Scroll down for reviews of the latest from Bella Da Gama, Jack and the Beanstalk, Chitlin' Fooks and The Dickies. Click here for reviews of Scot Sax, David Garza and Maple Mars.

Cockeyed Ghost
Ludlow 6:18

(Karma Frog)

cockeyedghost.com

Adam Marsland is a man caught between his inner Elvis Costello and his inner Brian Wilson. His attempts to balance his glib, articulate wordsmithing with involving, emotionally charged material have resulted in increasingly sophisticated records that come continually closer to a complete uniting of this pop-rock tao. Here, Marsland hones and consolidates a lot of the gains made on 1999's *Scapegoat Factory* and adds a few more ingredients into his musical stew. The end result is a song cycle that offers tracks that stick with you because of their big pop hooks and/or their emotional resonance.

Marsland achieves this perfect balance on "Tears of Joy" and "Ginna Ling". The former tune is one of two numbers that have a nifty '70s R & B feel, "The Foghorn" being the other. Over a loping rhythm, Marsland sings a tale of inspiration many of us may be familiar with - how an unknown Aussie singer's music may not have captured the public's imagination, but "tickled my ears/and trickled out tears of joy". This 'snatching victory from the jaws of defeat' premise is a hallmark of Marsland's lyrics, and rarely has he expressed it so well, in both words and music.

Meanwhile, "Ginna Ling" reverses the 'victory/defeat' dynamic. It is about an unrequited affection for a fan he met on the road. The incredible rush of her beautiful face is matched by the pumped up chorus. If the song was simply suspended in this state of bliss, it would be a winner, but how it negotiates the path to Ling's ultimate fate is a testament to the maturity of Marsland's compositional skills. The tying together of two disparate emotions in the final choruses is breathtaking, as fellow Ghosts Severo (guitar), Robert Ramos (bass) and Kurt Medlin (drums) play with passion and authority.

"Ginna Ling" is part of one of the best four song sequences you'll hear on an album this year. "Ling" is preceded by the title cut, where the protagonist ruminates on what might have been and what could be while hightailing it out of L.A. The single "Karma Frog" is a hilarious observational piece about a cheater getting his just desserts: "Maybe on the day you die/you'll find a million blades of grass/and every careless thought or deed/will kick you in the ass/while a choir of ex-lovers/sings to you en masse/'this is what you have'/'this is what you did'. "December" is a tender piano piece, which blends Marsland's Beach Boys jones with an Elton John vibe.

Marsland is in fine voice - he has a great falsetto and gets excellent mileage out of it, and a more rough hewn lower register. The band is terrific throughout. And he gets in another great dig at the record industry (a la *Scapegoat*'s "Big Big Yeah") on "Burning Me Out (of the Record Store)". Although CG is a relatively wizened veteran of the pop scene, the Ghost is more inspired than ever. This is a record that aims high and hits the target, big time.

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Belle De Gama
Garden Abstract

(1 2 5)

125records.com

For a lot of serious music fans, derivative is a four letter word. Of course, the line between inspiration and imitation is a twisty, circuitous one that is oft-times either blurred or completely obscured by guitar chords, singing voices and crashing cymbals. Compared to most, I'm pretty tolerant when it comes to accepting music that comes pretty close to merely aping its influences. Yet the more often the influence is Xeroxed by countless artists, the harder it is to care. Do I need to hear another Ramones clone?

But what to make of an artist who slavishly devotes himself to recreating a cult favorite? I figure he must really love the music. Such is the case with Bradley Skaught, the auteur responsible for this disc. This disc is to The Loud Family what Diet Dr. Pepper is to Dr. Pepper. It isn't exactly like The Loud Family, but the taste is close enough to be refreshing.

Having said that, I'm overwhelmed by curiosity what Scott Miller, the leader of the now defunct Family, thinks of this project, being that he appears on two of the tracks. It's kind of like Paul McCartney sitting in with The Spongetones, or maybe more like when Wire hired a Wire cover band to open for them, playing tracks off the first three Wire LPs, so that Colin Newman and Co. could concentrate on their new material.

The disc itself? It's pretty good - it's lacking any killer cuts, but it avoids any tracks that are difficult-for-the-sake-of-being-difficult, which sometimes marred Loud Family efforts. "Near Sighted Hopeful Lessons" gets a lot of mileage from a slightly off-kilter mid-tempo stop-start rhythm, which flows well into the more melodic chorus. Fellow (oddball) traveler Anton Barbeau contributes some backing vocals.

"The Three Cornered World", with Miller harmonizing along, is reminiscent of so many Game Theory numbers that managed to meld the acoustic pop perfection of Big Star's first album with the artier aspects of their second. It also features a great arrangement and Skaught's best vocal. "Unfortunate Wine" has a familiar circular lead guitar part. The band builds up a little steam on this one, and the song achieves a striking momentum.

This disc is a fine gap filler until Scott Miller bestows more of his magic on the world. And Skaught's talent is undeniable - now he needs to build his own identity.

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Jack & the Beanstalk
Cowboys In Sweden

(Parasol)

parasol.com

There is something distinctive about Australian power-pop - it's the mix of robust rock and adorable melodies, the perfect balance of scruffiness and gentleness. This sound characterizes many of Australia's finest, such as DM3, You Am I and Jack and the Beanstalk. Led by Joe Algeri, you can imagine the band grinning through every one of the 13 tunes on the disc. While this isn't an earth shattering masterpiece, I can't help but grin along.

The best track on the disc may be the one that deviates the most from the generally sunny sound. "Heard it All Before" is a garagey melodic cousin to The Monkees' "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", with bassist Stuart Loasby playing a sinister Farfisa organ line, Algeri showing off his strong voice and even blowing a little harp. The tempo is fairly slow, but the mother rocks, baby.

In a somewhat similar vein, the band also shines on a cover version of an overlooked '90s (!) Dictators' classic, "Who Will Save Rock And Roll?". Lead guitarist Kevin Borruso nails the urgent lead guitar figure (shades of The Equals/The Clash on "Police on My Back") while Algeri plays some Plimsouls-esque rhythm guitar. The band doesn't play with the all out, balls out urgency of the Dictators, instead giving a wistful feel to the verses that heightens the passion of the chorus and middle eight. A cover that equals the great original, while giving it a nice little twist.

Fans of The Blow Pops and The Lackloves will go ape for "Pop Fantasy", a lilting ballad, with pretty work by Borruso. This dynamic song has a powerful rock middle section, and the final verse and chorus break through like the sun beaming down after a quick thunderstorm.

In between these tracks are plenty of songs that bounce and jangle. "Complete" is pretty strummed Acoustic Pop 101, while "Raspberry Jam" will fulfill your Big Star dietary requirements quite well. And if you need any further proof that these guys love what they're doing, listen to "Baby" - this is pop at it's most basic, musically and lyrically.
Of course, I could be wrong and this is the most subtly executed concept album about man's inhumanity man ever recorded. Either way it's fun.

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Chitlin' Fooks
Chitlin' Fooks

(Hidden Agenda)

Release Date: July 10, 2001

parasol.com

It's not too much of a stretch to imagine the lovely voice of Bettie Serveert vocalist Carol Van Dyk doing traditional country and blues songs. But it's even better to actually hear her do it. The Fooks disc is a very fruitful collaboration between Van Dyk and Pascal Deweze of Sukilove. The two wrote or co-wrote 7 of the 11 tracks, and then blend in some fine outside material on a side project that will hopefully be more than a one off.
The biggest surprise of the disc for me is how Deweze comes close to stealing the disc from the better known Van Dyk. Possessed with a warm voice that is perhaps even more tailor made for this trad material than Van Dyk's, his originals are wonderful. The best of a fine bunch is the ballad "You Dream of Him". The song has seems to be a cross-section between The Band and Mike Nesmith, with an intriguing melody that slightly ascends in unexpected places. To hear Deweze intone "I was fundamentally wrong/the day I kissed you" with a nuance of his Dutch accent is sublime. The song is so lyrically strong: "I know a secret/but I guess I don't care." One of the best songs of the year!

The next song, "How Many Times", is Van Dyk's best moment. A loping shuffle is a perfect foundation for a Van Dyk vocal that sounds like a smokier Dolly Parton. And I don't mean Smokey Mountains. Jeff Marinus on pedal steel and Guy Van Nueten on piano really shine on this tune.
So much of this album bears the stamp of classic '50s and early-60s country, standing at a cool midpoint between countrypolitan and honky-tonk. "Picture Book Memories", "The Battle" (with Deweze's twangy lead guitar) and "Seen It All" (in the Neko Case vein) are all splendid originals that stand up with great tunes of country past.

The album avoids the alt-country trap of sounding too studied or meticulous. Although the album is superbly produced and played, it still retains a spontaneous feel that radiates the warmth and fun that had to be going on in the studio. Like on the Dixie-landish closer, Jimmie Rodgers' "Mississippi Delta Blues", a real smile inducer that will leave you not just hoping for, but demanding, more Fooks in the future.

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The Dickies
All This And Puppet Stew

(Fat Wreck)

thedickies.com

It's been five years since The Dickies last blessed us with a full length album. And thankfully, Leonard Graves Phillips, Stan Lee and their crew have not changed one iota. In fact, the only substantial change in the classic Dickies sound is that they have slowed down the pace from the break neck tempos of their classic '70s material.

A quick history lesson: although never afforded the respect of Ramones, The Dickies were a California counterpart, with a special West Coast sensibility. More cretin hoppers than blitzkrieg boppers, Phillips and Lee sped through covers of "Paranoid", "Nights In White Satin" and the Banana Splits theme (a big U.K. hit), while combining punk crunch with Lee's glam worthy guitar leads and melodies on great numbers like "Give it Back", "Fan Mail" and "(I'm Stuck in a Pagoda) with Tricia Toyota". The Dickies have not been as prolific as Ramones were, but their keener melodic sensibility has served them well, as they have yet to make a bad LP.

Moreover, their music still sounds fresh. Essentially, this is a bratty power-pop album, with Phillips unique vocal stylings providing the band with instant attitude. Indeed, this disc is a great place for pop fans to get a starter's course in one of the original pop-punkers.

Of course, no Dickies album would be complete without a totally kick-ass cover. They resurrect the Isley Brothers/Human Beinz classic "Nobody But Me" and make it come alive again, with pounding percussion in the verses and break neck pacing in the choruses. And no Dickies album would be complete without one idiotically catchy, so simple a five-year old could have written it, number, and "I Did It" fits the bill perfectly.

Speaking of idiotic, no one else could pull off a number like "My Pop The Cop". Lee's brilliantly gimmicky solo, which even imitates a police siren, is the ultimate triumph on a tune with lyrics like "He's packing heat/now he can't fail/and mom and dad/won't pay my bail." The punkified Left Banke of "Mary Me, Ann" is another stroke of twisted brilliance.

Prolific, they ain't. But The Dickies are proof that fun rock and roll can endure through the ages.

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