Kevin Mathews: PoPinions: June, 2001

PoPinions: So Far, So Good, So What?!

2001: My fave music…

Even as I type this, May is running out and June is on the touchline waiting to come on (don't you just love sports metaphors?). It has been a good couple of months for new pop albums although much of my record listening time has been devoted to the fag ends of 2000 releases.

That said, there have been quite a few outstanding albums that have demanded my close attention these early moments of the new millennium. Whether or not these albums will have a lasting impact on yours truly and pop music in general is impossible to say. My tastes in modern rock and pop music deviate so much from what is currently "hip" and "cool" that I suppose ultimately, the relevance of these great collections in the greater scheme of things is moot.

With that caveat in mind, let us approach…

Trainspotting is a critic's disease - the insatiable need to find some tread, any theme in the music that is being made - is a somewhat unnecessary distraction in the quest for discovering good music. Which is why my first thought when writing this piece was - the flowering of Cosmic American Music or No Depression or Rootsrock or whatever the hell you want to call it. So, sue me.

Come to California by New York quartet Mannix springs to mind when discussing the newest country-flavoured pop-rock. This double-CD concept album not only contains truly memorable songs but boasts a thematic core as well. One that never hits you on the head but if you allow it to will touch your heart. Where Mannix keeps things fairly traditional, Acetone with the superlative York Blvd mix up the country-folk-blues inflections with psychedelic freakbeat and freeform jams. This trio runs a tight ship and there is hardly any "retro" fat on this lean modern machine - although there are times when York Blvd sounds too slick for its own good.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the rustic ruminations of John Bemis and Greg Hanson a.k.a. Hooverville. The back-to-basics style employed by this talented duo leaves everything to the imagination as their plain bluegrass hillbilly folk agenda is filled with stories of heartbreak, betrayal, murder, loss and regret. The name of the album is Lucky Rabbit's Foot and it is a sleeper that should not be ignored. Equally reflective albeit with a more alternative methodology is the new album - Songs in a Northern Key - from Varnaline. Mixing elements of psychedelia, punk, pure pop and noise rock into the overall rustic mixture, Varnaline maintains a melancholic yet uplifting quality throughout this impressive effort. Also notable additions to this "genre" are the new releases from The Silos and The Tyde.

Joe Henry, remembered for his alt. country forays in the early 1990s, returns with a superlative jazz-inflected album called Scar. With guests like the legendary Ornette Coleman on hand, Scar is the sound of a talented singer-songwriter unafraid to expand the boundaries of his craft. A remarkable achievement all told.

Another singer-songwriter at the top of his game is David Mead. Produced by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, Mine and Yours is a heady concoction of classic pop sensibilities and modern rock styles and techniques: Jeff Buckley singing Paul McCartney songs is NOT an exaggeration!

2001 also signals the latest adventures of our favourite space cadet, Bob Pollard, whose Guided By Voices delivered perhaps their most consistent record to date with Isolation Drills, its major achievement being the ability to meld the disparate influences of The Who, Genesis and Husker Du into one coherent whole.

On the pure power pop front, The Rosenbergs have already begun to stake their claim to the album of the year with the amazing work that is Mission: You. Its seamless high-octane pop quality is extraordinary and the infectious excellence of its tunes is indeed a wonder. Try playing this without humming along - I challenge you!

Kevin Junior and The Chamber Strings are often lumped together with the "No Depression" crowd but not after the sublime baroque pop genius of Month of Sundays, I'll wager! Drawing from classic early 70s AM radio inspirations (The Beach Boys, Nilsson, Todd Rundgren, Carole King, Paul McCartney et al), this essential disc is an exercise in the purest pop, thanks also to the pristine production values of Thom (Pernice Brothers) Monahan.

Scott MacCaughey gets my vote for the "wackiest idea with the best tunes" award with the double CD, Minus 5 vs. The Young Fresh Fellows. Not since Todd's seminal Something/Anything has a double album been so richly filled with non-stop pop thrills. With outstanding collaborators like Peter Buck, Jon Auer, Barret Martin, Ken Stringfellow, Robyn Hitchcock, the High Llamas and Kurt Bloch, this tantalising set is a must-have for all power pop believers.

Other worthy mentions in this field - the triumphant comeback of Baltimore's Splitsville with The Complete Pet Soul, an item no Beatles/Beach Boys can afford to miss; the sophomore release from Chewy Marble, Bowl of Surreal wherein the pop encyclopaedic skills of Brian Kassan and co get put to the test and basically top score; the great pop hope inherent in American Hi-Fi's eponymous debut and the equally important self-released second album from The Tories, Upside of Down. Power pop's very own supergroup SWAG weighs in with a killer exposition of the genre with Catchall.

Now that tribute albums have effectively flooded the market, a new trend comes along to stir things up - the artistic covers album. You know, the kind that challenges the recording artist to innovation and not invite lazy mimicry. In this arena, we have superb contributions from Mark Kozelek's What's Next to the Moon, Jon Auer's 6½ and Michael Carpenter's SOOP #1, every single one worth the investigation.

Before closing, these re-issues have brightened my particular corner of the globe. Take note. All Things Must Pass by George Harrison; The Last Bandit by Nikki Sudden; Diamonds and Dirt by Rodney Crowell and the fabulous The Orgone Box, whose self-titled album is probably THE discovery of the year, thus far. More to come, more to savour stay tuned pop fans!

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