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The Flaming Lips
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

(Warner Brothers)

flaminglips.com

The Flaming Lips are certainly one of the most intriguing bands of the past 15 years or so. To one segment of the rock audience they are simply gods, a band whose dazzling originality and refusal to conform to any expectations elevates them above almost all other acts. I'm not part of the Lips cult. To me, the Flaming Lips are kind of a rock equivalent to The Royal Tannenbaums. For those who haven't seen the movie, it is chock full of ideas and leisurely goes from scene to scene. Some of the ideas work, some don't, but the number of good ideas is enough to make it very worthwhile. The thing is, the structure of movie is both what makes it so good and so flawed. It could not be what it is without its unique pacing and structure. But that results in dead spots. Generally, that's what I get out of a Flaming Lips album – some incredible ideas that work and a lot of meandering that drags along. With every new track, there's a chance for wonderfulness or utter boredom.

So I didn't place 1999's The Soft Bulletin at the top of my year end list. For every song that caused my jaw to drop (like the way "Spoonful Weighs a Ton" melded delicate ork-pop with hip-hop beats so well) there were songs that just went nowhere. Adding to my intervals of indifference is that the ambitious spacious arrangements showcased the lack of range and whiny aspect of Wayne Coyne's vocals. Still, an impressive and influential work.

Here, the Lips scale things back considerably. Right away, this is a plus, as Coyne's vocals don't strain nearly as much. Instead of scaling the heights, this album is very intimate. What this album really captures is the feeling of love that Brian Wilson babbles about all the time. This is a very tender album, perfect for summer evenings.

Some of the orchestral leanings of the last album remain, with the band adding more electronic elements, particularly in the percussion. Not quite trip hop – maybe it's Lip hop. (You can groan now, if you like). The layers of sounds are child's play for the production team (the band, stalwart Dave Fridmann and Scott Booker) -- the record has an unusual warmth that is in perfect sympathy with the tales of robots trying to love. On "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21", the bass guitar, playing a modified ascending/descending R & B progression, has the depth of a ‘70s soul recording, weaving amongst an array of electronics that sound like appropriately machine-like, but without sterility. Coyne's vocals are run through an array of effects (though the falsetto he breaks out is purely human – go Wayne!), as various synths swoosh and burble. Writing about this can't do it justice, because a lot of work went into making it sound effortless.
As with its predecessor, the scale of the compositions is in tune with the sentiments in the lyrics, something the Lips need to get a lot more credit for. Just as the tales of scientists and supermen were perfectly accompanied by the gigantic sounding songs on The Soft Bulletin, this album deals with inner, rather than outer, exploration, and the music is appropriately intimate. On the surface, this album might not seem as impressive, but the songwriting is more consistent and the sentiments are well expressed. The Flaming Lips may not be articulate lyricists, but they write about big ideas and posit big questions. And these questions are usually best answered by the heart. They aren't a sentimental band, but I think the empathy they exude is a key to the connection they have with so many fans (not that there isn't a pure intellectual love involved).

The centerpiece track on the album is the closest to an epic, the magical "Do You Realize?". It's a song that evinces both wonder and realism, a unifying message of humanity: "Do you realize/that everyone you know someday will die". This is not as depressing as it sounds, as the band analogizes this to the fact that "sun doesn't go down/it's just an illusion caused by the world spinning ‘round". This is comparable to Andy (XTC) Partridge's ruminations on life cycles. It's a pseudo-Zen sentiment that, in context, is freeing. It lays on a gorgeous musical foundation, with two strong melodies and dollops of old Hollywood movie chorus backing vocals. Logically, this is followed with the simple sentiment "All We Have is Now", a serene keyboard exercise that sounds like an Electric Light Orchestra intro turned into a full song. It's very dramatic and moving.

The rest of the album follows many of the musical and lyrical ideas described above. Bits of straight melodic pop, R & B/hip hop and orch-pop are sprinkled on the electronic backing. Hooks sometimes take two or three spins to manifest themselves, but they are there. This disc is a tonic, musing about life and love with a generous spirit that can't be faked. This album may not be as important as The Soft Bulletin, but I think it's better, a fully realized song cycle that will resonate for years.

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Duraluxe
The Suitcase

(Hidden Agenda)

parasol.com

The band whose name sounds like a new brand of house paint ("Hi, John Madden here for Ace Hardware. There's a great sale going on now on quick drying Duraluxe latex paint...) is back with an inventive batch of rock that combines the virtues of American indie-pop of the past five years or so with blasts of guitar that show an admiration of the big noises made by influential folks like Husker Du, The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine.
These two sides come together the best on "Hit So Hard (winsome version)", which has drawling verses, wisps of dream pop guitar and keyboard in the background, with these reverberations and wails moving into the foreground on the chorus ("I'm hearing bells/I'm seeing stars/you hit so hard"). This is a re-recording of a track on their split CD with The Lassie Foundation from last year, and it's quite the calling card. I look forward to the spiteful version on their next release.

However, Duraluxe is not content to stick with this blend that suits them so well. "7ths & Minors" is a slice of lounge-disco, slacker style. "Phantom Power" is more poppy lushness (think ‘70s AM Radio) that goes Technicolor with a mile-thick guitar riff and layers of beautiful backing vocals in the chorus. The dynamics are all the more effective because the softer verses stand on their own. On "Helium Hand of Power", the chords are a variation on the sounds of The Turtles' "You Showed Me", and the performance incorporates a hip ‘70s jazz/R & B motif, complete with falsetto vocals. Impressively, the band's variations stand out without affecting the flow of the album, a sign that they have a firm grip on the overall sensibility they are trying to convey.

The band also has a low key wit that makes them all the more endearing. Like the plea in "Please Be Cool": ("Oh God, please be cool/don't leave me behind") -- is this catchy mid-tempo fuzz-pop track a spiritual in the Big Lebowski vein? On the even poppier (think Beach Boys/Shins territory) "For the Memory of St. Joan", the lead guitar winds through the backing vocal arrangements like a string of lights on a Christmas tree, and the religious allusions are not serious but certainly clever. If any of you out there are fans of Hypnolovewheel (anyone?), this is the track for you.

All indie pop and no artier aspirations would do this band a disservice. Duraluxe stretches out on the languid "Save One for Gieben". The song has a relaxing melody and creative dual lead guitar work. The middle instrumental break is a splendid opportunity for the band to showcase their collective skills, with drums a bashing and keyboards winding through the mix. The song builds to a exhortation to "keep up the rock...the rock that is inside you", and the atmosphere sweeps the listener along.
This track probably should have served as the closer, instead of "I-95", a mood piece with a psychedelic vibe that comes off as a bit constricted – I just had a hard time finding a place for my ears to latch onto, as the elements of the song came together but didn't take me anywhere. And that's usually not a problem for Duraluxe. Overall, this is a high quality effort. Fans of Granddaddy and Pavement may want to pick this up.

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Various Artists
The Stiff Generation

(Groove Disques)

groovedisques.com

During the heady days when pub rock was still alive, punk was looming and change was afoot in pop music, Stiff Records was the little label that could. Best known for stars like Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury and Madness, Stiff was also the place where many artists got their start in the U.K. (like Devo and Motorhead) and a home for eccentrics like Tenpole Tudor, John Otway and Jona Lewie. If anything characterized Stiff, it was a lighthearted approach to music – while many contemporaries were sneering on their picture sleeves, the Stiffsters were giggling and chortling (see the cover of the Stiffs Live ‘78 compilation for the proof).
While Stiff didn't really have a signature sound, the good times spirit and high quality of the artistry make this tribute a worthwhile exercise. For the most part, the artists stay very true to the songs, with only a few significant reinventions. The biggest would be Ennui Malaise Experience's "Be Stiff", where the band takes the Devo tune and plays it more in the manner of Butthole Surfers. Odd. The best transformation takes place on The Photon Band's version of "B-A-B-Y", the signature song for Rachel Sweet, who was a 14-year old phenomenon back in the day. The Photons play the song in their characteristic psych-pop/freakbeat fashion, a new perspective that works better than it ought to.

Chris Von Sneidern, on the other hand, takes on a song that perfectly fits his own classic power pop style. Ian Gomm's "Hold On" was an actual U.S. Top 40 hit, a song that has an emotionally confused lyric ("hold on to what you got" isn't exactly the most emphatic endorsement of love) and a melodically rousing chorus that holds back just a little. This bit of bittersweetness is a knock out in the CVS's hands. Gomm himself makes an appearance, contributing a 1979 live performance of "Hooked on Love" -- a bouncing R & B number in the vein of Van Morrison, J. Geils Band and Southside Johnny. Speaking of ringers, Clive Gregson provides a demo from the criminally underrated Any Trouble, "Trouble With Love".

You want hits? Nixon's Head makes the inspired choice of Graham Parker's "Stupefaction", showing that the song can sound good even without the patented Parker sneer. The Bigger Lovers goof on the lead guitar riff of Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years" before seguing into the task at hand – Nick Lowe's "So it Goes", which is tailor made for the Philly power pop band. Robin and Bobby Sutliff contribute a tender take on Wreckless Eric's "Broken Doll". Bill Lloyd, looking for a way to cover one of the most perfect songs ever recorded, Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World", decides not to ratchet up the guitars and production, keeping it low key, and now holds the honor as the second best version ever of this oft-covered tune. Janas Hoyt and the Mary Janes balladize "Alison", and Hoyt's vocal is simply awesome, all honeyed and passionate.
You want obscurities? Frisbie dives deep into Stiff lore, and pulls out Angie's "Peppermint Lump". She was either: a) Pete Townshend's pre-pubescent daughter, or b) a local girl with talent (I've heard both stories). Pete produced the track, which has all the earmarks of Towser's early-‘80s work. Frisbie performs the song as if Pete did it himself, capturing those Empty Glass keyboard and backing vocal sounds. Amy Rigby does a ripping good job on "Yankee Wheels", the Jane Aire & The Belvederes single – play this for a friend and tell him or her it's the new Aimee Mann. Trust me, it'll work. David Byron Ragsdale is a power popper whose sound embodies the best of the Stiff pub rock approach, so his take on Lew Lewis Reformer's "Win or Lose" is a natural.

Other fine contributions come from The Anderson Council (who also back up Fufkin.com's Dawn Eden on Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know" -- way to go, Dawn!), Matthew Sweet, Pat Buchanan and Thundermug, The Lowe Beats (featuring Young Fresh Fellows/Minus 5 front man Scott McCaughey), The Trolleyvox, Lisa Mychols and the Records' Huw Gower (joined by Steve Holley and Keith Lentin). Buy this and maybe there will be a Volume II – so there can be covers of Tenpole Tudor, Yello, Dirty Looks, The Equator, Pink Fairies, The Roogulator, Lene Lovich, et al.

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Superdrag
Last Call For Vitriol

(Arena Rock)

superdrag.com

The fourth album from Knoxville, Tennessee's finest will not disappoint power pop fans who like a little bit of extra power. To some degree, the album is just a continuation of the back-to-basics rock on 2000's In The Valley Of Dying Stars. But a few songs show the band inching back towards the artier inclinations on their overlooked gem of a sophomore effort Head Trip In Every Key.

Superdrag instantly evokes Cheap Trick, but whereas that comparison is usually reserved for bands who take the In Color approach, the ‘drag has a lot more in common with Cheap Trick's first album, with sharp slicing guitars and big power chords existing in harmony with melodies in the Beatles/Who/Move vein. Listen to the classic riffage on the disc closer "Drag Me Closer to You", with a bluesy orientation that is part John Lennon, early solo days, and part Exile-era Stones. This is a power pop tune that Webb Wilder could cover, with Don Coffey's Jr. crisp drumming really doing the trick, heavy when the song needs heavy, and light when the song needs light.

Meanwhile, the opening acoustic guitar part of "Way Down Here Without You" may be familiar to anyone with a copy of The Who Sell Out, as it is nearly identical to "Odorono". I'm guessing this is a subconscious cop by writers John Davis and Sam Powers. The rest of the track is sweet ballad, with a sensitive vocal from Davis, and great response backing vocals from Powers. This is just classic pop balladry, with a middle eight that simply kills.

Also on the ballad tip, "Safe & Warm" falls somewhere between ‘50s rock and roll and country, and is a nice showcase for Davis' vocals. Ever since "Sucked Out" hit the radio in 1996, Davis has always intrigued with a voice that could turn from choirboy sweet to raspy and edgy. Here, he retains just a wee bit of edge, showing off the purer side.

Like Davis's voice, the album opener contrasts the sweet and rough sides of band. "Baby Goes to 11" is a quintessential power pop single, from the acoustic opening, to the song kicking into electric mode. Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard gives an assist on backing vocals and he must have dug the dramatic middle eight, something his band does so well. GBV also kicks ass very well and Superdrag is certainly their equal in that department. "The Staggering Genius" does a great job of building from bass heavy verses to fuzz guitar bridge bringing everything together in the chorus.

Bass player Sam Powers gets a turn at the mike on "Stu". The results are on par with Alien Crime Syndicate, as Powers has a drawling voice that is quite appealing. If this track is a true indication, Davis now has a singing sidekick who can add to the band's allure. Signs that the band might be edging back towards less straightforward material can be found on "Her Melancholy Tune", which is a ballad with a spooky psych vibe.

This is another quality entry in what is becoming a formidable catalog. Davis and company understand how to balance the kick ass with chords that tug at the heart. And while good songs are the foundation, their superior playing and singing makes the good songs great and the great songs extraordinary. Keep up the good work guys.

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The Action
Rolled Gold

(Reaction)

parasol.com

The Action was a band that fell through the cracks. Despite the support of George Martin, who signed the band to Parlophone U.K. and produced them, the mod-pop outfit could not break through. Which isn't to say that they didn't have their fans, but a band that might have had a career on par with contemporaries like The Who or The Small Faces instead became yet another footnote in the story of British rock in the ‘60s.

This album, released for the first time in the United States, represents what might have been. This is a collection of demos that the band shopped around after being dropped by Parlophone. They finally saw release a few years ago, and slipped out of print. Hearing them now it's easy to understand why folks like Ric (Velvet Crush) Menck (who co-owns the label), Matthew Sweet and Bret (Beachwood Sparks) Rademaker praise it so highly. Presumably, Brit record companies at the time must have seen The Action as box office poison (if they can't make it with Martin's backing, what hope do they have), which is a shame.

This record is another example of a band crossing the bridge from R & B to psychedelia. The Action seem to have retained more of their soulfulness than let's say The Small Faces, who's psych was twee, or The Pretty Things, who balanced their sweeter material with some fuzzy phased ravers. The Action kind of kept a foot in both genres, making for a unique pop experience.
These aren't run-of-the-mill demos. The production is fairly good, though I imagine that the band was hoping to work further on some of these tracks. For every track like "Something to Say" which augments the band with piano, there are songs where the guitars are tamped down in spots or there's something else aurally that sounds like they intended to fill in that spot sonically. So it's finished, but not fully polished.

This actually works out well. It gives more room to Reg King, who is yet another ace British R & B vocalist. He's not of the gospel ecstasy style, his voice is gritty and more controlled. Furthermore, the amazing rhythm section really comes to the fore, particularly drummer Roger Powell. His fills have a remarkable combination of precision and power, yet he can handle the most delicate fare, such as "Love is All", which is one of the most psychedelic songs on the disc. Powell's playing combines some power rock with subtle jazzy grooves. The band augments with flute and piano and a haunting vocal interlude (predating "Hocus Pocus" by Focus!).

The band hits a lot of different styles. "Things You Cannot See" is an acoustic number that is close in spirit to Love. "Come Around" is reminiscent of The Easybeats during their transition away from more straight ahead R & B based songs, as it is pretty much mid-tempo pop with a bit of grit still left. There are also a few blues rockers. "Strange Roads" might be my favorite track. It sounds like the song that Paul Weller has tried (and failed) to write since he began his solo career. What is really cool is when they appear to go down this standard blues based route and throw in some odd trick that immediately puts the stamp of 1968 on the LP. "Brain" is a good example of this. It floats in on a lightly fingered electric guitar, before hitting an R & B stride, King with a passionate but controlled vocal. After two verses, the song wanders to a mellow instrumental interlude before strolling back into the passionate mode. The odd balance of genteel and soulful is incredibly compelling.

The most psych thing about the record are the guitar lines played by Alan King and guest lead guitarist Martin Stone. Maybe that's why no record company would bite – the record fell between trends. Or maybe it's because the record doesn't have an obvious hit single. Nevertheless, this is a terrific record – maybe not a masterpiece, but a unique slice of the ‘60s. Beyond the musical nuances that separate this disc, the tone of this record really stands out. There is a reflective quality to this music that resonates increasingly after every play. This isn't teen angst or stone hippies or arty ruminations – The Action comes off like four guys who have lived life and learned lessons and want to pass them on to you.

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