhouse who puts
most of these songs over the top. Listen to the confidence
with which she puts across "Sleeping". This song
has one of the better choruses on the record, and she runs
with it, moving up in her range while singing "somebody
is sleeping in my bed," her voice sounding more sensual
in the near falsetto part. At this point, her voice is at
times a little uncontained -- perhaps a more measured performance
would be better on the ballad "The Latter Years",
though hearing her trying to be subdued gives the song a special
energy. The best song on the album is another slower number,
the insinuating "The Bell Jar", with a great bass
part which supports both the melody and rhythm, and a pleading
vocal. This is post-modern R & B. Moreover, like much
of the album, the lyrics strive for something - articulate
but conversational. Indeed, The Studiofix shows a lot of ambition.
Based on their tunes and playing, I would recommend that they
listen to a steady diet of classic R & B and Minutemen
records, as they have the ability to do both straight modern
soul and songs that effortlessly blend genres. There is so
much potential here, as every aspect of this band is already
good -- there are a number of directions they could go in,
and if they'd like to innovate a bit, they could be very important.
aveburyrecords.com
Alcian Blue -- Alcian
Blue (Elephant Stone): Connecting
the dots between the post-punk sounds of Joy Division and
Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark, among others, and the shoegazer
sound, Alcian Blue masters its gloomy yet inspiring sound.
The enveloping soundscapes are quite compelling. The near-instrumental
"Frozen Sleep" is a great introduction to the band's
sound. A pulse of percussion and layers of keyboards and guitars
are washed over in reverb, with a voice barely penetrating
this aural fog. The vocal follows the melody line being played
on one keyboard. There is another melody snaking through,
while the rest of the instruments modulate in an up-and-down
pattern. This is a very simple composition, but the way they
put it all together turns it into something large and impressive.
The band follows this track with the naked, spartan "Caroline",
as the keyboards again modulate, while an acoustic guitar
part is gently played. It is very sad and moving, even with
no memorable lyrics to touch upon. The same soundscapes are
mixed in with some Joy Division-style post-punk on "Terminal
Escape", aided by a deep grim lead vocal, and some creative
percussion. Folks in college radio in the ‘80s will gravitate
towards "71705", which would have fit in with the
great British post-punk bands of the era. This may not be
groundbreaking, but Alcian Blue has their sound down cold,
and does some great things with these familiar components.
elephantstone.com
The Cosmopolitans -- Wild
Moose Party (Bacchus Archives):
This early ‘80s duo engaged in a New York version of
the updated ‘60s frat party dance rock perfected by The
B-52s, with a sly wit reminiscent of The Waitresses. Aided
by a bunch of terrific musicians, including Mitch Easter and
some dB's, among others, this 11-song compilation is brimming
with fun and good cheer. The first song, "(How to Keep
Your) Husband Happy", sets the tone, with the cheesy
organ, percolating rhythm, spoken word tips on achieving marital
bliss, and a very Kate-and-Cindy (Pierson and Wilson, y'know)
like harmony chorus. The title cut is a careening funfest,
with Easter laying down an insistent beat, and the Cosmos
-- Jamie K. Sims and Nel Moore "mah-mah-mah-moose"-ing
around. My favorite song is "Chevy Baby" -- when
they sing, "I sold my baby for a Chevrolet", they're
talking about an infant, not a lover. The music has the horror
movie dance pop ambience of Comateens, with twisted lyrics
and lots of silly touches, including guitarist David Itch
singing from the baby's point of view. These three songs are
worth the price of admission alone, and nothing that follows
surpasses them, but they are all worthwhile. I don't know
if they could have squeezed anything more out of this concept,
but it's good that they at least committed these 11 tracks
to tape. This CD is enhanced with a video of "Husband".
If you like the bands referenced above, you should dig this.
dionysusrecords.com
The Handsome Family -- Last
Days Of Wonder (Carrot Top):
More lyrically eloquent country songs from the husband and
wife team of Brett and Rennie Sparks. This New Mexico-by-way-of-Chicago
group is associated with reviving the folkier traditions of
country music dating back to the ‘20s and ‘30s.
But this album shows how the Sparks have evolved both musically
and lyrically. Rennie is particularly inventive on "Tesla's
Hotel Room" is a character sketch of the famed scientist.
Her words are economical and evocative, as Rennie details
the contradictions of this (sometimes crackpot) visionary,
who preferred pigeons to people and starved while his contemporaries
thrived. Brett's smooth voice (sometimes I think Randy Travis...yes,
Randy Travis...should take a crack at a Handsome Family song)
oozes empathy, while the music is played at a waltz tempo,
with key trombone accompaniment by guest Mark Weaver. This
is a short story set to music. The band adds a jazz flavor
to the black comedy of "After We Shot the Grizzly",
which is about a plane crash, cannibalism and survival: "We
built a raft from skin and bones/only five could safely float/the
others stood upon the shore/they screamed and threw sharp
stones." Another jazz inflected number is "These
Golden Jewels", which lies somewhere between Tom Waits
and Leon Redbone, with Brent showing off a vibrato-laced croon.
Of course, when I think of The Handsome Family, I think of
murder ballads, and they satisfy my craving on the appropriately
somber and atmospheric "Hunter Green", with Rennie
turning in a nice lead vocal. The song is about a hunting
accident...or that's how it seems initially. Instead, this
seems like a hunting metaphor for some odd backwoods Romeo
& Juliet. Here's the set up -- boy shoots girl, boy drops
her corpse into the lake, boy lets wild boar attack him. This
shows how rural areas are underserved by qualified therapists.
But seriously, it's yet another great song. Another top notch
release, which is pretty much expected from this band. carrottoprecords.com
Andy Kim -- Baby I Love
You/Andy Kim & How'd We Ever Get This Way/Rainbow Ride
(Collector's Choice): Andy Kim co-wrote one of the most successful
songs of all-time, "Sugar Sugar", with Jeff Barry.
And he began his solo career recording for Barry's Steed label.
His music was a mix of light bubblegummy music and folk pop
in the vein of Neil Diamond. These two discs encompass Kim's
first four solo albums, which came out between 1968 and 1973.
This is soft pop at its softest in the head, and the catchiness
and appeal (from How'd We Ever Get This Way) of the
handclapping "Love That Little Woman" and the impassioned
"Sunday Driver", which is as close as Kim might
come to legit R & B, is undeniable. The title cut of *Rainbow
Ride* utilizes a guitar part that's very reminiscent of The
Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", but integrates
a variety of musical parts into a pre-teenage symphony to
God. This is probably my favorite of the four albums, since
it pushes Kim in a more rock direction. Granted, this isn't
really his forte, but the album has more varied textures,
whereas the first and third albums are fairly consistent in
tone and approach. I like hearing a little psychedelia thrown
into the mix. The songs remain otherwise consistent with Kim's
normal approach. The *Baby I Love You* album is pretty solid,
with some covers mixed in with a bunch of Barry-Kim compositions.
The best is probably "Let's Get Married", which
falls somewhere between Diamond and Tommy James. However,
1973's eponymous release, where Kim was not teamed with Barry,
is pretty pretentious, as he takes on the existence of God
and social issues with the in-depth thinking of a man who
wrote for Archie, Reggie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead, and
the seriousness of high school poetry club president. While
completeness is laudable, it might have been better to let
the fine Baby I Love You stand by itself. So three
of the four albums are better-than-average light soft-pop,
but see if you can catch a price break on the two-fer with
the self-titled LP. Plus, great liner notes from Richie Unterberger.
collectorschoicemusic.com.
Various Artists -- Winnipeg
Riot! (Dionysus): Winnipeg
is not just the home to filmmaking genius Guy Madden and the
town that stole Bobby Hull away from the Chicago Blackhawks.
This compilation serves as evidence that in the past decade,
Winnipeg has had a vibrant punk rock scene. And I mean old
school inspired stuff, whether it's The Wild Things doing
an X-like tune on "I'm a Wild Thing" or the football
chant enthusiasm displayed on The Farrell Bros.'s "This
Is a Riot!". There's also a cool surf instrumental (The
Surfadelics -- "Flux Capacitor"), some perverted
(not quite psycho) rockabilly (The Fever Breaks -- "Devil
Girl"), speedy punk ("I, Robot" by Turnbull
AC's), and other things that rock like a mother. How can you
not like a band called The Insaniacs? I like the forceful
sound of "No Competition", which is kind of ‘77
punk, but also akin to Leatherface. Then again, that just
might be the ultra-sore throated lead vocals. This is a very
consistent compilation and may lead you to check out more
by some of the artists. dionysusrecords.com
Magnolia Summer -- From
Driveway' Lost View (Undertow):
This band shares a label with Dolly Varden, and covers somewhat
similar territory, as their melodic rock sometimes teeters
a bit towards country-ish rock. While not quite up to the
high standards of Dolly Varden, or the more recent work of
The Jayhawks (another appropriate comparison), given time
they could turn out to be a terrific band. The band can certainly
rock out, which they demonstrate amply on the opener "Along
for the Ride", which would make a good Matthew Sweet
tune. But they go beyond riffing on "Sum of All Fears",
a haunting number which blends acoustic strums and ominous
piano chords in a memorable fashion. This song navigates territory
similar to some of T-Bone Burnett's early work, as this folky
dirge casts a spell. Things are more melodically orientated
on "Casting Satellites". The tender, breathy lead
vocal adds to the rustic soulfulness of the track, which reminds
me a little bit of some of Lindsey Buckingham's work with
Fleetwood Mac. Just as wonderful is "Once in a While",
where my earlier comparisons to Dolly Varden and The Jayhawks
are wholly merited by this terrific composition, which uses
dynamics effectively, offsetting a downcast, heartbreaking
verse with some uplifting melodies and playing. This tune
also shows off Magnolia Summer's attention to detail, with
an arrangement that throws many sounds into the mix, but with
subtlety that the track from sounding congested. A winning
effort, and room to grow. undertowmusic.com
Happy Hate Me Nots -- The
Good That's Been Done...(an anthology)
(Feel Presents): This Australian band had an all-too-brief
career back in the mid-‘80s, and this compilation gathers
together almost everything you could ever want. While not
exactly a punk band, the Happy Hate Me Nots played an anthemic
powerful type of rock, exploding with passion. They slotted
well alongside bands like The Saints and Midnight Oil, while
standing out based on their singular sound. Better yet, thanks
to terrific production, the songs from their LP and EP releases
don't sound dated in the slightest. If anything, this music
has gotten better with age. Their sole album, *Out*, is simply
an unknown classic, with tons of superior songs such as "Soul
Rejection", "Pride Is Burning" and "Praise
For Fortune". And the earlier *Scrap* EP foreshadowed
this greatness, showing off a band who knew how to use dynamics,
illustrated to perfection on "Blue Afternoon", a
work of enduring power. The driving guitars, Paul Berwick's
pleading voice and the way things would just build to an explosive
peak -- this is simply fantastic rock and roll. The second
disc has a little bit of everything -- live tracks, comp cuts,
singles and what not. While it's not as consistently amazing
as the stuff on the first disc, there is still plenty more
worthwhile tuneage. There's a great cover of Billy Bragg's
"The Milkman of Human Kindness", for starters. The
band's early work (1984-1985) shows how they had a flair for
melody from the get go. Songs like "The Build Up"
are on par with the work of Buzzcocks and The Undertones,
as the band's thrust wasn't quite as intense just yet. There
are some radio session recordings of stuff from the band's
releases that are as good as the original records. And a thrilling
recording of The Sound's "Resistance" retains the
characteristic lead guitar line, but otherwise translates
the grandeur of Adrian Borland's music into the more aggressive
Happy Hate Me Nots sound. The only negative about this collection
is it does not contain the entirety of Out, which deserves
its own deluxe reissue. Until that happens, I'm thankful for
this essential release. Feelpresents.com
Beatnik Filmstars -- ‘In
Great Shape' (555): Viva eccentric
British pop! The first Filmstars album in ages shows that
they can be mentioned in the same breath as off-kilter Englishmen
like Television Personalities, Jazz Butcher, Robyn Hitchcock,
Cleaner From Venus and others. There are hints of Barrett-inspired
psychedelia in a lot of places, but genres and styles are
borrowed from as if pop history was merely a thrift store
and this album a game of dress up. At one level, I suppose
songs like "(Play That) Wonky Music (White Boy)"
might be impenetrable in-jokes. But the songs are not self-indulgent,
and the ‘stars often want the listener to share the fun,
whether it's a clever lyric or sly musical reference. I was
instantly won over with the song "Milkshake". A
‘60 psych-funk vamp which centers on the refrain, "Who
needs a haircut?", the song ends with the refrain, and
then some turntable scratching -- a shout out to all you De
La Soul debut album fans out there! Fuzz bass and a walking
piano part key "The Radness of King Anders", with
a synthesized horn part keying the refrain "Freud be
good to me" (no lyric sheet, but that's what it sounds
like to me). This is followed by "Ocean Breeze",
which is great melodic pop that is Byrdsy by way of Robyn
Hitchcock. "It's Not What You Know" is another great
straight ahead rock tune. There's a hint of garage rock in
the riff of "Do You Know Who I Am?", with more scratching
underneath. The finale "World-Wide Fashion Crisis 1998"
sounds like a twee Public Enemy track mixed with slow folk
interludes. Nick Drake, meet Chuck D. Then add some damaged
psych lead guitar. You can even dance to "Cut Em Up (Stitch
Em Up)". The Filmstars are rock collage artists, and
I marvel at the consistency of this 23-track disc. darla.com
Boys On Trial -- Gunatanamo
Boy (self-released): An up-and-coming
Chicago band that plays music that's punky and post-punky,
as this trio seems to have listened to a lot of great music
from the late-‘70s and early-‘80s. More importantly,
they also have something to say. Now, I'm not saying they
are fully articulate lyrically, but they are angry and intelligent,
and the five tracks here are good vehicles for dancing about
and stomping on their problems. The best of the five is the
jagged "Big White Lie", a song made for these times,
and many times in the past. This band is a well-oiled machine,
with singer Michael Ross's guitar playing bursts of patterned
chords, while the bass and drum combo of Adam Knapp and Colin
Tahi interlocking perfectly. The verses are almost cod-reggae
(a bit reminiscent of Fugazi), revving up in rocking intensity.
The band takes on segregation in Chicago, a city whose transportation
systems (el and highways) were specifically designed to separate
blacks and whites. Ross has a piercing and powerful voice
that is great for expressing frustration and disgust. I like
how the song takes a few minutes to build to the shouting
chorus. This same band is capable of melodic agility, illustrated
on the fifth and final track, "Leavin'". While Tahi
still drums with reserved urgency, Ross shows off a softer
side to his voice. The most accessible song is "Run (From
the City)" which starts off softly and builds up the
energy pretty quickly, and sports the strongest chorus hook
on the disc. This song seethes with the passion of bands like
New Model Army and The Jam, though sounding not quite like
either. This band has made a lot of strides since I first
saw them live, and they are just beginning to fulfill their
potential. The playing is already great, and the songs are
good, and if they get better, this will be a special band.
boysontrial.com
Golden Bear -- Golden
Bear (C-Side): When I was growing
up, Golden Bear was a family restaurant, "a honey of
a place, where food is fun." I don't know if the distant
memories of waffles and patty melts inspired this band's name,
but they have a diverse sound (akin to the Golden Bear menu)
and they are fun. This is well rendered indie-pop that runs
the gamut from Big Star to the dB's to Pavement to Guided
By Voices. The band accents their strong compositions with
creative arrangements that emphasize sonic textures. They
are also deceptively tight, aided by the presence of the talented
Andy McCallister behind the drums. And how can you not like
a band that has a theme song? "Golden Bear Revival Stomp"
could someday be the "Remember You're a Womble"
of the early 21st Century, with a mix of New Pornographers
rhythmic bounce and cotton candy melodies, topped off with
a perky chorus. And look at the credits -- Moog, xylophone,
trash can lid, can of nuts -- very cool! The band is also
capable of orch-pop on par with outfits like Snowglobe, demonstrated
by the tender "Lady Soul". The album closer, "Amazing
Edward", is equally good, and has a yearning quality
that reminds me of Michael Quercio of The Three O'Clock and
The Jupiter Affect. The band even ventures into spaced out
country music on "The Saddest Songs". This album
has just enough variety and the band's reach never exceeds
its grasp, which is cool since they have some ambition. goldenbeartheband.com
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