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==== ISSUE 99 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [February 3, 1997]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@email.njin.net
Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Dan Enright, Reto Koradi,
David Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr,
Al Muzer, Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker
Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron,
Paul Grzelak, Janet Herman, Bill Holmes, Eric
Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Stephen Lin, Scott Miller,
P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott, Simon
Speichert, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir
Wallner, Simon West
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@email.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the
editor.
==================================================================
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| Contents |
`------------'
INTERVIEW: Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) - Joe Silva
REVIEW: Jake, _Hooked_ - Scott A. Miller
REVIEW: Bill Janowitz, _Lonesome Billy_ - Jon Steltenpohl
REVIEW: Stereo Total, _Monokini_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Martin Luther Lennon, _Music For A World Without
Limitations_ - Bill Holmes
REVIEW: Bloodhound Gang, _One Fierce Beer Coaster_ - Scott Slonaker
REVIEW: Various Artists, _Source Lab 2_ - Tim Hulsizer
REVIEW: Audioweb, _Audioweb_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: The Jam, _The Jam: Collection_ - Al Muzer
REVIEW: The Subsonics - _Everything's Falling Apart_ - Joe Silva
REVIEW: Spiderbait _The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley
Lake_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: Pulley, _Esteem Driven Engine_ - Simon Speichert
NEWS: American Songwriters Network, Blind Melon, Duran Duran,
Shonen Knife/Poptopia, Pulp, Sonicnet Chats, Verve Pipe, Mike Watt
TOUR DATES: Backsliders, Benna, Lisa Cerbone, Chalk Farm / Wild
Colonials, Connells, Cordelia's Dad, Cravin' Melon, Goldfinger /
Reel Big Fish, Humble Gods / Human Waste Product / Dial 7, Kula
Shaker / Rasputina, Nil Lara, Mother Hips, Porno For Pyros,
Professor & Maryann, Pure, Royal Fingerbowl, Sebadoh, Slush, Type
O Negative / Sister Machine Gun / Drain S.T.H., Vallejo, Warm Wires
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
Back Issues of Consumable
---
INTERVIEW: Richard D. James (Aphex Twin)
- Joe Silva
On no noticeable cue or without the standard dimming
of lights, Richard James walks casually to center stage at
a mid-sized rock venue in Atlanta. Both his arrival and his
demeanor are so subdued that when he bends over to poke
at certain pieces of equipment, the audience assumes he's
just another disheveled member of the road crew preparing
for another rendition of the acapella standard "Check, one two."
But in a moment, the club's soundsystem perks up and
something that sounds like an assembly of toads rhythmically
bleating is laid atop the audience. A massive drum beat ensues
and a thin blonde kid done up in baggy skate gear next to me
stops the conversation he's having and says "Look, that's him.
That's the f*cking Twin!" The sound of the toads erupts
further.
Yes, it was him - the Twin. The infamous tank wielding,
sleep shunning asthmatic who figures high up in the
fellowship of electronic music's knob twiddlers. The Aphex
Twin - spinning vinyl more than a year or so ago so as to
warm up the masses who came out to see Bjork tour behind
her mega _Post_ lp. When she appears later, she will make
the crowd surge and holler, but while James shuffles
booming slices of jungle and techno between turntables,
the capacity gathering hardly responds. A few bob emphatically,
trying hard to rave proper but most just shift restlessly
while they await her elfin-ship.
"Yeah, I remember that." James says a release or two and some
many months later over a lo-fi transatlantic phone line. But with
some more urging, he'll add that the reaction was more the exception
than the norm as far as the rest of the tour went. While he makes
that point when pressed a bit, you can tell that Richard probably
only cares so much about incidents like an off night in Georgia.
For a while he abandoned appearances in general for a while,
even though he gigs were fairly well received ("Yeah, they were
great," he now admits). Instead he did some woodsheding and took on
the mammoth task of filling his laptop with the sum total of all his
repertoire. "It took about a year...." So the Twin can now basically
recreate his psyche-shredding beats and soundscapes
anywhere and all out of something smaller than a suitcase.
To him, this seems massively liberating.
Which is part of the Aphex Twin work ethic. He insists on
being at all times, totally capable and self-sufficient. He
works at such a breakneck pace that while we're all set to
muse over his new recording (_Richard D. James_), he's
already hundreds of hours and probably one or two projects
ahead of us. Since one record company can't sanely keep up
with his output, James' has gone the way of releasing material
under multiple psuedonyms (Polygon Window, Analogue
Bubblebath, etc.).
But what he's sent over Stateside, for the moment, is a fairly
compelling group of selections from the backlog. _Richard D. James_,
with it's blurred drum beats and winsome synth tones, is not
jungle (in a sense), but not purely ambient either. It strikes me
at the moment that I found it most engaging during an evening's
drive home through the country with daylight fleeing fast over
a horizon dotted with frost covered trees and a few roaming bovine
characters settling in for the evening - the soundtrack coloring in
a landscape during a moment of drastic shift in character or mood.
Dance floor material this is not.
Richard, for his part, has not too much to add by way of
explanation. He has no reason, for instance, why two key tracks on
the new album which share an almost orchestral fraternity with one
another differ in that one in solemn and simply beautiful ("Goongumpas")
and the other ("Girl/Boy Song") is sprayed with frantic jungle rhythms
and haywire percussion. Richard "reckons" it's completely arbitrary -
two pieces of modern electronic music whose presentation is
perfect as is but possibly completely whimsical.
Then there's also the appearance of the Twin's vocal debut.
"I've used my voice a lot before on other tracks, but this time
it was untreated," James recounts. Indeed, a shy, almost reticent
Richard appears sonically naked on "Milkman." It's not really singing
as such, but more like the Twin endlessly chanting a little two line
bit of fancy that a child might more aptly recite in his head en route
to school. "I wish the milkman would deliver my milk in the
morning/I would like some milk from the milkman's wife's
tits."
But Richard is not particularly preoccupied with this bit
of evolution either. Instead, he says he's more interested
in a type of programming that he's recently taken to: "It's
more like putting together pieces of sound than actual
code." When he's mastered this, we shall see some dramatic
things appear in his music apparently. He's almost ready to
have a few classical musicians in to play a few parts and
let him sample the complete range of their instruments
for an idea that, while he doesn't discuss in much detail,
should be quite revolutionary. Pictures will also be figured
into the process eventually, but his compulsion to have a
command over that aspect of his work before he
unveils it to the planet, will keep this under wraps for a
time as well.
Right now, however, I leave Richard with the minor
dilemna of trying to return to composing without the
hinderance of headphones. Since he left his native
Cornwall for London, any of his efforts that involve
volume have been put down by his neighbors. And what
with Richard's near-legendary habit of avoiding sleep,
this is fairly understandable local concern.
"Well, I sleep a lot more than I used to, but if I have
ideas I want to get up right then and get them into my computer,"
James confesses. Further transmissions are apparently imminent.
---
REVIEW: Jake, _Hooked_ (Blackbird)
- Scott A. Miller
Into the rapidly expanding universe of female-fronted
bands steps Jake with lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Jessie
Lee Montague. But what sets Jake's debut _Hooked_ apart from
the others are emotionally raw lyrics and a gift for using
funk as a weapon.
_Hooked_ gets right down to business with "Anything
But Love." Four bars into a swaggering Melissa Etheridge-like
guitar riff, Montague's voice quietly addresses a (soon-to-be-ex)
lover. Eight bars later the song busts wide open as she wails
away at the chorus: "But I don't really think I am the one to
keep you up at night or make you lose your appetite for anything
but love."
This kind of angry funk surfaces again in _Hooked_'s
fifth song, "NewFunk," which finds Montague singing "you've got
a lot to learn about loving me." "Time" also gets the funk out
as Montague implores "what have I got to do for you to look at
me skin and all?" It's really not until the album's 11th song,
"Monster," that Montague finally gets down and dirty, using funk
in the sexy way radio is accustomed to with the line "I burn in
all the places your fires start."
But by that time, you've already realized this is a
songwriter who may a little world weary. And Montague has seen
her share of the world, from busking for money in London's
Underground to living as a squatter with no heat or running water
in a Brooklyn tenement. She's turned those experiences into lines
like "If you believe there's a heaven somewhere between you and
me, I will try to believe there's a heaven. But the angel's gone
blind in the sweet summer snow, I hardly remember what I used to
know..." from "Heaven."
And she doesn't make apologies for it. "Songwriting is a
very intuitive process for me," she says. "It's a release. I go for
the emotion, or the images that recreate my emotions."
When you hear funk, you automatically think rhythm section,
because what's funk without bass and drums? To their credit, bassist
Johnny Raggs and percussionist Jagoda hold up their end of the
bargain without ever getting in the way of Montague's expressive
voice and impressive guitar work, which owes more than a nod to
both Etheridge and Hendrix.
Jagoda is particularly good at using bongos and tom-toms
to keep even quiet songs percolating. Calling him a drummer seems
like an understatement. Producer Kevin Bents steps from behind the
board from time to time to add spare background vocals, guitars, and
piano.
Though it's the funk that stars here, _Hooked_ has its quiet
moments. Except for Jagoda's soft percussion, you can almost imagine
Montague standing alone with her guitar singing "Heaven" or "Monkey"
or the title track.
Other bands - the late, great San Francisco band Wire Train,
for instance - have tried to mine the depths of funk for a
breakthrough and for the most part failed, not because the music
wasn't worthy, but because the general population just isn't ready
for groove-based guitar rock from the dark side. That's too bad
for the general population, because with Jake it could be missing a
lot more than just a bunch of great riffs.
---
REVIEW: Bill Janowitz, _Lonesome Billy_ (Beggar's Banquet)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Everyone needs some variety from their day job. Buffalo
Tom's Bill Janowitz takes a short breather from his normal gig
with this set of country flavored tunes aptly titled _Lonesome
Billy_. The album was recorded on 16 track in a railroad freight
yard in Arizona with friends from Giant Sand/Friends of Dean
Martinez. With only 3 days of recording, 2 days of mixing, and
no soundproofing, _Lonesome Billy_ represents Bill Janowitz in its
rawest form.
Raw is Janowitz's specialty. The best Buffalo Tom tracks
have always been gritty, in your face nuggets of pop and angst.
This time out the theme is "Backwoods Bill," and the bulk of the
songs are slow and sad. Production values are set aside for
spontaneity, and, depending on your taste, the album comes off as
either a loose invigorating jam session or an uneven collection of
hastily recorded songs.
A silly country song "Girl's Club", gets you in the mood.
It's a meandering 3/4 time waltz about the trials and tribulations
of a guy with a week spot for feminists, but it suffers from some
annoying distortion in the guitar. Later, "Strangers" offers a
send-up of the sad country guy song that adds a little bit of
harmless 4 A.M. stalking to the "crying in your beer" theme.
Janowitz strays from the country theme for a few tracks.
"Gaslight" is closest to the Buffalo Tom sound, but it is too
distorted for its own good. "Ghost in My Piano" is a circus drunk
instrumental pilfered from Tom Waits, and there is a semi-serious
cover of "My Funny Valentine" thrown in for luck. These songs are
fun, but they probably will only appeal to Buffalo Tom fanatics for
novelty appeal.
Fortunately, Janowitz redeems _Lonesome Billy_ with some
truly powerful songs that are reminiscent of Elvis Costello's
acoustic tinged _King of America_ album. Fans who are familiar
with the solo tracks on the Buffalo Tom singles know exactly what
to expect. "Shoulder" and "Peninsula" deliver distraught lyrics,
acoustic guitar, and passionate vocals. The melancholy organ and
minimal back-up vocals in the background up the ante. Add the
"warts and all" production values, and you feel as if you're sitting
in with the band.
A duet, "Red Balloon", with Chris Toppin of Fuzzy closes the
album. It is a nice guy/girl ballad that, unlike most country duets,
is actually heartfelt and honest. The song's metaphor of love
drifting away like a balloon slipping through ones fingers avoids
seeming hackneyed or cliche'd. The song and the album drift away
with the musicians tinkering quietly on their instruments and the
sounds of railway trains fading away outside of the studio.
By design, Bill Janowitz offers an album that is loose and
relaxed. Thereis a certain artistic indulgence in recording songs
for the sheer pleasure of it, and it's refreshing that Beggar's
Banquet is releasing an album like _Lonesome Billy_. Clearly, this
is a "fan's" album. It's not quite on par with acts like Wilco or
The Jayhawks who are exclusively "alternative country", but it's
still a decent album that's a lot of fun.
---
REVIEW: Stereo Total, _Monokini_ (Bungalow/Rough Trade)
- Tim Mohr
A trashy mixture of easy sensibilities, French, German,
and English lyrics (all with a heavy French accent), punky guitars,
and odd Stereolab-ish electronics and keyboards, _Monokini_ shows
Stereo Total as capable of entering the pantheon of weird pop
alongside the likes of Pizzicato Five, Combustible Edison, Cibo
Matto, perhaps even Pussy Galore.
On their sophomore effort Berlin's Stereo Total take
control of their own destiny, writing all but four of the 15 titles
on the album. Despite the absence of the crutches that propped
their debut - covers of hits by Brigitte Bardot and KC and the
Sunshine Band, among others - _Monokini_ easily outclasses their
debut, _Oh Ah Ah_.
From the primal, cave-girl rock of "Lunatique" and "LA,CA,
USA" to the croony new wave of "Supergirl," the sampled Hawaiian
zaniness of "Shoen Von Hinten" to the spaghetti western feel of
"Furore," _Monokini_ stays interesting and varied.
Francoise Cactus handles most of the vocal chores, with a
voice that has the same qualities as Bardot: not exactly full, or
even in tune, but fun and animated and well-suited to the music.
The easy listening background of the band is on display on
a few tracks, particularly "Dilindam" and "Cosmonaute," though
they have skewed _Monokini_ more toward their punky new wave side,
perhaps taking inspiration from another rising Berlin band, the
Poptarts, whose no-chord girlie punk anthems are frequently tipped
to join Stereo Total at Bungalow Records. Stereo Total's "Tu
M'as Voulue," for instance, brings to mind Platic Bertrand's
Franco-punk classic, "Ca Plane Pour Moi."
The lead single, "Schoen Von Hinten" (i.e. pretty from
behind), samples or imitates the big drum run at the beginning
of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme song, then adds one of those slack
island guitar tones to a spritely, Pizzicato Five-esque pop romp.
---
REVIEW: Martin Luther Lennon, _Music For A World Without
Limitations_ (Not Lame)
- Bill Holmes
With a name like that it had better be good, eh?
Martin Luther Lennon (a.k.a. MLL) is actually the
pseudonym of Tony Perkins, bassist, songwriter and vocalist for
the band that also bears his nom de plume. You may have been teased
by the wonderful cuts "I Rule The World" and "No Love Lost" from
the _Sympophony_ sampler out last year, and if so, you've been
looking forward to more. So don't be thrown by song titles like
"Kill Kill Kill", or that "evil eye" pose on CD sleeve (memories of
that "other" Tony Perkins might come to mind) - your pop prayers have
been answered.
Starting with a bang and ending with an anthem,
_Limitations_ features enthusiastic, powerful playing from this
quartet. MLL plays a rhythmic, thumping bass in the style of Graham
Maby and Nick Lowe, and drummer Robbie Rist's powerful bottom gives
Lennon the freedom to race along with the guitarists when he feels
like it. And those guitars...wow! Big, FAT chunky pop guitar chords
that will bring out the air-guitar player in any popster. Major
league kudos to Steve Refling (who co-produced with Lennon) and Adam
Marsland for the axe work.
Lennon's vocals are abrupt and a touch affected, not unlike
Paul Collins or Joe Jackson - slightly imperfect, but then again they
somehow are perfect. When the harmonies check in, as they do so well
in "Brenda Revisited", they're glorious. And yet beneath the surface,
Lennon is singing about some disturbed topics - gun control, mass
murderers, Los Angeles riots and unsympathetic doctors - you know, the
standard pop subjects. Or maybe not.
A lot of comparisons could be made to the early Elvis Costello
albums with the Attractions. Lennon writes clever, sometimes twisted
lyrics and the band takes those simple rock and roll tools - guitar,
bass and drums - and kick it good. Had this album come out twenty
years ago, it would not have seemed out of place, yet it is current
and robust, just like those classic Elvis records would be if they
were 1997 releases.
At the heart of the record are hooks, hooks, and more
hooks. I feel silly walking down the street singing the refrain "No
junkies in West Hills", but I don't care. And I just can't get
"Happygirl" and "Wonderful Us" out of my head, let alone the CD
player. Pure Pop for Now People? Why not?
MLL and crew can also fire the melodies up to a pop pogo
frenzy; like the Ramones-ish "Gun Heaven" or the giddy "Dr. Nu" ("Dr.
Nu \ I hate you \ I do I do I do I do"). And "Hologram Sam" is classic
invasion Britpop more than a Marc Bolan nod.
Breaking up this frantic pace are two slower, acoustic songs
that suggest that MLL is Jonathan Richman's evil twin. Consider the
chorus of "I'm Just An Elephant" - "I'm just an elephant \ you can bet
it \ I may not know that much \ but I won't forget it". The disc's
closer, "Wonderful Us", is a simple, rhythmic song that's not saying
much more than "It's a wonderful world \ nobody knows but us", yet it's
framed in a bonafide set-closer of a pop song, complete with false
ending and refrain. I want to see this band live, now!
NotLame Recordings, a mail order service handling pop music,
also has a few artists signed to its record label. With Martin Luther
Lennon, they have a potential monster on their hands. The title of
the CD says it all. In a "world without limitations", this music
would be jumping out of your speakers right now.
---
REVIEW: Bloodhound Gang, _One Fierce Beer Coaster_ (Republic/Geffen)
- Scott Slonaker
Feeling stuck in an adolescent male rut? Have a serious
fixation with body orifices? Bad skin? Do you enjoy ridiculing
others, especially through the use of stereotypes? Then, dear
reader, meet your spiritual kin, the Bloodhound Gang.
Formed in 1994 in Philadelphia, the Bloodhound Gang spent
their 1995 major-label debut, _Use Your Fingers_, attempting to do
the white-boy rap thing, with apparently little success. Original
founding members Jimmy Pop Ali (vocals, samples) and Lupus (guitar)
assembled a new band with real instruments, found a new label, and
had at it. Somewhat of a They Might Be Giants for the Beavis and
Butt-head set (or maybe an R-rated Presidents of the U.S.A.), the
band's style veers wildly, and surprisingly seamlessly, from
distant Type O Negative-crunch to punk-pop to, yes, white-boy rap.
It might be best at this point to lay the truth out on the
table. The Bloodhound Gang want to offend you. They want badly to
offend you. Sure, they want you laughing at the utterly uproarious
lyrics (which you will), but there is a conscious effort here to
make parents and politicians mad. Almost no social archetype
escapes, least of all the band itself. Jimmy Pop has just as much
contempt for himself and his own abilities as he does anyone else.
This makes it easy to realize that the band is just kidding. The
whole affair is obviously tongue-in-cheek. See, for all their
would-be honkiness, the Bloodhound Gang are much smarter than they
act (separating them from Ween).
Now, disclaimers aside, _One Fierce Beer Coaster_ is no
musical work of art. To be musically intricate would be missing
the whole point. So, while hearing the virtual plagiarism of
Cypress Hill on "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" would
normally raise a major red flag, it passes by effortlessly. Other
songs borrow heavily from NOFX ("I Wish I Was Queer so I Could Get
Chicks"), House of Pain ("Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your
Brains Out)"), Onyx ("Asleep at the Wheel"), and early Beastie
Boys (most of the rest). But, the band sounds *good* stealing
from other people, in the same way that all the best "Weird Al"
Yankovic songs are the parodies of popular songs. Ironically, the
one major misstep on the entire record is a thrashy, distorted
cover of Run DMC's classic "It's Tricky". And lest we forget, the
country twang, chunky thrash, and unprintable chorus of the hit
single "Fire Water Burn" is truly memorable ("I'm not black like
Barry White/No, I am white like Frank Black is.")
Boatloads of hilarious samples, snippets, and other
touches kept me in stitches, from a cameo by Vanilla Ice on
"Boom" to the Homer Simpson soundalike on the final track,
"Reflections of Remoh" (good thing the lyrics are printed on
the inlay card). For those iron minds not easily cowed by vicious
(if ultimately innocuous) stereotypes, toilet humor and George
Carlin's seven famous Bad Words, _One Fierce Beer Coaster provides
a truckload of good, old-fashioned political incorrectness and
hilarity. And amazingly enough, the record is somehow able to keep
up the pace for the whole distance without (overly) repeating
itself. Howard Stern and the Beastie Boys would be proud. Always
thought that Webster looked a little devilish.
---
REVIEW: Various Artists, _Source Lab 2_ (Source/Gyroscope)
- Tim Hulsizer
Another cool partnership has formed in the electronic world
this past year. Gyroscope Records, the American dubsidiary of Caroline
Records, joined forces with the French experimental/cutting-edge dance
label Source. In Europe, Source is widely known as one of France's
coolest sonic exports and is uttered in the same breath as labels like
Metalheadz, Mo'Wax, and Science.
Enter the Source Lab series of compilations, which present a
great overview of the artists and styles that Source has to offer.
Source Lab 2 was released domestically at the end of 1996
and is absolutely essential if you like trip-hop, jungle, or jazzy
techno stuff. It doesn't stick with one particular theme, criscrossing
genres and blowing the mind on several levels at once.
There are only 3 true jungle/drum'n'bass tracks on the
compilation but they are all terrific, essential cuts. First off is the
Metalheadz/Bukem-inspired "Free Jah" by Zend Avesta. It uses the Goldie
kind of sound, with a sample of a guy shouting "Free Jah" over a fairly
repetitive set of jungle rhythms. The second jungle track is now among
my favorites: "Planete Interdite" by Krell. It begins with the LTJ
Bukem type of spacy noise, building into an explosion of freestyle beats
and staccatos. Then it pops in a female/alien whisper, crescendos, and
samples that keep your interest for the full 7:50 running time. Lastly
there's "Technical Jed" by Extra Lucid. Backwards loops, a sample that
says "you can't go on the way you are, you know", and a throbbing
bassline. Not a groundbreaker, but satisfying indeed.
Other tracks take a mellower approach . The thing I really like
about the colllection is that so many tunes sound organic because of the
real instruments sampled. The closing track by Air, "Casanova 70",
lulls the listener with echoing whistles, guitar and some great horn
sounds before bringing a beat and organ in, 4 minutes into the song -
laidback, sort of a cooldown track after the rest. There are some
excellent jazzy, hiphop kinds of tracks as well, like Alex Gopher's
"Gordini Mix" and Doctor L's terrific "Ghost Town", a slow, menacing jam
with sampled/distorted raps.
As for the rest, it hits all the bases. Presented here is the
full version of Daft Punk's "Musique", which appeared on the _Wipeout
XL_ video game soundtrack. Main Basse has a cool techno song "Hunt
One Connection" with some great wah-wah effects. And I really dig a
track called "Bomb De Bretagne" by Le Tone. The entire thing consists
of real sounds they sampled. There's an upright bass, ice cubes falling
into a glass, a drink being stirred, an aerosol can being sprayed,
and more. All in all, a worthy collection of artistic, funky
electronica. It makes a nice addition to any fan's collection, spices
up any DJ set, and gives a great overview of a very exciting label,
Source Records. Rumor has it that the next edition _Source Lab 3_
will have a simultaneous release (US/Europe) in the first quarter of
this year. Be on the lookout.
---
REVIEW: Audioweb, _Audioweb_ (Mother - Import)
- Tim Mohr
As the commercial re-birth of British indie enters its
fifth year, there must be some worries about the long-term
viability of the movement - can Britpop sustain itself
indefinitely? Of course the top bands will do fine, just as the
cream of earlier musical trend waves is still visible: the
Charlatans from the Madchester era, the Boo Radleys from shoe
gazing, Dinosaur Jr and Buffalo Tom from the Boston-area boom,
the Cure from the, um, middle ages. But if Britpop is capable of
maintaining interest and sales levels, the music must begin to
transform so that another ice age doesn't take hold as happened
at the close of the shoe-gazing period.
The vast difference between Audioweb and Suede, the band
usually credited with inaugurating the current Britpop era, shows
that the idea of Britpop remains flexible enough to carry on for
at least a while longer. Audioweb's combination of bursts of
guitar and other trappings of indie with a loping dub beat is
good news for listeners now, and should demonstrate to cynincs
that the future of Britpop need not entail infinite permutations
of Oasis, Ash, Pulp, and Elastica.
Anyone who finds Britpop's re-hash bands boring can find
solace - and a rollicking good time - in Audioweb's self-titled
debut, an album that showcases a band not satisfied to latch onto
an existing sound.
Audioweb hail from Manchester and, like fellow Mancunians
Black Grape, meld dance and traditional indie styles. Unlike the
sound on Black Grape records, the mixture on _Audioweb_ is very
balanced, rather than tipped towards dance. The male vocalist
combines Ian Brown of the Stone Roses, Bernard Butler's partner
McAlmont, and HR of Bad Brains: gentle melodic lines, silky
vibratto and soaring falsetto, jumpy ragga growls.
The music is almost all played live, from break beats to
bass to electric and acoustic guitars, engaging in a way that
sampled music sometimes fails to be. Standout tracks such as "Time"
or the lead single "Sleeper" transpose flashing guitar lines onto
rumbling bass while retaining a lightness of touch that keeps
them clearly out of the camp that combines metal and hip-hop: an
artful jab to counter the knock-out punch of a Dub War or Sensor.
---
REVIEW: The Jam, _The Jam: Collection_ (Polydor)
- Al Muzer
Not quite as well-annotated as one would hope, this is,
nonetheless, a perfect companion for the 1983 _Snap!_ collection
(although it does duplicate a few tracks) - and yet another
reminder that there's absolutely no explaining the musical taste
of most Americans.
Huge in Britain during their 1977-1982 run, why, exactly,
this melodic, sharp-suited, musically-gifted, mod-pop band never
took off on these shores while artists such as Devo, The Knack,
Blondie and, briefly, Nick Lowe, Squeeze and Ian Gomm cleaned up
is anybody's wild guess.
A collection of album tracks and B-sides such as "Away
From The Numbers," "Carnation," "Wasteland," "I Need You,"
"Saturday's Kids" and "Man In The Corner Shop"; the latest reissue
of this powerful three-piece's work showcases a cocky cockney group
of Small Faces, Beatles and Who fanatics who could've given the
likes of Christopher Cross and Dan Hill a real fight on the
charts - had radio programmers been a bit more adventurous back in
the dark days of Styx, Air Supply, The Captain and Tennille, Lionel
Richie and the Bee Gees.
---
REVIEW: The Subsonics - _Everything's Falling Apart_ (Get Hip)
- Joe Silva
Having come by this record as I have, you too could claim that
your long withered faith in college radio had finally been revived.
Only commuters (and people who populate the Great Plains) probably
know the sheer desperation that eventually forces one to stray from
hitsville stations with their booming signals to obscure places on
the dial seeking stimulation and relief. Well, the goosestepping
commercial radio programmers can have their "Sin Blossoms" and
"Mounting Crows" (sic) because there's new hope off the beaten path.
And that's precisely where the Subsonics live...for the moment.
Sired in clubland Atlanta, where on any given night there
remains a healthy and weird mix of genres on display, the Subsonics
revel in the all-tarted-up, looking-for-some-place-seedy side of
town. With wound up and distortion-free guitar lines and a drum kit
that's forever pounding out clean, understated 4/4-isms, the
Subsonics could make Lou Reed smile if that were ever possible.
Because since the Dream Syndicate went away and R.E.M. got serious,
the progeny and champions of the Velvet Underground are not quite as
readily apparent as they used to be.
Singer Clay Sterling Reed's (hmmm) vocal posture is half
leopard skin rant and half insectiod drone. But even during the
finest moments of his distinct warbling, he has to compete with the
vintage twang of his guitar. Once fused though, the two elements
brilliantly carry these songs through their all-too-brief paces.
Unlike the low-fi prattle of current indie heroes (with the noted
exception of Guided By Voices), the Subsonics know how to shift
between riff and melody like seasoned pros - knowing a nice slice
of verve when they concoct one, and knowing when to leave it behind
them, pristine and memorable, and move on.
For a text, it seems like they're more apt to lift chatter
and observations from the local diner than bother the pensive
nothings of a Dolores O'Riordan diary. Blatant snipes like "I Made
You A Clown" and "I Didn't Think You Could Take It" make Clay seem
to enjoy dishing dirt as much as fingering his...er, six string.
Perfect for parties or the pause between Bush replays, the
Subsonics are far deft at giving listeners such a cool sendup such
at this and remain forever an unknown quantity. Get yours now.
For further information on Get Hip, contact 412-231-4766 or
check out the web page at http://www.gethip.com
---
REVIEW: Spiderbait _The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of
Finley Lake_ (Polydor Australia)
- Linda Scott
AC/DC is without question one of the best known of the
Australian bands. Their worldwide success is an inspiration to their
countrymen. Spiderbait is another band from Down Under ready to
make the leap to a larger audience. This trio from the title
Finley consist of Kram (drums, lead vocals), cousin Whitt (guitar and
vocals) and Janet (bass/vocals). Long on vocalists and talent but
short on names, the band's stated goal is to make every album track
sound as if it were by a different group. Primarily using a punk
rock sound, Spiderbait throws reggae, funk, country, Spanish guitar
and a horn section into the mix. These styles find their way into
different tracks, and Spiderbait does have different musical styles
on the album tracks.
_The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake_ is a title
and a half. It refers to a galleon restoration project in the trio's
home town. This album is the band's first release on a major label,
and the one that has gotten them tours of Canada and the U.S. The
band's strong lyrics and vocals are sometimes buried in the high
speed punk rush to the finish lines. Songs like "I Gotta Know",
"Sam Gribbles" and "Jesus" need several listens to retrieve lyrics
behind the energy and venom of drums and guitar. Spiderbait is said
to be a showstopper in concert where they attract wild moshers and
stage divers. The band's concern for safety and the feeling their
audience isn't really listening helped lead them from being a club
band to the more traditional album/touring arrangement.
Spiderbait built their strong fan base in Australia. If you
like punk with some eccentric grooves, pick up _The Unfinished Galleon_.
---
REVIEW: Pulley, _Esteem Driven Engine_ (Epitaph)
- Simon Speichert
Pulley is a fun band. What started as jamming and playing around
has turned into a great album for the band, which contains members and
ex-members of Ten Foot Pole, Strund Out, Face To Face, and Scared
Straight.
Produced by Ryan Greene, Pulley's debut album, _Esteem Driven
Engine_ (if you'll pardon the pun) hits you like a freight train, with 14
astounding tracks including "Cashed In", "No Defense", "She", and "All We
Have". The band's music is fast and melodic, upfront, no frills, no B.S.,
and it grows on you.
Pulley will never go the way of the "side project band" (you know,
release one album, fade off into nowhere), simply because it's a fun
thing. These guys are so energetic, I can feel their energy radiating from
my CD player.
The band started in 1995, but the band truly had its beginning
in 1984 with just a couple of guys jamming together. But, in late '95, when
vocalist Scott parted with Ten Foot Pole, he decided to start a new band.
Enlisting his old friends Mike, Jim, ex-Ten Foot Pole drummer Jordan, and
bassist Matt, Pulley was then born. They may not seem to have much
experience to an outsider, who may think they've just started, but these
five guys have many years of experience.
The bottom line on Pulley's _Esteem Driven Engine_ is that if you
were a fan of any of these guys in their previous bands, or if you're into
the hardcore/punk scene, you will be amazed at what they can do. If you're
a newcomer to punk, you'll like the melodies.
---
NEWS: > The 1997 USA Songwriting Competition, sponsored by
the American Songwriters Network, comes to a close on March 1,
1997. Judges include industry members of the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences. For more information, competition
rules, regulations and entry forms call (617)536-6630 10 am to
5 pm (EST) or e-mail USA Songwriting Competition at asn@tiac.net
> The remaining members of Blind Melon will be appearing
in an online chat at MTV Online's AOL (America On-Line) site
(keyword: MTV or MTVArena) February 6 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
> Co-founding member of Duran Duran, John Taylor, recently
announced his amicable departure from the band after more than 18 years.
> Japan's Shonen Knife will be headlining Los Angeles' Poptopia
Festival at the Troubadour on February 8. Other bands on the bill for
the evening include the Muffs, Cockeyed Ghost, Wondermints and
Splitsville.
> Pulp's guitarist Russell Senior has quit the band to
pursue the ever-vague "new projects".
> Sonicnet will be having online chats at
http://www.sonicnet.com/sonicore/chat/ with Space Needle (February 4, 7:00
pm) and INXS (February 7, 7:30 pm). All times are EST.
> Some lucky college student will have the chance
to win a free concert with the Verve Pipe. Coinciding
with the single release of "The Freshmen", the contest
(sponsored by U. Magazine) invites college students to tell
about a memorable freshman experience. The members of the
Verve Pipe will pick the entry they like the best, and
that entrant's school will get a free on-campus concert from
the band.
> Mike Watt's new album, _Contemplating The Engine Room_, is
tentatively due to be released in September. The concept for the album
is a "punk rock opera" revolving around a metaphor of three guys
in a Navy boat's engine room. Bobby Seifert will be the engineer
for the album, whose recording will commence in April.
---
TOUR DATES:
Backsliders
Feb. 6 Nashville, TN 12th & Porter
Feb. 7 Asheville, NC Gatsby's
Feb. 8 Raleigh, NC The Brewery
Benna
Feb. 6 Chestertown, MD Andy's Coffee House
Feb. 8 Richmond, VA Trademarks
Lisa Cerbone
Feb. 8 Richmond, VA Trademark's
Chalk Farm / Wild Colonials
Feb. 4 Colorado Springs, CO Manhattan's
Connells
Feb. 4 Tuscaloosa, AL Ivory Tusk
Feb. 5 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity
Feb. 6 Oxford, MS Lyric Hall
Feb. 7 Birmingham, AL Five Points South Music Hall
Feb. 8 Nashville, TN 328 Performance Hall
Cordelia's Dad
Feb. 8 Farmington, CT Arts Center
Feb. 13 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Cravin' Melon
Feb. 6 Clemson, SC Tiger Town
Feb. 7 Greenwood, SC Griffin's Pub
Goldfinger / Reel Big Fish
Feb. 3 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Feb. 4 Jacksonville, FL Milk Bar
Feb. 5 Stillwater, OK Wormy Dog
Feb. 6 Ft. Lauderdale, FL The Dge
Feb. 7 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
Feb. 10 Little Rock, AR Juanita's
Feb. 12 Portales, NM The Ballroom
Humble Gods / Human Waste Product / Dial 7
Feb. 11 Huntington Beach, CA Rhino Room
Kula Shaker / Rasputina
Feb. 5 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Feb. 6 Houston, TX Numbers
Feb. 7 Austin, TX Liberty Lunch
Feb. 8 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum
Feb. 10 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre
Feb. 11 St. Louis, MO Mississippi Nights
Nil Lara
Feb. 7 Columbia, SC Elbow Room
Feb. 8 Greenville, NC Attic
Feb. 10 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
Feb. 11 Atlanta, GA Point
Mother Hips
Feb. 7 Santa Barbara, CA Toe's Tavern
Feb. 8 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
Porno For Pyros
Feb. 3 Chicago, IL Riviera
Feb. 4 Louisville, KY Brewery
Feb. 6 Atlanta, GA Roxy
Feb. 7 Memphis, TN New Daisy Theater
Feb. 8 Birmingham, AL Five Points Music Hall
Feb. 10 Austin, TX Liberty Lunch
Feb. 11 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Professor & Maryann
Feb. 8 New York, NY West Bank Cafe
Pure
Feb. 8 Seattle, WA Moe
Feb. 9 Portland, OR La Luna
Royal Fingerbowl
Feb. 4 Red Bank, NJ Downtown Cafe
Feb. 9 New Orleans, LA Contemporary Arts Theater
Sebadoh
Feb. 6 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
Slush
Feb. 6 Sacramento, CA Old Ironside
Type O Negative / Sister Machine Gun / Drain S.T.H.
Feb. 3 Columbia, MO Blue Note
Feb. 4 Des Moines, IA Supertoad
Feb. 5 Fargo, ND Player's Pavillion
Feb. 6 Chicago, IL Loyola University
Feb. 7 St. Cloud, MN Delwin Ballroom
Feb. 8 Clinton, IA Pig Pen
Feb. 11 Albuquerque, NM The Zone
Vallejo
Feb. 3 Columbia, SC Rockafella's
Feb. 4 Atlanta, GA Smith's Olde Bar
Feb. 5 Jacksonville, AL Brothers Bar
Feb. 6 Montevallo, AL The Underground
Feb. 7 Huntsville, AL Crossroads Cafe
Feb. 8 Hatiesberg, MS Tal's
Warm Wires
Feb. 5 Bend, OR Pasha's
Feb. 6 Portland, OR La Luna
Feb. 7 Seattle, WA Moe's
---
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
Just because he's associated with a 60s band and isn't trendy,
that's not a good enough reason to neglect the untimely passing of
one of the finest guitarists of all time, from a sadly overlooked and
disgracefully underappreciated band - Randy California, of the original
L.A.-based group, Spirit. He apparently drowned a few days after New Year's
Day in an ocean accident in Hawaii (after saving his 12-yr.-old son's life,
no less). This is an especially tragic loss, given the longtime general
undeserved neglect of Spirit in the warped annals of "rock history", and
the fact that there finally has been some serious energy directed toward
enlightening the world to Spirit's great music (old and new, see
http://kspace.com/spirit).
California was as good a rock guitarist as any more vaunted
name you can think of (yes, ANY of them), and he never lived to see
his place in history properly acknowledged (not that that seemed to
bother him very much, as he remained more active than ever after the
demise of the original Spirit quintet). One of the wisest things any
Consumable reader can do for him/herself is to go out and buy all
four of the recently reissued original Spirit albums (all now including
some superb bonus tracks): _Spirit_ (1968), _The Family That Plays
Together_ (1969), _Clear_ (1970), and _The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
(1971), all on Sony/CBS's Legacy series label. Additional enlightenment
can be found on the "Time Circle" 2-cd Spirit anthology box set. This
band made some astonishing original music, integrating rock, jazz,
blues, country, folk, and label-less styles better than just about
any band you'll ever hear - none of this ersatz "jazz-rock fusion"
froth. And California was as expressive and as colorful on his guitar
as any master musician on any instrument. (Don't buy my "hype"? Just
listen to those albums above.) For those of us who were lucky enough
to discover Spirit while Randy California was still alive, we know.
And we'll miss him painfully. - Stuart T. (stuart@apollo.hp.com)
P.S. If anyone has the list of BBC Radio 1 John Peel's '96 "Festive 50",
please contact me. Thanks.
---
Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest continuous
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===