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Michael Carpenter
Hopefulness

(Not Lame)

www.mcarp.com

There's an old record biz cliché that second albums are inevitably disappointing because an artist's debut album takes a lifetime to make, but the followup takes only a year. Cliché Number Two: you have to suffer to make great art. Michael Carpenter, in his own way, took a lifetime on 1999 debut, Baby, which was recorded over the course of several years. And Michael indicates in the liner notes that this platter was the result of a four month burst of activity. Yet this album is even better than its predecessor, due in large part to the fact that Carpenter blows the old tortured artist syndrome to bits.

The primary inspiration for the tunes on this disc was Carpenter's wedding. Not every song here is a happy happy joy joy affair, but the overall tone of this album is overwhelmingly positive, without sounding like some empty self-confidence boost (like, f'rinstance, Howard Jones). A lot of this sunniness is enhanced by the strong Beach Boys influence that permeates all of Carpenter's work (he ably covers "You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone"), which is most prominently expressed through his delightfully layered backing vocals.

But Michael goes way beyond The Church Of Wilson when it comes to penning memorable melodies. Not only do old standard bearers like The Beatles, Buddy Holly and The Byrds come to mind, but you can also hear similarities to more contemporary popsters like Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe and Cheap Trick.

There are not many artists out there who can make a song soar with pure blissful feeling the way Carpenter does. "Hopefulness", "Love So Strong" and "Since I Found You" are winning declarations of love that clearly came from the heart. Topping even that trio of musical valentines is "Never Be Alone", which the liner notes reveal was written for his wedding day. And now it is available for the rest of the public to accompany their nuptials -- this is one of those songs, like "All You Need Is Love," that simply encapsulates a universal emotional state so succinctly, that no one else will ever top it. Oh - it also has a killer bridge that allows the instantly memorable chorus to pack quite the wallop.

Add in the patented clean, spacious Carpenter production, sparkling arrangements, terrific honeyed vocals and the ability to blend genres (check out the John Lennon-meets-country pop sound on "Someday (Smile Again)", for just one example) effortlessly, and you have a consummate modern pop record. Perhaps the only way Michael can top this is to craft another superb album where all the songs are composed and recorded in one day -- and I wouldn't be surprised if he could do that.

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Love Kit
The September Heads

Ginger Records

www.gingerrecords.com

Love Kit's third album finds the veteran Chicago band having staked out a very specific territory that incorporates 60's psychedelic moves, faux British Invasion rock (similar to, but subtler than, Guided By Voices) and a traditional American pop sensibility akin to groups like Big Star and The Posies. Love Kit's ability to distill the common sensibility amongst these three approaches yields an entertaining effort. Although a few songs seem to exist only to add a bit of 'trippy' atmosphere, there are a number of terrific tunes.

Some show off the more haunting side of the band, best exemplified on "See Shirley", which is framed by softly strumming acoustic guitars, supporting a melody that slowly but intently escalates, as more guitars and what sounds like a cello or oboe (could be a synthesizer) add further layers of intrigue and quiet intensity to this masterful song. "Here Comes The Moon" relies on ominous drums and some slight studio treatment on the vocals, while relating a cautionary tale of an organic satellite coming to destroy the planet. A few of the more psychedelic cuts rely too much on atmosphere - most are short, though, and don't drag the album too much.

Love Kit is more consistent on the jaunty side of things, with a few singleworthy cuts. "Jolly Ghost" is a slick take on the oddball pop specialized in by Sparklehorse and Doleful Lions. "Auction Block" is the song that earns them the Posies comparison, due to both to its melody and the strongest vocals on the album, but it has a late-60's psych-pop arrangement that gives it a unique stamp. And "Jesus + Lori" gets the maximum effect from a very simple lead guitar line and a loping bassline, with a lyric that is typical of the loopy logic employed by songwriters Rich Sparks and Eddie Jemison: "Jesus was lord/long before there was Lori/Lori was gone/long before I had a chance to say/Don't press your nails on too hard/don't put me in that song/the one:/La la la la la/Don't' talk to me/hey talk to me and so on."

The album exudes charm and confidence, not afraid to be moody or quirky (or both), but not so hung up on its own artfulness that there is no room for a straight ahead pop-rocker like "Mary". Love Kit merits a great deal more attention than they have been getting.

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The Bomb
Torch Songs

Jettison

www.bomb1.com

The Bomb's frontman, Jeff Pezzati, used to lead Chicago's legendary punk juggernaut Naked Raygun. Raygun was at the forefront of the 80's Chitown scene, managing to deftly blend their love for the catchier side of 70's punk (Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers) with the more challenging schemes of acts like Wire and The Ruts. This led to a series of albums that balanced hooky blitzkriegs with tense atmospheric numbers. The leather lunged Pezzati was the perfect vocalist, as his tuneful wail was able to cut through the dense stylings of his bandmates, as he harangued lyrics like "What poor gods/we do make" and "Muscle Beach is now Pork Chop Hill."

Now, 10 years down the road, Pezzati is asking, "Can Jeannie come out tonight?" Yep, beneath the edgy punk exterior beats the heart (apparently resting on his sleeve) of a true pop lover, as Pezzati's Buzzcocks jones overwhelms most of his other musical influences. Folks, this is not some half-assed, wussy, Blink-182, watered-down Descendents-pop-punk record. While The Bomb may be much more consistently melodic than Naked Raygun, it sacrifices very little of the power, putting the punk back in punk-pop, where it belongs. One presumes that Pezzati's reentry into the music world was not just prompted by a batch of new songs, but also by the two excellent musicians who play alongside him. John Maxwell balances very thick slabs of tough rhythm guitar with brief bursts of melodic lead guitar that often work in tandem with Pezzati's vocals. And while drummer Paul Garcia may not quite equal the monster fills of Raygun's main skin pounder, Eric Spicer, he may be a better drummer overall, with a keen understanding of when he needs to flash his chops to fill in the sonic space and when to just keep the beat going. One other Naked Raygun element that remains intact is the mini-tribal war chants, like the "Whoa-oh-oh" on the aforementioned "Can Jeannie…" or the sustained "oh oh oh oh oh oooh" on "The Big Top", perfect for concert singalongs.

And the songs are, for the most part, catchy as hell. "Wasting All My Time" follows the guaranteed Pete Shelley formula of starting with a pithy memorable riff, right into a quick four line verse that wastes no time getting to the hooky chorus. "I Need You" feels like a Cro-Magnon version of fizzy In Color-era Cheap Trick. And "About You" turns up the intensity on a Smiths/Smoking Popes-type composition to '11'.

Now that Pezzati is letting his pop-freak flag fly, it will be interesting to see if The Bomb sticks with the rockers they kick out here, or adds even more elements to their sound. This is a great band, and with a few more dimensions, they can make truly great albums.

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