Mike Bennett Reviews: Part II: March, 2001

Scroll down for the latest from Semisonic and Sparkwood. For the latest from Neilson Hubbard, The Ringles and Steven Bunovsky, click here

The Liquor Giants
Up With People

(Elastic Aus.)

www.liquorgiants.com

Ward Dotson and the gang are back for another ramshackle ride through the pop stylings of the 60’s and 70’s. Dotson continues to amaze with his ability to blend together his influences without concealing the inspiration, but somehow weaving it together in ways that no one has ever tried it before.

Case in point: “Town Bike”. The song samples the rhythm track from “Angel Face”, a bubbleglam hit from The Glitter Band, and slaps on a slinky T. Rex-ish riff, played with a slight country rock twang. The chorus that spawns from these elements sounds like Roy Wood came in the studio to make a contribution Who else is thinking like that these days?

This pop chicanery is made all the more charming by the laid back ease that the Giants play this stuff. While you may need a masters degree in pop to spot every borrowed riff or nicked lyric, the music is as far from studied and academic as you can get. The Giants have mastered the same trick the Replacements did so well – how to sound sloppy while somehow being tight at the same time.

Although not blessed with as many incredible songs as 1999’s standard bearing Every Other Day At A Time, there are still enough hooks to keep fans happy for the balance of the year. The band nails a great epic Beach Boys vibe on “Listen To The Robins Sing”, dabbles in a bouncy Hall & Oates style R & B groove on “The Someday Thoughts”, bangs the cow bell and brings the Farfisa organ out of the garage on “Mach Show”, and vulgarizes a Village Green melody on “All Of The Assholes”. (And guess what kids? There’s more!!!)

The Liquor Giants have certainly carved out their own niche in the pop world. Why this record has not found United States distribution is beyond me, but this is a typically winning effort, and is probably worth the few extra bucks for the Aussie import.

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Semisonic
All About Chemistry

(MCA)

Release date: March 6, 2001

Semisonic continues to brew its patented mix of blue eyed soul and heartland pop-rock on album number three. Keyboards and drum machines move even further to the forefront, which gives singer/guitarist/songwriter Dan Wilson even more space to show off his warm voice. This approach is a natural progression for those of us who found tracks like “Secret Smile” on 1998’s Feeling Strangely Fine to be career highlights.

The songwriting, however, is not as consistent as the execution, leaving this effort a couple of degrees shy of its terrific predecessor. The single, “Chemistry”, is sufficiently hooky, but the scientific metaphors that dominate the lyrics are not very deftly rendered. And Wilson’s ultra-serious vocals actually undermine the lyrics of “Bed” (“If you feel like I’m asking you for too much/we can keep in touch/and I can find someone else to bed”), as the sleazy loverboy protagonist needs a lot more Bryan Ferryesque irony and less Don Henley smarm.

But there are plenty of great ballads and slow cookers in the vein of prime Hall and Oates and Todd Rundgren. “One True Love” is a nicely arranged piece that supports a mid-tempo electric piano line with just enough guitar and string accompaniment. “Act Naturally” has a pithy chorus that hearkens back to The Cars’ “Drive”. And the standout track on the album, “She’s Got My Number”, counters a very dramatic and basic piano part with some nifty shuffle drumming from Jacob Slichter. The band then layers on more atmospheric keyboards, building to smoky passion in the middle eights. Another delight is “Who’s Stopping You?”, which utilizes a Beatlesque chord progression in the verses that Jeff Lynne must have managed to overlook in the 70’s.

While this is no must-have classic, there are two things about this disc that impress me a great deal. First, the band avoided the temptation to follow up their hit with some big statement. There is no sense of pressure, merely artists who have confidence in what they do. Second, and hand-in-hand with the first point, Semisonic have carved out an identity as purveyors of mainstream adult-pop, played with a sufficient passion to avoid being categorized as mere product. Good luck to them.

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Sparkwood
Presents The La La Crutch

(Sparkwood)

spark_wood@hotmail.com

Bart Padar take a bow! Padar is the songwriter and leader of this Austin, Texas quartet, and he and his mates (with assorted guests) have concocted a literate disc that deserves mention in the same breath with luminaries such as Fountains Of Wayne, Ben Folds Five and The Orange Peels. The heart of the album is comprised of sunny piano based compositions. The bonus is that Padar has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, making this a very well rounded effort.

Take the back-to-back combo on the second half of the disc, "Cockroach Stomp" and "Marianne". The "Stomp" has a jazzy Middle Eastern motif, accentuated by Marianne Tatom's guest turn on the clarinet. It's as if Ray Davies rewrote his "Harry Rag" as a jingle for a pesticide. Hot on the heels of this jaunty ditty, Sparkwood rocks out, with an 80's styled riffy powerpopper, "Marianne", who might be a cousin of the Fountains "Denise". If the megacatchy chorus weren't enough to recommend the tune, the driving work of the rhythm section (Mike Watson on bass and Adam Tyner on drums) commands one to become a slave to the beat.

Padar's music has a consistent melodic drive and he finds many nifty musical settings. Like the verses of "Wurly", which sound like The Sneetches getting (relatively) funky. Or the 70's rock drama of "Trilogy I". And the pokey shuffling rhythm of "Weeks Gone By", which would probably segue well into the Tom Jones' classic "Delilah". But instead of leading to the pub singalong of "Delilah", Padar guides the song into an extremely beautiful coda in the middle, as a wistful, distant lead guitar part fades into the ether, while a piano softly plays in the background, picking up momentum and then guiding the song into a fiery guitar solo. Folks, we are dealing with some major talent here.

And don't let the fact that this is self-released fool you into thinking that any corners have been cut productionwise. In fact, the songs are carefully arranged and a bevy of instruments are skillfully mixed together. My biggest complaint with this disc will illustrate how wonderful it really is. Sparkwood does the old "hidden bonus cuts" trick. After the 'final' (15th) track fades, there are a few minutes of nothing, before three more songs finish the proceedings. No beef with the songs, but as a listener, I'd just rather that the tracks be sequenced as proper tunes, with info about the titles, etc. (Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!). Now go get this disc!

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