Mike
Bennett
Reviews,
Part II,
October,
2001

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

Robbie Fulks
Couples In Trouble

(Boondoggle)

robbiefulks.com

After establishing a rock solid foundation of honky-tonk credentials, Robbie Fulks upped the ante with his sole major label release, Let's Kill Saturday Night. Incorporating more rock and other styles, Fulks, to the chagrin of some of his fans, showed that he would do whatever he darn well pleased. Since then, he has released an outtakes disc and an album of folk covers. So Couples In Trouble represents his first all-new original material record in three years, and Fulks is now in full bloom - Steve Earle may be the only songwriter in the insurgent country movement who can breathe the same rarified air.

As the title promises, the songs are about couples, though not necessarily of the romantic stripe, (see "Dancing on the Ashes", an electric English folk tale of two soldiers and a mercy killing), and Fulks' lyrics have an extremely impressionistic quality. They give enough details to outline their respective stories, and enough poetry to complete the emotions evoked by the generally serious musical accompaniment. The questions left unanswered in the lyrics aren't a result of incomplete realization of ideas, but allow the listener to fill in the rest of the story, adding to the resonance of this disc.

Some songs are simply chilling. "Anything For Love", starts softly and builds in intensity, as it tells the tale of a murder in a flea bag motel. The song manages to convey the detachment of the killer, who seems to be reliving events that occurred in "19-something" and the heat of passion that caused the trigger to be pulled - the latter occurring in a sudden rush of strings, Fulks' voice nearly cracking. Even more disturbing, "Brenda's New Stepfather" relates the story of an abusive new presence in the home, with a wobbling blues structure reminiscent of Tom Waits: "Listen for the soft turning at your latch/Hey little hotpants, I'm your daddy/no matter how hard you scratch."

Not everything is so gruesome, just grim. With a slow Southern R & B groove, "I've Got To Tell Myself The Truth" is a passionate look at the end of passion, as a man finally wakes up to his wife's unfaithfulness: "Love's got to be limitless/if love is to survive/but even love's got to stop/somewhere short of suicide." Meanwhile, Fulks manages to pull off the grinning country strum of "Never Could" despite observations like "but love's a well-known lie." At least the sweet tune offers some form of respite.

If there is beauty in pain, then this is one of the most aching yet exquisite discs of the year. That Fulks can pretty much eschew his tried and true honky-tonk, while demonstrating both his mastery of pretty much any form of traditional American music you can think of and a supreme lyrical ability is a testament to his greatness. Essential.

_________________________________________________

Outrageous Cherry
The Book Of Spectral Projections

(Poptones)

poptones.co.uk

Outrageous Cherry sticks to their unique formula on this lengthy 20 cut opus: layers of reverb, tremolo and echo from countless guitars, Velvet Underground foundations married to melodies that at times approach prime '60s bubblegum in their simplicity and catchiness, and Matthew Smith's normal guy voice poking through the sonic curtain with his acid tinged lyrics. In fact, they stick to this approach with sufficient temerity that while initial spins are pleasant, it takes a while to distinguish a lot of the tracks.

The effort is worthwhile, though I must conclude that this album does not meet the high standards set by OC's superb 1999 effort Out In The Dark. Whereas the previous platter was much more focused on more poppy constructions, this leans towards a rock direction, with some songs putting an even stronger emphasis on mind blowing atmospherics and sustained instrumental passages. Not that they are turning into a jam band - on some tracks, like "The Unseen Devourers", they creatively meld a Jesus And Mary Chain dronebeat with a slight folk rock vibe (maybe The Beau Brummels are a reference point? Or the E-Types?) producing a unique Detroit raga that could go on for even longer, as far as I'm concerned, pushed along by drummer Deb Agnolli's characteristically spry Mo Tucker inspired beat keeping.
The subject is matter is decidedly supernatural, making this album a natural companion for fans of recent Doleful Lions material. In fact, "Electric Child of Witchcraft Rising" is an acoustic pop number that could have come off the Lions' 2000 release Song Cyclops, with a wistful wondering tone: "you're a time traveling witch/I summoned you and you smiled/through the mirror of night/in the conjuring light/you reached for the switch/and made everything alright". Play this at your next campfire ghost story confab.

The band heads into garage territory with the initial riff of "Wide Awake in the Spirit World", using a descending melody in the verses to give the song a spooky aura. Of course, with their patented murky production sound, most tunes have a ghostly aspect. If fan Phil Spector (who is quoted as saying he'd like to produce these folks) created the Wall of Sound, Outrageous Cherry seems to have perfected the Quagmire of Sound.

And this gives numbers like the careening "It's Only Sorcery", the unusually straightforward folk-pop "Is It Time" and the languid "When You Emerge" a certain black magic. For those of you who have enjoyed the Nuggets box sets, and would like to discover music that builds on that tradition, Outrageous Cherry is not a bad place to start.

_________________________________________________

They Might Be Giants
Mink Car

(Restless)

restless.com

theymightbegiants.com

On their wonderful first three LPs, They Might Be Giants merrily deconstructed the tenets and clichés of pop and rock, accomplishing the difficult trick of subverting pop while making classic pop songs. However, with 1992's Apollo 18, there were signs that Johns Flansburgh and Linnell were chafing in their oddball suits. John and John recruited a full time band (as opposed to the backing tapes they used to use) for John Henry, which seemed to be a step in the right direction, as they seemed to relinquish their obligation to make everything wacky. But their last major label effort, Factory Showroom, was a mish-mash of approaches that meted out equal servings of inspiration and desperation.

With their first album in five years, it appears that TMBG's direction will continue to be no direction. This does not make for a cohesive album, but yields enough special moments to be worthwhile. What really drags this down are a handful of average tunes, most from the pen of Linell. "Hopeless Bleak Despair", "Finished with Lies" and "Bangs" are stuck in a melodic rut that spans back to Apollo 18. It appears that Linnell's limited voice has imposed limitations on his writing, as so many of his songs are cut from the same cloth.

Yet Linnell comes up with the best track on the album, "I've Got a Fang". The song structure is pure '60s garage-rock, but instead of emphasizing the guitar riff, in classic garage fashion, the song keys on a fat danceable jazz rhythm. The effect is accentuated by Linnell's barely there vocals.
Flansburgh may not win the blue ribbon, but takes most of the prizes. "Mr. Xcitement" features guest rapping from ex-Soul Coughing vocalist Mike Doughty who brings a hip-hop sensibility to the James Bond-style music. "Cyclops Rock" is a guitar rocker with a TMBG wall-of-sound approximation chorus. "Wicked Little Critta" is almost a tribute to Soul Coughing, with its low key funk and semi-spoken vocals, but the lyrics reveal the true creators. And "Another First Kiss" is a pretty straightforward tune with a slight country-and-western orientation, with trenchant observations such as: "I could tell you 'we belong together'/I could tell you 'you belong with me'/but we've run out of things to say and we'll be happy anyway".

The various guest musicians sound consistently great, working with a variety of producers, including Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness/Elvis Costello). But they can't make the tunes more consistent. Maybe TMBG will never match those giddy early triumphs, but they show just enough here for me to hold out hope for next time.

_________________________________________________

The Decibels
The Big Sounds Of The Decibels

(Halftone)

stellasdream.com

Winningly winsome, rocking, peppy and eternally teenage, The Decibels latest is a fun slice of British Invasion inspired pop-rock with some mod trimmings. Particularly impressive is how well they blend a deft, busy rhythm section (drummer Brian Machado and bassist Brent Seavers) with bright, shiny guitars, augmented by fine harmonies. In fact, the interplay between guitarists Joe Pach and Dean Seavers is a real treat, giving the simple songs a real dash of color. They make the well thought out arrangements sound effortless.

The end product sounds like a mix of The Spongetones' Merseybeat songcraft, the mod snap of Dirty Looks and The Insomniacs, with a verve on par with The Searchers and Dave Clark Five, though I'm not sure that the latter two ever came up with as consistent of a 14 track set during their '60s heyday. That the band manages to find some unexplored lyrical crannies in the world of innocent boy/girl pop makes it even more fun.

"Encouraging" is a clever conceit - the protagonist just wants the apple of his eye to let him know if he has a chance, so he can figure out whether to pursue her or move on. The light fingered guitar solo only enhances the innocent "you wanna have a Coke" feel of the tune. You've heard of post-modernism? This is past-modernism.

But The Decibels' primary mission is to rock. And they achieve this objective in different ways: the garage shock of "I'll Do Anything", "Wrong Way Right" and "My Mind" which are Plimsoulsful, and numbers like "Something New" and "Poor Sidney" that chart a course between The Jam and pub-rock.
As to be expected, none of these songs linger much beyond three minutes, making for a tight, punchy affair. Folks who have dug the recent releases of The Montgomery Cliffs and The Fletcher Pratt may want to check this out.

___________________________________________________

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

____________________________________________________