Scroll down for reviews on the latest from Margo Guryan, Superchunk, The Strokes and The Bears. Click here for reviews of the latest from Robbie Fulks, Outrageous Cherry, They Might Be Giants and The Decibels.

Ben Folds
Rockin' The Suburbs

(Epic)

benfolds.com

The Ben Folds Five's final LP, The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner found Folds exploring lusher popscapes, even showing an affinity for Bacharach-type stylings. The uneven but entertaining disc showed Folds continuing to up the artistic ante.

On his solo debut, Folds harnesses his more ambitious creative impulses in service of a batch of songs that show off his ultra-sensitive and glib wiseass personas, with the former taking up a much larger part of the disc. His work still shows influences along the lines of Elton John, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson and even the '80s work of Madness. He has carved out his own niche, however - Folds has a particularly distinctive way of suddenly sending a melody ascending up the scale, that it is a real trademark of his writing and performing.

One of his other trademarks is combining the seemingly ostentatious piano flourish with a buttery light melody, the force of the former cutting the sweetness of the latter and vice-versa, as illustrated on "Zak And Sara". Likewise, "The Ascent Of Stan" has a melodramatic aspect that reminds one of a less urbane and more serious take on what Joe Jackson tried on his Night And Day album. Folds can also reverse field and start simple and build to a big chorus ("Still Fighting It"), or just keep a consistent downbeat, but memorable, tone ("Fred Jones Part 2").

"Jones" is one of Folds forays into social commentary, a semi-successful character study of a man who is laid off after 25 years service for the company. While Folds' empathy is obvious, he doesn't offer enough insight or expressive lyricism. The aforementioned "Stan", an indictment of a '60s protester who now runs a corporation fails to do more than state the obvious. So does "Rockin' The Suburbs", Folds jaunty jibe at the current crop of disgruntled white bourgeoisie rap-rockers, but the witty vitriol and bouncy beats carry the day.

The songs that really win are the relationship numbers. "Carrying Cathy" is a poignant tale of a suicidal girlfriend, where the protagonist realizes that love alone cannot help someone overcome by depression: "there were times I would find myself saying to friends/you don't understand/she's different when it's just me and her/and I'd close the door/and I'd try to hang on/as she sank into the dark/I was over my head." The strings swell as the song moves on, as this tune hits all the right notes. Likewise, "Annie Waits", with a percussive piano part and a bevy of hooks from the simple chorus to the delicious middle eight, skillfully uses dynamics and tempo changes to depict the mood shifts of the jilted woman in the title.

Beyond the obvious musical maturation, it is so encouraging to see Folds aiming high lyrically too. When the depth of his ideas matches his ability to articulate them on a consistent basis, he will create a masterpiece.

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Margo Guryan
25 Demos

(Franklin Castle/Oglio)

franklincastle.net

Last year's reissue of Margo Guryan's 1968 album Take A Picture was a boon to soft pop collectors worldwide. And for those of us who were introduced to Guryan's dreamy songwriting via Linus Of Hollywood's 1999 debut record, it was a chance to join the cult of Margo. Her whispery vocals, simple melodies and equally simple but effecting lyrics, combined with arrangements that sometimes voyaged into bossa nova territory achieved a state of '60s pop zen. The writer of Spanky And Our Gang's hit "Sunday Morning" happened to wax one of the all-time great Sunday morning albums.

The shame seemed to be that Picture was the only Guryan effort. Not so fast - here comes Linus to the rescue, with a new demos collection on his label. Since these demos were generally recorded so Guryan could pitch her songs to artists, these aren't just Margo and her piano, but properly arranged recordings that show off her songs in a brilliant light.

Although the bulk of the tunes on this set were recorded in the '60s, the revelations here are in the eight songs she recorded in the '70s. In particular, the suite of three songs she wrote about Watergate. Having gotten used to the fragile, impressionistic quality of many of Guryan's lyrics, to hear the direct, expressionistic lyrics on these tunes is bracing. Moreover, it reveals her true depth of talent. Though I'm having a hard time trying to imagine a Helen Reddy or Olivia Newton-John singing "It was wrong for you to ask them at the Watergate Hotel if Sue and I had been there/it was wrong for them to tell." The best of this trio is "The Hum", which addressed the infamous 18 minutes of blank tape from one of Richard Nixon's secretly recorded White House meetings. The song has a gauzy Guryan melody, but with biting lyrics ("The rich save money and the poor save gas/we vote for the elephant and get an ass") and a perfect chorus with Guryan's multitracked humming voice riding over a lite percussion break.

Okay - maybe the disco tune ("Hold Me Dancin'") was not her high water mark, but her attempt to write a Mae West-type tune ("I'd Like To See The Bad Guys Win") is a success and the Christmas song she penned for Claudine Longet, "I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You", needs to become a standard - perfect for the eggnog martini set.

Seven songs from Picture are included (and the three bonus demos from the reissue are also on here). These demos reveal that Guryan pretty much had almost everything set out in her head from the get go. "Love Song" is a bit slower in the demo version, which I think maybe sounds a bit better. For the most part, the disc just doubles the number of good versions of these songs. All of the totally unreleased songs are worthwhile. "I Love" has a mellow marching beat and would have been a natural for The Ballroom or Millenium. And I would have loved to have heard Nico take a crack at "The 8:17 Northbound Success Merry-Go-Round".

There's even a 2000 recording of a tune Margo wrote in the '60s, which she demoed for Linus, who utilized it as a bonus track on the Japanese version of his new album. If Linus can find any way to keep this pipeline flowing, we'd all benefit.

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Superchunk
Here's To Shutting Up

(Merge)

mergerecords.com

superchunk.com

The earth orbits the sun, the Road Runner thwarts Wile Coyote, the Chicago Cubs fail to make the World Series, death, taxes and Superchunk makes another high quality record. I'm sure when this Chapel Hill, North Carolina quartet burst on the scene with hyperactive Mac McCaughan crying out young adult anthems like "Slack Motherfucker" in his trademark high perpetual teenage voice, no one anticipated that tags such as 'mature' and 'venerable' would ever be associated with the 'chunk brand name.

Yet 2001 brings another breath of fresh air from a band who shows that limitations on the talents of a band does not mean the music has to be limited. Shockingly, there is not one out-and-out blasting rocker on this album, and the transition from power rockers to indie-popsters appears to be complete.

The band's sound is so established and distinctive, comparisons are difficult - Superchunk sounds like Superchunk. They are oft-imitated by countless emo bands but derivative only of themselves. The center of the band is the awesome rhythm section of bassist Laura Ballance and drummer John Wurster. Ballance used to just shred her instrument, playing furious chords, but now she varies from creative melodic lines to patterns that cut against the drumming and add another layer to texture. Wurster has also had to subdue his approach, but his drumming is so sharp, even downcast mid-tempo songs have a special energy.

"Florida's On Fire" has the tandem vocals of McCaughan and Ballance, a nifty synchopation between the drummer and the rhythm guitar, great lead guitar work and a super instrumental break featuring cello accompaniment. "Act Surprised" has one of the most conventional rock song verses ever heard on a 'chunk song, and a bridge out of the chorus with one of its most sweetly yearning melodies. "Art Class" is a silly bopper, with harder guitar rhythms - in fact, the rhythm is catchy enough on its own, then it hits a gear shifting ultramemorable chorus, which slows the song down without dropping the intensity, then picks the tempo right back up: "Why so serious/when it's only your life that's at stake/why so serious/when your life is the art that you make".

"Late-Century Dream" strikes a poignant chord with it's mournful keyboard coda, as it chronicles the emptiness of the consumerist dream: "Everybody grows up weaned/ on some sick late-century dream/of a happy face on a shirt that's smiling/shop 'til you drop." The acoustic "Phone Sex", a tale of loneliness and disconnection, is brilliantly augmented by a sad pedal steel (who'd have thought you could compare a Superchunk tune to Poco or Firefall?), and the chorus is resonant enough without the added context of current events: "Plane crash footage on T.V./I know that could be me."

The album has a low key emotional range and a corresponding warmth of performance that it surely ranks as one of Superchunk's best. Here's to aging well.

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The Strokes
Is This It

(RCA)

thestrokes.com

This New York quintet has traveled the Velvet Underground sea and seems to have explored every river into which that sea flowed in putting together this punchy debut that manages to actually come close to being as cool as The Strokes would like it to be. The hype is certainly out of proportion to a band that often sounds like a cross between Spoon and Sammy (does anyone remember Sammy?). The Feelies, Television and Wire are also wriggling in the Strokes gene pool, and to the band's credit, they have enhanced the most accessible elements of these influences, making the angular stylings more palatable without losing the essential flavor.

Moreover, the band exudes confidence and a loose precision. "Barely Legal" is just one example of an effective approach - crisp drumming, quickly strummed rhythm guitar (holy Velvets!) punctuated by precise, economical lead guitar figures, and hooks based on the variations in the rhythms that differentiate the verse, chorus and bridge, with just enough melody in the mix. It doesn't hurt that singer Julian Casablancas has an engaging vocal personality - sometimes it reminds me of a cross between Ian McCulloch and Lou Reed, shifting between clipped phrasing and really singing. "Soma", "Alone, Together", "Take It Or Leave It" and "Trying Your Luck" also utilize this formula successfully.

Even better are "Someday" and "Last Nite" which incorporate some underlying rhythmic elements from classic Motown soul, particularly on the latter, where bassist Nikolai Fraiture plays a nifty variation on the classic bass line from the Supremes "You Can't Hurry Love" (you can never go wrong with that one). This is an unexpected breath of fresh air. Likewise, the skittish semi-rockabilly beginning of "New York City Cops" is reminiscent of the late-'70s material of The Fall, a band, like The Velvets, who raised the repetition of guitar parts to a high art form, and The Strokes connect those two dots in imaginative fashion.

One thing The Strokes do not share with The Velvets is any identifiable lyrical stance. After repeated listens, I still haven't been able to effectively focus much on what these songs are about - hey, that didn't stop me from digging early R.E.M. - and this band gets so many style points, this is a mere quibble. But it does beg the question, can The Strokes get beyond this point, and if they can't, will the style get old quick?

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The Bears
Car Caught Fire

(Bears Music)

thebearsmusic.com

When word first got out about The Bears back in 1986, knowledgeable Midwestern pop fans were giddy with anticipation. Members of the quirky Cincinnati bar band The Raisins hooking up with Adrian Belew, who had produced a Raisins album? Sounded like a great fit. The subsequent releases, the eponymous debut and Rise And Shine were almost everything that fans could ask for. The Bears were kind of an American version of XTC, combining thoughtful lyrics, ace playing, melodies by the bucketful, combined with some off-beat musical ideas that made for compelling listening.

Album number three is finally here, and The Bears pretty much pick up where they left off. While Belew is the marquee name, here, he is one of four contributors - the sensibilities of his fellow Bears Rob Fetters, Bob Nyswonger and Chris Arduser are so sympathetic to Belew's own interests, that if it weren't for some of Belew's distinctive guitar magic, the uninformed might not even recognize his presence. But this isn't slumming, like, for example, David Bowie's work with lesser mortals in Tin Machine.

While the opener "Life in a Nutshell", with its distinctive vaguely Eastern guitar riff and sympathetic melody, accompanied by a low-key but propulsive energy, gives the impression that the band never left, the disc occasionally lapses into blandness. At times, the band sounds like a quirkier version of Dada - nice, but unspectacular. Maybe this is a by-product of the band being strictly a studio outfit, as a few songs could use a bit more vim.

Still, the dazzling musicianship and distinctive songwriting offer plenty to smile about. To put it another way, a notch below the first two Bears discs is still a pretty lofty perch. Who else could put together a slowed down Bo Diddley beat with a variation on Nick Lowe's "(I Love The Sound of) Breaking Glass" guitar riff and have it flow perfectly into a sunny melody, as heard on "117 Valley Drive" (which is about Belew's first high school band!). There is another fine matching of percolating rhythms to singalong melodies on "Caveman".

Then there are the sublime, subtle chord changes on "When She Moves". And "Mr. Bonaparte" ranks with some of the best Bears tunes, with an odd-time structure, a foreboding melody, cutting lyrics, but still supplying a hummable chorus. The album ends with the ruminations of "As You Are", a song that sounds like it could have fit perfectly on Rise And Shine: "Cause the answer is love/to the question we're all too stupid to ask." The tune manages to strike an appropriate tone between cynicism and hopefulness - consider it The Bears early warning for everyone to clean up their act.

I'll add that this album sounds better with each spin. Let's hope this isn't the last we hear from The Bears - you can never have enough music that's so skilled and sincere.

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