Mike Bennett Reviews, January, 2004

Scroll down for reviews of the latest releases by Poster Children, Splitsville, The Fall and The Goldstars

John Cale
Hobo Sapiens

(EMI)

emirecords.co.uk

I'm not so sure that this is a comeback effort. Just a welcome return. On his first 21st Century solo effort, John Cale has put together a song cycle that is on par with his finest work for Island Records in the ‘70s. These are melodic mid-tempo songs that showcase his flair for lyrics that are impressionistic, abstract and journalistic -- often all at the same time. Cale enlisted Nick Franglen of the celebrated electronic act Lemon Jelly to share the production chores. They both should also share the credit for the sparkling sound and creative techniques that make these timeless songs sound as modern as possible.

Nothing could modernize Cale's voice. It is not a great instrument per se. However, Cale's art-pop sensibility requires a voice that manages to radiate both great intelligence and warmth. His inherently academic phrasing makes him well suited to the role of commentator about Magritte, Archimedes or the Taliban. But he can also sound naked and vulnerable, or witty and playful.

It's that latter aspect that shines on "Things". This song, more than any other, sounds like it could have come out in 1974. Over a delicate and jaunty melody, Cale waxes on about "the thing you do in Denver when you're dead." In addition to this nod to the late Warren Zevon, Cale winks at partner-in-crime Brian Eno ("elsewhere in the Temple/the llamas are gearing up/to assault Tiger Mountain/when the sun comes up") and larks about cleverly: "You live in Paris/I live in France/things are expensive/when you live first class." This is utterly charming. Cale reprises the song later as "Things X". Here, everything is (deliberately) off. This could be called the ‘Coleridge -- Kubla Khan mix', as it sounds like it was performed under the influence, with Cale sounding a bit slurry.

"Reading My Mind" is another bit of pop brilliance. The song is a variation on the driving/sex metaphor that has worked for artists like The Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen. It's a deceptively complex composition. While the drummer lays down a shuffling beat, the guitars and bass seem to weave in and out of each other, while a pretty glistening piano fill occasionally skips across the speakers. The verses melt into some sort of African choral melody that could have found refuge on a Peter Gabriel record of earlier vintage. There is also some lovely string work and a musique concrete car crash interlude (with muttering Italians). Yet it all goes back to the wonderful foundation of the song, over and over.

Cale gives his vocals a real work out on the astonishing "Magritte". Cale told Uncut magazine that he feels this is the first time he's ever really sung. It is certainly the first time he's ever fully shown off any significant vocal range. The song is a dramatic reflection on the power of the French surrealist's work, featuring a haunting string coda which follows Cale reaching the heights of a falsetto cry as he notes that Magritte (and those who follow him) was "pinned to the edges of vision." What I find so intriguing about the song is the substantial emotional investment Cale puts into this song, though it's ostensibly a sketch, a collection of observations. Though I'm not sure why, there is a level where this song means a great deal to Cale, and I can feel it.

There is an equal amount of mystery to the album closer "Over Her Head", though it's more because of the cryptic story Cale tells. The song comes out of the mists, with Cale playing a piano part that immediately portends heartbreak. Cale sings with concern and passion. The track subtly layers more strings and keyboards, just making it all the more haunting. When the drums and guitars finally kick in during the last minute, it is almost a relief, though it probably doesn't do much for the woman he's singing about. I wonder what's really wrong with her.

Unlike that track, "Twilight Zone" starts with the guitars right away and a sort of funky tribal beat. Here, the payoff of Cale's collaboration with Franglen is evident. As the track snakes along, it is decorated with all sorts of odd sounds, found noises and disembodied keyboards and vocals. All that it's missing is Rod Serling himself, though I think he might dig it too.
Really, every track on this disc is worthy of further scrutiny. This album has both immediate pleasures and layers of delights to be discovered later. It has a continental flair. It's ambitious and still very accessible. It is one of John Cale's best, and that's very high praise indeed.

________________________________________________________________

Poster Children
No More Songs About Buildings And Fire

(Hidden Agenda)

parasol.com

Apparently, the Poster Children were just chomping at the bit to make a new record. They certainly aren't aging rockers mellowing out. This new album is downright frisky. The Champaign, Illinois band is truly at home, waxing their first disc for hometown label Hidden Agenda.

Perhaps the last surviving band from the wave of alterna-rockers who emerged from the second half of the ‘80s, the Children have honed their approach to maximum sharpness. Piledriving rhythms mesh with basic song structures and enthusiastic vocals and slicing guitar parts. In some ways, they could be compared to The Fall, in that they continually rely on a few certain musical elements, yet manage to mine this vein successfully, almost always sounding fresh.

Of course, it helps when you play with so much vigor, which helps make this the best Poster Children album since RTFM. The energy level here would leave most bands in the dust. It's not until the sixth song, "Floor", that the band takes a breather -- that breather consists of an acoustic guitar strum for about 30 seconds. Even that quietude is undermined by Rick Valentin sounding more sore throated than he usually does. On "Floor", the band is as in-your-face as any recent White Stripes record, with twice the guitar power. Well, they do have twice the guitars, but that's not just for show. While the rhythm guitar part takes an up-and-down route, the lead guitar part that comes in on the second verse sounds like it's being played bottleneck style, and encircles the main rhythm part. Meanwhile, Rose Marshack adds her wispy backing vocals as another melodic counterpart, creating a smashing mix of the clangorous and mellifluous. Which begs the question as to how much of a debt Wolfie owed to Poster Children – but I digress.

The single (or at least the track that has a video) "Western Springs" is a song that builds nicely. The pulse beat of Matt Frisicia's solid drum beat and Marshack's low end bass (is this crunk rock?) resolve themselves in the chorus which is some kind of disco-meets-Buzzcocks showdown. I was immediately drawn to the song since Western Springs is a suburb adjacent to where I grew up. In the song, Rick posits a ‘you can go home again' scenario, looking at suburbia as idyllic: "It's mom and dad waiting at the door/refrigerator's full, go on and help yourself/neighbor's stop and by and ask you how you've been/guess I'm doing fine, now I'm back again."

Perhaps during his teen years, in Western Springs, or whatever suburb he grew up in, Rick was listening a lot to the first Clash album, since "Now It's Gone" sounds like it takes a couple central elements from "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" to kick start things. The verses slightly vary the choppy reggae guitar part from that classic. This isn't theft, however. As per usual, the dual guitar interplay between Rick and Jim Valentin takes the tune in a unique direction, and a classic Poster Children melody gives the song a distinctive stamp. Indeed, if you wanted to know why this band consistently makes such good records, it's because almost every song offers three things -- a catchy melody, interesting arrangements where each musician finds a spot in the track that makes it that much more interesting, and a rhythm that moves things forward. It's never boring.

Indeed, if you listen carefully, you can probably hear a few things that have been touted in the past couple years as the next big thing, yet are old hat for Poster Children. For example, "Flag", with frenetic guitars over a speedy pea soup beat is quintessential Poster Children, down to the skittering lead guitar part that runs throughout the most of the song. But burn that song on a CD-R, and tell a local hipster that it's a bootleg of an upcoming Electric Six single, and only a hipster with a sense of history (which is fairly oxymoronic) will not be fooled.

So while Poster Children are about the last standing band from the alternative explosion (circa Pixies and Nirvana), their sound manages to be current, while remaining consistent with a proud past. From the sound of things, when Electric Six and The Strokes and others have moved on -- which isn't a knock on them, it's just the way things usually work -- Poster Children will be teaching lessons to another vanguard, and hopefully the inspiration will take.

_______________________________________________________________

Splitsville
Incorporated

(Houston Party)

houstonpartyrecords.com

The fifth Splitsville album is by far their most straightforward foray into pure power pop. Whereas the first two albums had speedier, punkier aspects, the brilliant third album Repeater was a textbook in a variety of pop styles and The Complete Pet Soul was a Dukes Of Rutlesphear-esque lark, this is narrowly focused. This could have been bad news, as it would have turned the bright colors of prior work into a monochromatic affair. However, the brilliance of their songwriting prevents that. There is no new ground broken. The pleasure comes from the sublime songs, that possess memorable and enticing sounds and articulate lyrics that separate them from so many pop bands today (or any day, for that matter).

From the get go, it's apparent the band worked very hard on developing these songs until they were 100 percent fat free. Moreover, the first song also shows that they are trying a new approach to the pop song. "White Dwarf" has relatively spartan lyrics, that don't tell a story. Yet the music and words fit -- the effect is a more impressionistic song, where there are hooks, but the mood and feeling dominate. The song is essentially three melodic movements -- the melody of the verses, the melody of the chorus and the melody of the coda. The band plays the music with a large sense of scale, which fits the lyrics, where the protagonist is dealing with the cosmic reality of being a speck in a vast universe. This could be an existential musing or a heartbroken guy trying to put things in perspective. The song goes out on the mantra of "now on/I'll keep my feet on/solid ground", with the band building the intensity to a fever pitch.

Splitsville nearly equals the emotional impact of "White Dwarf" on a handful of other songs. "The Mentalist" sounds like a cross between America and recent Gigolo Aunts. The song's mellow Cali-vibe is tinged with resignation. It looks at how hard it is to deal with relationships, since you have no control and self-awareness can sometimes be more trouble than it's worth: "uncomfortable in my skin/I want to relive this life/blissfully ignorant/and easily satisfied." This song is a pretty downer.

On "Sasha", Paul Krysiak's electric piano adds an R & B tint to a McCartneyesque song in the tradition of Splitsville classics like "Manna". The lamenting of the verses is balanced by an empathetic chorus, where the singer is trying to reassure his lover that she doesn't have to run away (like she usually does). The inability to be emotionally intimate is not standard power pop song material, yet Splitsville pulls it off with ease.

And nothing sounds easier than "Headache", which may the most perfectly constructed pop tune I've heard since Redd Kross's "Mess Around". The song is 100 percent hook, from the lead guitar figures played by Matt Huseman and Tony Waddy (making his Splitsville album debut, and doing so in fine fashion), the creamy backing vocals, the melodies that fit together as if preordained, and a chorus that is impossible to get out of the head.

Splitsville hasn't lost it's sense of humor, coming up with some crackling rockers. "Trouble" is a spinning top of a tune, allowing Brent Huseman to bash away at his drum kit and Matt and Tony to play chunky riffs, while the chorus ping-pongs along. On "Heart Attack", the band grafts spare verses with a semi-funk chorus that pulses and rocks. The best pop and rock combo is "Brink", where the band seems to call out bands that are in it for the fame or the shot at a major label deal, rather than doing what they feel: "If you are not/about to rock/then we will not/salute you." I particularly love the guitar leads at the end of the chorus, that sound like relics from Thin Lizzy (note: no other Lynott-ish content in the song).

It's notable that the rockers are the songs that retain the cleverness that has served Splitsville well from the beginning. On the slower songs, they really delve for something deeper and achieve it. What's particularly inspiring is that these two sides of the band compliment each other. This is the rare disc that I think is far too short at 10 tracks. Splitsville is one of the best rock bands around, and I hope that they can get back to the studio soon, as I'm yearning for more.

_______________________________________________________________

The Fall
The Real New Fall LP Formerly ‘Country On The Click'

"(We Wish You) A Protein Christmas" (single)

(Action)

action-records.co.uk

And the cult hits just keep on comin'. The Fall will never be as prickly as they were when they crawled out of the Mancunian primordial ooze in 1977. That rawness and newness eroded long ago. And to the extent that The Fall works within a certain defined set of parameters, there is a certain predictability with each album. Yet they are still vital.

Maybe it's because of the arty artlessness of their approach, or Mark E. Smith's startlingly attractive impenetrability, but nearly every Fall album sounds fresh. There is rarely a sense that this is a band just cranking out product, though to an outsider, that may seem to be all the band is doing. Regardless of whatever vestiges of professionalism have stuck to The Fall, and despite the fact that this is a working class act whose factories are the studio and the stage, their music sounds necessary.

This is in part due to how Smith, in collaboration with whomever is in the band at the time, has found that primitivism is actually a basis for much variation and complexity. No matter how much Can, Velvet Underground, glam rock and techno he may incorporate into the sound, the band is, at its root, a blues-based rockabilly band. Limited and limitless. The other bit of genius lies in what it is The Fall is capturing. As Dave Thompson points out in his excellent 2003 book The User's Guide To The Fall, Smith chides those who look at his lyrics in microscopic detail. This is not because they don't have meaning (though that can be hard to untangle -- yep, it's obvious why Stephen Malkmus worships this guy), but because they don't have monumental weight. In terms of the lyrics, The Fall's songs are snapshots of ephemeral moments. So, no matter how structured the tune may be, and The Fall has been friends with classic song structure for 20 or so years now, the essence of Smith is a verite capture, that might transform completely when the song is performed on stage. I think this is a key to why the band's albums, whether not so good (only a few bummers in the catalogue), good, great or classic, almost all share an excitement that almost no long time rockers can match. As opposed to Lou Reed, or for that matter, Cheap Trick, Smith's approach avoids fussiness or mannerisms to capture an essence.

That essence is the ultimate rock curmudgeon. On this disc, he stumbles in on a pulsing dance beat, as the song "Green Eyed Loco-Man" has a slight disco floaty feel, akin to some of the work on 1993's The Infotainment Scan. Then "Mountain Energi" comes in on a synchopated drumbeat (courtesy of David Milner) -- back porch Gary Glitter if you will. Despite the glam context, the song drags in an attractive way, with Smith whimsically philosophical: "Dolly Parton and Lord Byron/they said patriotism is the last refuge/but now it is me." That isn't even the best line in the song, which also finds Smith trying to rent a car and getting advice from fish on how to catch them. According to Smith, fish have a firm grasp on the exceedingly obvious.

These two songs are followed by an instant Fall classic, "Theme from Sparta F.C.". It is an aggressive jingle for a British football team. The song opens with a nifty modal Eastern guitar part, and then moves into a jagged and propulsive guitar riff, leading to one of the catchiest Fall choruses in a while. Adding to the fun, the band gets involved in chanting the chorus, while keyboardist Elini (Mark E.'s missus) Poulou mumbles a counterpoint chorus. This song revels in rhythm, and, at some level, is blues-punk bubblegum.
The rest of the album dabbles in various approaches that have served The Fall well over the past decade or so. The band turns in a wobbly cover of a Lee Hazelwood ditty (retitled "Loop 41 ‘Houston'"), harkens back to the Brix Smith era on the catchy "Open the Boxoctosis # 2", melds techno and garage on "The Past # 2", which has what would normally be called call-and-response vocals, except for the fact that Smith and the band seem to be singing different songs (crucial Smith observation: "only humans carry their past around"), and "Contraflow", which crackles like a number from The Light User Syndrome.

An interesting side note. On the aforementioned Syndrome album, the band did a unique cover of Gene Pitney's "Last Exit to Brooklyn", giving the song a herky-jerky R & B rhythm. Smith brings it back on "Protein Protection". Not long after this album came out, Smith dusted it off again, for The Fall's first Christmas single, "(We Wish You) A Protein Christmas". The band sings harmonies like drunken carolers, while Smith gives his take on the holiday: "The only good thing to say is/all the politicians are on holiday."

The album and single show that this line up has settled in quite well, thank you. Right now, I'm not prepared to say that this is a great Fall album, but time may reveal it to be so.

_______________________________________________________________

The Goldstars
Gotta Get Out!

(Pravda)

pravdamusic.com

The highest compliment I can pay The Goldstars is that if you put this disc in a five-CD carousel with discs from some of the original late-‘70s/early-‘80s garage rock revivalists (like The Lyres, The Chesterfield Kings, The Fleshtones and The Vipers -- Hey! That's four right there), they would sound like they belonged. While many garage rockers nowadays seem to stick with one or two basic ideas, like a lot of the original revivalists, The Goldstars can play it hard, but know that garage rock can be quite poppy.
So this is a record made for WLS Chicago (the city The Goldstars call home) circa 1967. The band has a great front man in Sal (a/k/a Matt Favazza), who used to man the drum kit for promising power poppers The Krinkles . In fact, since the band debuted a couple of years ago, Sal has found a bluesy vocal style that compliments his exuberant stage presence. Skipper (keyboards) and Good Time (drums) of The New Duncan Imperials are also spot on, with Good Time frequently laying down an old-fashioned dance beat and Skipper adding color with everything from warm deep organ sounds to tinny Farfisa-alike runs. These three started the band with original guitarist The Raven, just jamming to songs from the Nuggets box set. Though The Raven had to leave, his ultimate replacement was Dag Juhlin, who has fronted the beloved Chicago band The Slugs for 20 years.

Juhlin's one songwriting contribution, "Hurry Up and Wait", is one of the clear highlights of the collection. The song has both a strong opening riff and a Zombies-cum-Animals melody, with Sal doing the angry young man thing at the mike. The chorus is a simple R & B shout out. Garage rock is built on pithy phrases, and the title of this song is a perfect example. Skipper's tinny keyboard solo provides a nice last respite before the last bits of bile (catchy bile though) get spewed at the end, along with a nice final freak out guitar solo. Yet that song crawls when compared to "Oh Yeah". Good Time plays at a galloping pace on a song that is rhythm, rhythm, and more rhythm. It sounds like the early J. Geils Band hopped up on speed.

The band can also get low down and gritty. Live staple "Devil Queen" is a bluesy howl in the tradition of laments like The Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else". Here, Skipper plays a warm organ part, which combines with Juhlin's dramatic guitar part to give the song the proper foggy nefarious feel. Album closer "Gotta Get Out" is also pretty salacious, with Sal really exaggerating his vocals, which works on this song.

Like the garage bands of the ‘80s, The Goldstars are not afraid of pop. So there is some more lighthearted stuff here, on two delightful cover tunes. They do a fine job on The Gestures' "Run Run Run", with a deft performance, particular behind the skins. "Open Up Your Door" is more of a blend of garage and pop, which is all the better suited to their approach. The backing vocals are really strong here.

The Goldstars are a retro breath of fresh air for the Chicago music scene. Despite a legacy of great garage rock from bands like Shadows Of Knight and labels like Dunwich and Qull records, Chicago has fallen way behind Detroit when it comes to bands playing this classic rock and roll style. I hope The Goldstars can keep it rocking and other bands will join ‘em in spreading the gospel of the beat.

____________________________________________________________

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

________________________________________________________________