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The Minders
Golden Street

(Spinart)

www.theminders.com

US Release Date: March 20, 2001

Ah, the pop world of the mid-to-late sixties was a magical musical place. You'd take your guitar to the scene in Greenwich Village or Haight-Ashbury, depending on your coastal preference, find like-minded spirits to form a group and get groovy. Life was flowers and paisleys and peace and young people believing in things and protesting evils. The music was everywhere, reflecting this hopeful candor, this great moment in time. Hang on there, Sloopy -- in retrospect, all things seem simpler and better. But here's the cool little secret of the moment -- in some small alcoves of the musical universe, the spirit of that era lives on.

Where? Portland, Oregon is the current home to The Minders' ongoing battle against the forward progress of time. But thanks to them, you can have the sixties back right in the comfort of your own home. Golden Street is a marvelous collection of thirteen pop jewels that recall a time of beaded bell-bottomed longhaired glory. Main Minder Martyn Leaper and his wife Rebecca Cole take a big step forward here, maturing as songwriters, enlisting the bass of Jicks' member Joanna Bolme, the drums of Hutch Harris and molding their formidable pop hooks into songs lasting three and sometimes even four minutes (take that, GBV's Robert Pollard!).

The Minders have sprung up out of the self-same Elephant 6 collective that has given us The Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel. And beyond that, others like Elf Power and Of Montreal are covering similar terrain. But while an occasional similarity to one of these label mates or others occurs, there is a slightly more polished feel to the looseness here, a bit less of that 4-track indie feel in the overall production. Many of those other bands offer up hit-and-miss collections of sporadically catchy hooks splashed on and often hidden within a larger canvas of sunny retro-ambient pop sounds. On this strong CD, Leaper & Co. jump to the fore, crafting musical op art, displaying a colorful collage of varied sixties-style influences.

Before I present the lowdown on some tracks, let me caution you on the number of musical references The Minders brings to mind. I could fill pages upon pages with band names (some like John Fred and his Playboy Band or The Royal Guardsmen or even early Grand Funk Railroad that you haven't thought about in ages), but it would only confuse you. If pressed to narrow it down, to generalize, I'd say the sound is comparable to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd cross-pollinated with Donovan (and the obligatory Kinks, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Zombies, Left Banke, Yardbirds, Troggs, etc. okay I'll stop now, really).

Rebecca Cole handles the heavily featured piano/keyboard/harpsichord aspects here, co-writing a few tunes with her husband (and penning the poignant minute-long instrumental), and contributing lovely vocals on the quietly psychedelic "Sleeping Through Everything." The title track opener fades in on her piano arpeggios already in progress and when Leaper's voice joins the mix, we're off and running.

Golden Streets really is a Martyn Leaper showcase of mastered musical styles. On "Hand on Heart" we get a taste of Stones-like anthem rock. "Give Me Strength" with its horn accompaniment or "Right As Rain" could fit in comfortably on a few Sloan albums. "Light" and its darkly submerged vocals and harpsichord treatment is a fine example of psychedelic pop, while "Treehouse" and "Easy Now" cover sixties folksy nostalgia admirably.

"Middle of the Part" features a tastefully subtle middle guitar bridge that could be channeled from George H. circa "And I Love Her." "We Never Shout" hits some Donovan notes making me want to stroll down Carnaby Street in some very mod fashions. Favor the style of early Pink Floyd? Give a listen to the beginning of "Nice Day For It." How about later Pink Floyd? Just keep listening and you'll hear "The Wall" meets "Revolution No. 9" I kid you not. Right before the song returns to its beginnings, I promise you'll be tempted to shout out "I've got blisters on my fingers!"

Martyn Leaper spreads his songwriting talent over a host of genres and decades here, taking great care to get it right. Unfortunately, no lyrics are included, but in general they are effectively thoughtful and well integrated into the creative whole. Golden Streets is a pleasurably sustained effort, chock full of fun pop music that despite having roots in the past is something new and worth having.

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Scott Gorsuch
Purple

(#A Records)

Release Date: 2/1/2001

www.scottgorsuch.com

The first three chords chime, build and repeat dramatically on top of subtle harmonies and summoning drums; then burst into the opening verse of the song "Popular. Right away you are drawn in, hearing this commanding voice relate the tale of a girl who swears she's not a slut; she's just popular ("attention, yeah affection, no"). You wonder who this impressive group might be, the harmonies, guitar, bass and drums all calling out in some familiar way. These guys are good and yet, these guys are just various multi-layered aspects of one very talented Scott Gorsuch.

The first three chords chime, build and repeat dramatically on top of subtle harmonies and summoning drums; then burst into the opening verse of the song "Popular. Right away you are drawn in, hearing this commanding voice relate the tale of a girl who swears she's not a slut; she's just popular ("attention, yeah affection, no"). You wonder who this impressive group might be, the harmonies, guitar, bass and drums all calling out in some familiar way. These guys are good and yet, these guys are just various multi-layered aspects of one very talented Scott Gorsuch.

The good news is that he shines on this first solo CD. Purple is an incredibly rich array of do-it-yourself talent by Gorsuch, achieving a fullness and depth of sound that defies the fact that almost all of it is Gorsuch (with some friends contributing bass and/or drums on a few tracks), and further, that most of it was recorded in Gorsuch's own apartment.

Gorsuch offers ten original songs here, with standout vocals that anchor every arrangement with an emotional range of a Jeff Buckley. The songs are compelling and musically complex, often taking unexpected turns to surprise ears trained to hear the sameness of modern three-chord punk pop. Gorsuch creates lush complex songs with a penchant for the dramatic, weaving effective Queen-like harmonies into the mix, yet transcending any easy "prog-rock" classification to create something power pop and original.

The infectious bouncing bass and chiming guitars on "Mary Margaret" invoke the spirit of Jellyfish and those that have followed in their pop wake, say Sweden's The Merrymakers for instance. The happy melody runs counter to the lyrics of loneliness and mystery surrounding Mary Margaret, a nun.

Since Gorsuch doesn't opt for easy melodies or simple production, many of the songs require a number of listens for full appreciation. Lyrically, Gorsuch does a nice job of finding poetic ways to describe either commonplace or emotionally charged situations. "The Ghost of St. Ashes" tells of getting harangued by a ghost while drunk and asleep in one's bed (you mean that's never happened to you?), while "Apartment" does a great job of relating the microcosm of having the whole world and its problems right there within the objects of one's own apartment.

"The Girl Downstairs" conveys the mental bumps encountered along the road of a new relationship: "Every night she turns off her light / she's right below me / but she's miles away." Musically, the song captures the nervous edge of the lyrical story, and also shows some of Gorsuch's lead guitar skills to great advantage. "Space Heater" uses a harder-edged almost metallic sound to serve its lyrical anger. The title track "Purple" is an invitation/reflection love-poem set to music that builds slowly into a certain discord: "the sky was floating / she lay beyond the shade / relaxing in her fragile abandon /dreaming."

There are interesting musical references throughout. "Tangerine" is a musical second cousin to the Beatles' White Album classic "I Want You," while my current favorite track "Mimosa" sounds like an odd cross between Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and something penned by Brian Wilson (and some hot lead guitar too). All told, Gorsuch really does an impressive job on Purple. His debut solo CD leaves you wanting more but since he's already busy writing songs for his next album, perhaps we won't have long to wait.

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Derek Cintron
Oh The Drama

www.derekcintron.com

(Sportatorium)

Release Date: March 21, 2000

Sure, this CD has been out over a year, but as the latest available work of an important South Florida “do-it-yourself-er” that bears close watching, it’s better late than never. This sophomore effort from former Vandal drummer and Humbert guitarist Derek Cintron is an impressive showcase of his many skills. With the exception of a few small musical touches added by friends, Mr. Cintron does it all here vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards and string arrangements. And while more and more are joining this one-man band phenomenon, Cintron does it admirably with strong drums anchoring the tunes and driving the rock forward.

Musically, what we have here is an interesting combination of many rock types perhaps all part of the evolutionary process that gets solved over time. With so much talent, Derek currently hits all compass points on the musical map perhaps time will provide him with necessary focus going ahead into the next CD. On Oh…The Drama, Derek might have overextended himself in the variety of styles covered. You get everything from vivid upbeat classic rock to slower ballads to choral pseudo-gospel here. In the stronger songs, you detect direct Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin influences; in some weaker efforts, you hear shades of what could be Loverboy, Foreigner or Ritchie Blackmore filler material.

A brief word here about the CD packaging the cover pic has the artist in underwear in his driveway holding a limp garden hose and a cocktail, the inside photo has Derek Cintron running toward the camera in a bloodied T-shirt. I’m not sure what the intention was here, but unfortunately, it seems misguided. The cover and inside CD photographs tempt one to dismiss the CD sound unheard -- but I urge you to ignore any “rush to judgment” play the music and play it loud.

What you’ll hear is nothing less than a good summer CD, fun to play in the car or at the beach. The CD opens with the very catchy “Ride,” a classic hard-edged rocking song about just fleeing one’s life by driving across country to California -- from Florida, presumably -- and ultimately discovering there is no escape. It is a good vehicle (no pun intended) to sample his superior drumming and guitar skills.

A softer but equally catchy song “Closure,” tells of a disturbing confrontation of holding an ex-lover at gunpoint, seeking closure, eager to get an explanation and full accounting of what went wrong. It seems a little extreme to me but hey, this is America, folks and passion sometimes gets mixed up with handguns.

“Pirate Radio,” an anthem to underground broadcasting’s battles against “the man,” is an effective guitar-driven song that trades off a Golden Earring-like rhythm to find its own musical identity. Rock and roll still lives, as witnessed on many of the eleven tracks here. Cintron’s vocals are up to the task on “How Sorry Your Are,” another song with more musical than lyrical power. Alas, it is another embittered song of love lost. “Walk Again” is one of the slower tempo songs, with a wonderful bluesy guitar lead in mid-track, again all about the emptiness of the post-relationship world.

“Quitter” is a song that has gotten some airplay on Florida’s college radio circuit, deservedly so. It’s a decent tune that again spotlights Derek’s guitar abilities, while lyrically it examines the difficulties of quitting an addictive relationship. Listen carefully here - for a tight band, this song would be amazing enough, but for one man to have done all the parts, it really inspires awe.

I guess that’s my point here - I am curious to see what comes next musically in this man’s career and you should too. He’s a good dynamic songwriter that can do justice to classic rock/pop sounds we haven’t heard much of lately. I’ll admit that lyrically perhaps the man is a bit too stuck on relationships gone bad and their aftermath, but he can write a good song and assembles his visions with technical grace and driving force. Oh…The Drama is a fun album, especially when you consider that it’s all Derek Cintron. As such, he deserves a wider audience to listen now and wait to see what happens next.

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