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== ISSUE 156 ==== CONSUMABLE ONLINE ======== [September 28, 1998]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com
Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim
Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean
Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Al Muzer, Joe Silva,
Lang Whitaker
Correspondents: Christina Apeles, Niles J. Baranowski, Tracey
Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges, Jason Cahill, Patrick
Carmosino, Krisjanis Gale, Emma Green, Paul Hanson,
Chris Hill, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Franklin
Johnson, Robin Lapid, Linda Scott, Scott Slonaker,
Chelsea Spear, Simon Speichert, Jon Steltenpohl,
Simon West
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann
Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription
information is given at the end of this issue.
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the
editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
REVIEW: Sheryl Crow, _The Globe Sessions_ - Tracey Bleile
REVIEW: UNKLE, _Psyence Fiction_ - Tim Hulsizer
REVIEW: Kent, _Isola_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Embrace, Live at Liverpool Royal Court, Sept. 10 - Tim Kennedy
REVIEW: The Notwist, _Shrink_ - Chris Hill
REVIEW: Dance Hall Crashers, _Blue Plate Special_ - Jason Cahill
REVIEW: Pansy Division, _Absurd Pop Song Romance_ - Paul Hanson
REVIEW: Yatsura, _Slain By Urusei Yatsura_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Primus, _Rhinoplasty_ - Paul Hanson
REVIEW: Sister Soleil, _Soularium_ - Sean Eric McGill
REVIEW: Imogen Heap, _I Megaphone_ - Chelsea Spear
REVIEW: 12Rods, _Split Personalities_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: B.T.K., _B.T.K._ - Franklin Johnson
REVIEW: Money Mark, _Push The Button_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Baby Fox, _Dum Dum Baby_ - David Landgren
REVIEW: Evinrudes, _Evinrudes_ - Tracey Bleile
REVIEW: Superkreme, _Superkreme_ - Franklin Johnson
REVIEW: The Great Western Squares, _Almost Sober_ - Jon Steltenpohl
NEWS: Cheap Trick
TOUR DATES: Archers of Loaf, Better Than Ezra / Possum Dixon / Athenaeum,
Candlebox, The Church, Cravin' Melon, N'Dea Davenport, Irving Plaza,
Jesus & Mary Chain / Mercury Rev, Korn, Lenny Kravitz, Liquid Soul,
Reel Big Fish / Spring Heeled Jack, Samples, Sheila Divine, Dee
Snider's StrangeLand Tour (Soulfly + more), Spacetime Continuum, Mike
Watt
ERRATA
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
---
REVIEW: Sheryl Crow, _The Globe Sessions_ (A&M)
- Tracey Bleile
When you take storytelling and turn the intensity on yourself,
you get autobiography. Set it to music and you have a documentary,
complete with a score that gives you the whole range of emotion. But
how to keep an honest effort from slipping too far into one extreme -
that is the challenge facing Sheryl Crow's newest effort _The Globe
Sessions_ . Named for the home studio she created for herself, the
songs and feelings on _Globe_ run the gamut, from pain to longing to
defiance. But one seems to be conspicuously absent this time out - and
it's a biggie - joy. And it's a narrow path to walk when you are trying
to communicate your very private feelings to a very public world. When
does examining your emotions stop being an important catharsis and turn
into a good old-fashioned pity party?
Her big singles of the past have focused on accepting where you are,
looking ahead and hoping for the best. _Globe Sessions_ is instead,
something of a clich�, the rollercoaster of relationships - as they take
place inside of one head and one heart. The first single "My Favorite
Mistake" is a slow blues burn (high degree of irony here; as more than a
few sources have called this her take on the end of her relationship with
Eric Clapton) and proceeds to set (or is it slow) the pace. And while
here far more attention paid to creating an enveloping mood, as with the
elegance and poetry of "Riverwide" and the defiance and falsely-bright
chipperness of the breakup aftermath in "It Don't Hurt", replete with
B-3 organ, there is definitely an air of sadness throughout. The inclusion
of the Dylan song "Mississippi" (which he had written for his last
Grammy-winning album, but decided to give to Crow to sing for this release
instead) is a down-home rocker that comes in rather late in the release
to redeem the overall maudlin feel.
Her trademark snappy percussive backdrop gives songs like "Maybe
That's Something" glimmers of her previously more aggressive style, and her
expressive wide-ranging voice makes her one of the more engaging artists to
listen to. But even when she pushes harder in her rock 'n roll mode, it
is still toned-down and almost queen of country depressing - "Anything But
Down", moaning lap-steel guitar solo and all. But for someone who has
built a songwriting and performing persona based on a "wild women don't
get the blues" philosophy, it is even more difficult to watch a strong
person work through their pain, in such a public way.
The arrangements and array of back up musicians are breathtaking
(Benmont Tench playing keyboards, Wendy Melvoin on guitar, and Lisa Germano
on violin and autoharp; each on several tracks, as well as a host of her
faithful session players and long-time band members) and the production
value is topknotch, which is her own, and mixed by Tchad Blake. However,
if this is progress, I hope this is leading her to a place where she can
take all this high-powered energy and direct it towards being happy again.
She's got all the ingredients here, but the levitating agent is missing,
and the result is somewhat flat. One step left out, and it doesn't matter
how beautiful the surface is - it's what's inside that counts.
---
REVIEW: UNKLE, _Psyence Fiction_ (Mo'Wax/London)
- Tim Hulsizer
The album isn't even out yet in the states and already
some reviewers are calling this a "seminal" release. I'll spare
you that brand of rhetoric (sorry guys, that's like the way
Disney calls every new movie a "classic" before it even hits
theaters) and get right to the meat of it: this is a great
album. Producers DJ Shadow and James Lavelle (head of Mo'Wax)
have put their skills to the ultimate test and the results are
nothing short of dazzling.
Rather than work within the confines of the traditional
"turntablist" genre or even regular pop music, these guys have
combined breakbeats with lyrics on many tracks to create a whole
that is more than equal to the sum of its parts. Each track has
a unique personality here, rather than most releases I've heard
lately. Amazingly enough, that doesn't send the album off into
a million pointless directions; rather, it is all held together
by the canny over-seeing of the two gentlemen, who keep a
thoughtful yet loose feeling going on throughout. Whether it's
a rap cut or a verse-chorus-verse song, you can pick up on a
rather unique atmosphere here. For reference, check out some
of the remixes UNKLE has done in the past couple of years for
other artists (not to mention the entire output of Mo'Wax Records,
which includes DJ Shadow's stuff and a thousand other
category-defying musical releases).
Vocals and songwriting chores are picked up by a number
of talented artists. Kool G Rap, one of New York's finest
rappers is present here. He kicks off the whole affair with a
track called "Guns Blazing (Drums of Death Pt.1)", and it hits
like a bomb. Mike D of the Beastie Boys delivers in Pt.2, and
we also have songs from Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Richard
Ashcroft of The Verve (both of whom recorded their vocals before
their bands' latest hit releases). Metallica's Jason Newstead
helps out, as does Wil Malone, Massive Attack's string arranger.
There are more, but I'll let you have fun finding them all for
yourself.
I'm not quite sure how to describe the aforementioned
"feeling" of the album correctly. Does it have the proverbial
"phat beats"? In spades. Does it "swirl"? Well, yes it does,
but that's only half the story. It also whispers, shouts, and
winks at you while it hits you in the face. Above all, this is
a great album because it so aptly reflects the unique creative
visions of Shadow and Lavelle, who borrowed money to start
Mo'Wax in 1992 and has never looked back. Their music is
indicative of forward-thinking individuals, but with their ability
to play well with others they have perhaps created this year's
finest album.
---
REVIEW: Kent, _Isola_ (BMG)
- Tim Mohr
Swedish bands have animated the European music scene for several
years now, with groups like the Cardigans, the Wannadies, and Whale making
particularly big splashes and representing the apexes of three distinct
styles. Kent represent yet another strain of Swedish rock, having
established themselves at the pinnacle of the domestic indie scene with a
musical sensibility closer to Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins, or the
Manic Street Preachers and anguished lyrics to match.
Kent have produced three albums in Sweden that make them as
important to Swedish indie kids as the Smiths were to down-trodden popheads
of the British isles in the 80s. But unlike most Swedish bands, Kent
decided to sing in their native Swedish for those three records, leaving
them all but unknown in other countries even as the Scandinavian Invasion
sent other Swedish indie outfits around the world.
With an English version of _Isola_ (Kent's third album) now
available world-wide on BMG, Kent have finally drawn their linguistic
curtain to reveal their dark, poetic words to listeners south of Malmo.
While the intimacy that singing in Swedish allowed them to gain with their
core audience at home may suffer, listeners elsewhere will be able to
comfort Swedish fans by joining them in adoration of Kent.
Anchored by a churning bass not dissimilar to that on Cure tracks
such as "Fascination Street" or latter-day Smashing Pumpkins' records,
Kent add a wash of fuzzed guitars to mid-tempo songs about longing. The
atmosphere of _Isola_ is rather like Radiohead without the prog-rock
trappings of _OK Computer_.
The lyrics, obviously taken as seriously by the band in English as
in Swedish, demonstrate an incredible grasp of the dynamics of sharing and
loss involved in human ties. "Speak/I don't need to speak/You're satisfied
with silence/Scream/I won't speak I'll scream/Sleep/And all my energy/I
waste on dreams of silence," sings Joakim Berg in "If You Were Here."
In "Elvis" his voice soars with the same sense of imminent crash
that is so important to the catharctic energy of Radiohead, Geneva, the
Manic Street Preachers: "So now you're stealing my time/All the hours that
I once/stole from you/I never thought you would mind/But I can see you
do."
_Isola_ never explodes with the amplified cacauphony of louder
portions of the Radiohead canon--Kent never indulge themselves with the
white-noise-drenched release of a "My Iron Lung," for instance--but the
evocation of wrenching emotional tension on _Isola_ is every bit as
eloquent and powerful as that on display in _The Bends_. The emotional
origins of Kent songs sound as immediate and tangible as those of the
Manic Street Preachers or Stereophonics, though, again, Kent eschew the
musical bombast and frenetic energy of the Welsh bands.
Kent show a side of Swedish youth culture that the post-Cardigans
groups and Beatlesque pop bands avoid: the depression that, among other
things, mandates high alcohol taxes to keep the kids from drinking
themselves to death. Most of their compatriots fend of the (literal)
darkness with a light approach to music; in embracing the (metaphoric)
darkness around them, Kent produce a sound that soothes the listener with
implied empathy.
---
REVIEW: Embrace, Live at Liverpool Royal Court, Sept. 10
- Tim Kennedy
After an interval of relentless techno and the opening
band (Delakota), Embrace took the stage and immediately found a
highly receptive crowd. In fact, it soon turned into an evening
of almost revivalist proportions. The band's well-known mix of
anthemic emotive ballads mixed in with punk rock appeals strongly
to an audience who sprang up overnight after the cataclysmic
explosion of Oasis onto the music scene, and who clearly have an
unsated appetite for the same now that their idols have departed
the stage. The crowd were 100% teenagers, of equal parts both
sexes and danced ecstatically or waved their arms frantically,
with screaming erupting periodically. They bellowed along to the
words as well.
It detracts from the show when singer Danny Macnamara apes
Verve's Richard Ashcroft with repeating "come on" arm-waving and
shouting. The Verve were a singularly overrated band who frankly
can't hold a candle to Embrace in terms of songwriting; Macnamara
should try to work on a more original stage persona. The crowd
hardly needed any such encouragement - they were already ga ga.
Tracks such as "Now You're Nobody" are other indications that Danny
is a fan of the now-departed whingers from Wigan, as does "Fireworks"
which is like "The Drugs Don't Work" - but much better.
However, the band put everything into their performance and
actually add a little to the songs from the album, emphasising the
fact that their debut album is probably the best this year. Danny
overdoes it a bit with the Yorkshire bonhomie - they're definitely
from the posher side of Huddersfield.
His voice is in good form, though it has sometimes been
pointed out as a weakness of the band. Brother Richard Macnamara's
guitar work is also quite skillful, adding a distinctly more
metallic dimension to their garage punk numbers.
It has to be said that their many UK critics are right about
the Oasis similarities. At times the faster tempo material is
scarily Gallagher-esque. This is not to criticise it because it is
streets ahead of Oasis' recent stuff.
The mellowest of their ballads are almost in the manner
adopted by ex-Take That members or even Elton John. They seem
unconcerned at being the prospective acceptable face of UK alternative
rock. Surely even the Salvation Army would laud their positive themes
("Say Yes") and their anti drink/drugs stances. However, the youthful
Liverpool crowd had no qualms about the band at all. Embrace's
weakness is none of their concern.
Usually the support band are fairly average and deliberately
chosen to be so - no-one likes to be blown offstage. So, it was a
surprise that Delakota were quite such a blast of fresh air in the
frankly dingy and motheaten Royal Court. The singer with his shaggy
blond locks is relaxed, ambles around smiling, his voice is clear
and in tune, a mix of Tim Charlatan and Liam Oasis. The band play a
NICE mix of garage punk, hiphop rythms and all sorts of other little
hints of styles, plus the occasional sample. Competent yet sparky,
they got an appreciative ear from the assembling crowd. By the end,
having played their current single "Hey Cincinnati" - a more
rock'n'roll version than the Beck-esque studio version - they left to
deserved acclaim.
---
REVIEW: The Notwist, _Shrink_ (Zero Hour)
- Chris Hill
Close-ups of circuit boards in blue Joan Miro hues,
resembling ancient Mayan temples, garnish The Notwist's newest
release. The strange yet recognizable photos set the stage for
an album of disparate sounds (electronica, sax, and jangly
guitar) assembled into a harmonious package, new yet familiar.
The Notwist members pull from a grab bag of experience,
instruments, and influences, flowing like a lava lamp between
this band and myriad side projects (Village of Savoonga, Console,
Toxic, & Tied and Tickled Trio, to name a few). The versatility
shows in the music: reed and brass instruments snuggle up
comfortably next to pop guitar and drums.
The songs possess an airy, gentle quality, due in large
part to Markus Acher's vocals, sung endearingly with his wistful,
elongated German accent. For fans of New Order, Pet Shop Boys,
and Electronic, this album will connect in an immediate, visceral
way.
"Day 7" kicks off _Shrink_. Rhythmic scratches, clanks,
and percussion segue into clean electric guitar, fuzzed bass,
and pounding drums. It's a tune of bittersweet longing - "the
shore/I see the shore from here/I see your town/I see your house/
and you/...I count the letters of your name/I count the days/'til
you are here again/Day 7..." - sincere & appealing, establishing
the mood of the album.
Sampler Martin ("Sound-o-naut") Gretschmann has a deft
touch with the decks, placing ursine notes and growls in
"Electric Bear", handclaps in "No Encores", and bubbling lava
sounds in "Another Planet". Remember Bobby Brady's volcano
experiment? I swear it's in there.
Best of all, it took a stroke of genius to mix the sound
of a connecting modem into the winsome single, "Chemicals".
An impersonal electronic device plays against the emotional
disconnection between the singer and the subject - "You are no
good/And I know that you can't sleep/Until you know your
overbearance makes me creep." It's startling upon recognition,
then stunning in appropriateness.
If you liked Electronic's instrumental "Free Will"
off the "Get the Message" single, the sax-soaked "N.L." will be
manna from heaven. "Moron", another instrumental, is equally
angelical, with its beat cafe bass clarinet/lounge drum opening,
breaking to a sax caterwaul, beach-movie drums, and vibraphone.
"Your Signs" relies on a strong bass clarinet again, with Marcus'
vocals bringing welcome associations of Bernard Sumner.
Fans of The Notwist (pronounced "no twist") will notice
that _Shrink_ combines four new songs ("Moron", "N.L", "Shrink",
and "0-4") with six others found on 12" singles released in
Germany, the U.S., and elsewhere in the same (or alternate)
mixes. Regardless of origin, the songs blend well together,
which isn't surprising considering Markus Acher and Micha Acher
wrote 9/10 of the songs. The Sound-o-naut takes credit for
the tenth tune ("No Encores"), with all lyrics written by
Markus.
I was never satisfied with the transition between New
Order's _Brotherhood_ and _Technique_ albums. "Bizarre Love
Triangle" to "Mr. Disco" - much too jarring for a delicate
constitution. Nature abhors a vacuum, and now, a decade later,
a transitional album appears, released by another band. If only
Mr. Peabody and Sherman could take it back to me.
---
REVIEW: Dance Hall Crashers, _Blue Plate Special_ (MCA)
- Jason Cahill
When it comes to EP's, bands like Luscious Jackson and Alice
In Chains set the standard with "In Search of Manny" and "Jar of Flies"
respectively. These albums, albeit abbreviated, contained enough new
and challenging material to equal, in content if not size, most full
length major label releases. At some point, however, the EP changed
from a format where new ideas were explored and risks were taken to
one which became synonymous with terms like "throwaways" and "b-sides".
Now when a band releases an EP it's usually to support one new single,
with little concern for content. What was once an outlet for musical
experimentation, the EP has fallen far down the music ladder, securing
itself just one rung beneath the remix album. Sure, bands will tell
you that it's a format which gives their audience an opportunity to
hear previously unreleased songs (i.e. songs that weren't good enough
to make the albums in the first place) and one or two new singles,
but discerning fans should spot the obvious lack of effort a mile
away. The latest band to opt for the EP format, while at the same
time preparing their next full length release, is the San Francisco
ska band Dance Hall Crashers.
The album, _Blue Plate Special_, is the band's third for major
label MCA and contains six songs, only one of which was never before
available. In addition to the songs, the CD also acts as a CD-Rom,
complete with four of the band's music videos, band photos and links to
DHC related internet sites. Not bad considering a list price of just
below six dollars, but the question which remained was whether such a
DHC fan oriented release would appeal to the average listener simply
looking for some adrenalized ska sounds. The answer, of course, lies
in the music.
The album opens with "She's Trying", a track originally released
as a part of Taylor Steele's film soundtrack to "The Show". In typical
DHC fashion, the song combines fast paced ska beats with the dueling voices
of lead vocalists Elyse Rogers and Karina Denike. Another track, "Lady
Luck", first appeared on the soundtrack to "Meet The Deedles" (try finding
that in a record store). There isn't much to distinguish this song from
anything DHC has recorded in the past, but it still serves as a perfect
example of how DHC are able to perfectly mesh traditional ska sounds with
their melodic pop sensibilities. The album's finest track, and perhaps
reason enough for purchasing _Blue Plate Special_, is "All Mine", a song
from DHC's 1997 release "Honey I'm Homely". The song, a remix by Sam
Sever, who has worked with everyone from the Beastie Boys to 3rd Bass to
Big Audio Dynamite, is given a completely new dimension as Sever
skillfully adds textured piano loops and understated beats to an otherwise
generic song, giving it much needed life.
The remainder of _Blue Plate Special_, however, fails to distinguish
itself from anything else in DHC's modest catalog, breaking no new ground,
taking no new risks. An acoustic version of "Shelley", a song featured on
1995's "Lockjaw", is little more than filler and "I Did It For The Toys",
DHC's contribution to the Christmas season, seems slightly out of place,
an afterthought. As for the videos and Internet links, they are
interesting to look at once, but any repeated viewing seems unlikely even
for the band's biggest fans. In fact, with the exception of one or two
standout tracks, _Blue Plate Special_ is an EP which, like so many others,
represents a missed opportunity to bring creativity and distinctive flavor
to an otherwise lifeless and hackneyed format. Recommended only for core
fans.
---
REVIEW: Pansy Division, _Absurd Pop Song Romance_ (Lookout)
- Paul Hanson
Forget the hype. Just put it in a chest and deep-six it in the
local ocean. Pansy Division are playing a pop/rock blend that is both
interesting and playful, yet not musically deficient. Yes, the melodies
are easy to hum and, for a band surrounded by hype regarding their
sexual orientation, that is good: let the music stand on its own and
let the chips fall wherever they may.
All that said, the latest PD release _Absurd Pop Song Romance_
does a good job of twisting its way through just under an hour of
material, kicking off with "February 17," which seems to be about a
birthday. Thankfully, there's no corny "I forgot my girlfriend's
birthday/She's going to kill me" style lyrics ala Paul Gilbert. With
pounding drums and an upbeat tempo, "February 17" grabs the attention
you didn't think you had. The following song, "Sweet Insecurity," might
leave you confused. "Sweet" is an airy pop song, complete with two and
three part backing vocals and handclaps. "I'll never Be the Same"
follows and is closer to the style of "February 17."
So, is this an upbeat punk-pop band or sellout fodder for the
local station that plays Backstreet Boys and awful Monica/Brandy songs?
PD does not seem to know which way they should go, clearly alternating
between pop and less-commercialized fluff.
And, if you can't dismiss the hype, you can blame a track like
"Better off Just Friends" where the vocalist sings, "It was in the
spring/ When we first met/ The time of year when young men's thoughts/
turn to other men." Yet, there is a subtle generalness to other songs.
My favorite track is "Luv Luv Luv" with its lyrics "We're animals at the
core/Instincts we can't ignore."
Overall, and finally, this is an enjoyable disc. I think they'd
do themselves better to either be a pop band or the punk for which
they're best known. This walking the tightrope sucks.
---
REVIEW: Yatsura, _Slain By Urusei Yatsura_ (Warner)
- Tim Mohr
Doing for Scotland what Ash do for Northern Ireland, (Urusei)
Yatsura play fast, fun, and loud, with attention to enjoyable hooks
and melodies. Like Ash, the style and song titles seem to borrow from
good-natured punkers such as the Undertones and Ramones.
The riffs that anchor Yatsura songs are quite angular,
as on the album opener, "Glo Starz," that skips along like an old
Fugazi song--"Repeater" perhaps--while they shout nearly-phonetically
identical phrases: "Atari! I'm Sorry!"
The big single, "Hello Tiger," is more straight-forward.
Chugging along atop a steady three-chord progression, the lyrics hit
a series of images from contemporary club life. Sprinkled here and
elsewhere are "La-la-la"s, "Na-na-na"s, and other vocal indications
of a quality garage band.
"No. 1 Cheesecake" brings a touch of romance to the party,
albeit with odd lines about missing out on the century because of
memories filled with images of your eyes like jellybeans. Or something
like that. None of the syrupy stuff that Ash let (d)rip in "Goldfinger"
or "Oh Yeah."
Basically, if the members of Fugazi had never been "straight-edge"
(and middle-class residents of Northwest DC), and instead had grown up
in council flats in Glasgow, drinking, dreaming of making music for a
laugh instead of scoring political victories, they would have formed
Yatsura.
---
REVIEW: Primus, _Rhinoplasty_ (Interscope)
- Paul Hanson
Primus is Primus. Either you are aurally aroused by Les
Claypool's snap, crackle, pop bass technique, unique vocal style and
storyteller-styled lyrics, exemplified on this E.P. by a live version
of "Tommy the Cat," or you find him annoying. Following the _Sailing
the Seas of Cheese_ disc, I was a devotee. After _Pork Soda_ , I
lost interest in the direction of the band as they became too
introverted for my casual listenings. Not that they suddenly were
awful - - I was just moving on.
This time around, on a nine song E.P., two-thirds of which
are cover songs, I remember why I liked the band when I first heard
them. The playfulness of these tracks is evident, even during the
first listen. Kicking off with XTC's "Scissorman," continuing through
Peter Gabriel's "The Family and the Fishing Net" and Stanley Clarke's
instrumental, "Silly Putty," Primus epitomizes mastery of their guitar,
bass and, begrudgingly, drums. Brain, Tim "Herb" Alexander's recent
replacement improves his case during the first three tracks.
Moving on, Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses" and Primus' own "Too Many
Puppies" are two more standout tracks. Perhaps the most recognizable
tracks, The Police's "Behind my Camel" and Metallica's "The Thing That
Should Not Be" stick a bit too close to their original.
The disc closes with the epics "Tommy the Cat," which clocks
in at 8:57 and "Bob's Party Time Lounge" at 7:32. Both feature Claypool's
bass magic and solid drums from Brain, who stretches out for a Neil Peart
ripoff solo in "Tommy."
However, by the time this disc ends, you are likely to remember
why you liked Primus in the first place and, if you have yet to dive
into the world of frizzle frys, seas of cheese or pork soda, _Rhinoplasty_
is your best place to start.
---
REVIEW: Sister Soleil, _Soularium_ (Universal)
- Sean Eric McGill
For years, I have heard bands in local clubs that have made
me think 'Damn, if nothing good happens to these guys, that would be
a shame'. Now I can add Sister Soleil to that same list after hearing
their new album _Soularium_ .
Lead by vocalist Stella Katsoudas, the music itself is an
odd mixture of Sugarcubes-era Bjork, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and about
any other female artist of the past twenty years. The songs
themselves are the usual mixed-bag fare of tracks about a love long
lost, youth, etc. - but each has its own twist. Tracks like "Torch",
"AOL" (yes, *that* AOL) and "Liar" are among the best on the album,
and each has its own style and flavor, due in large part to her
four-piece backing band, who seem to compliment her every vocal
move with their music.
But what sets Sister Soleil and _Soularium_ apart is
Katsoudas. She wrote the songs, she produced the album, she sings
with such raw emotion that her talent is impossible to ignore. And
part of the appeal of her talent is that you can feel the urgency
behind the music. This is what she was meant to do on this planet -
anything else just wouldnt seem right.
My first paying job as a writer was as a sportswriter in
the town I grew up in, a job I took after my own playing days had
ended due to injury. For a mid-sized town, we had many players
from different sports who you could describe using one word -
phenom. That word kept occuring to me while listening to
_Soularium_ - phenom. It is used to describe someone who plays with
pure natural talent, doing their job with what seems like the same
effort the rest of us use for tasks like breathing. Stella Katsoudas
has that type of talent, but instead of being able to take a round
bat and connect with a round ball, sending it five hundred feet,
she is able to write and perform music as though its what she was
born to do.
Perhaps it is only appropriate that as I sit to write this
review, I have just watched for what seems to be the one hundredth
time the replay of Mark McGwire's sixty-second home run of the
baseball season, making him the all-time single season home run
champion. It's something I doubt that I will never tire of seeing,
and I shall remember where I was when it happened until my final
breath. And while _Soularium_ may not have the same kind of
long-lasting impact on me as McGwire's accomplishment, I have
heard it dozens of times and haven't become even remotely tired
of hearing it. People who have no interest in baseball have become
enraptured by McGwire's chase and conquest of what many thought to
be an impossible feat to accompish, and people who have merely a
passing fancy in music should pick up _Soularium_. True talent is
true talent, regardless of the way it is used.
---
REVIEW: Imogen Heap, _I Megaphone_ (Almo Sounds)
- Chelsea Spear
Almo Sounds' entrant into the Lilith-ready race for the
most melodic, Tori Amos-influenced female vocalist race is a
striking nineteen-year-old named Imogen Heap, already a star in
her native Australia. Heap's debut platter, _I Megaphone_,
suggests why she's held in such high regard Down Under. The album
reveals a drive and intensity appealing in such a vocalist,
combined with a booming vocal primed to give listeners the
willies. Her music has a catchingly addictive, kalidescopic aspect
to it, and her lyrics reveal a startling insight and wonderful
sense of humor.
Sure, all of this sounds good now. However, nothing can
be this amazing all at once. As with many debut albums, _I
Megaphone_ can be used as much for gaming purposes as for
discovering new talent, since the music she listened to during
the creation of the album is as abundantly clear as Heap's own
talent. And, sometimes, the musical styles she takes on can
overwhelm her world view as it can help add focus.
Moments like the first few seconds of album opener "Getting
Scared" put everything appealing about Heap into focus -- the
melding of her piano style and breathy, supple voice with the
honeyed techno beats that suggest the influence of techno/folk
goddess Beth Orton. Unfortunately, if the song reveals the
zenith of Heap's considerable talent, it also reveals the nadir
of the production -- a few seconds later, a more canned and
synthetic sounding beat comes bouding out of the stereo,
accompanied by a louder, processed vocal.
The other end of that spectrum is the unadorned piano ballads
that dot the second half of the album. These come much closer to
Heap's true style and what her real voice must sound like, even if
they end up sounding like various rough drafts of Tori Amos'
"Leather". I'm much more drawn to the fusing of these two styles,
as with the ballad "Come Here Boy". Set to the booming beat of a
canned drum that brings to mind one of Brandy or Monica's girly
slow jams, the emotive tinkling of Heap's piano and the vulnerable
cough of her voice blend something synthetic with something real.
All in all, _I Megaphone_ introduces Imogen Heap as a major
talent in the making. However, one wishes that her talent was pushed
and developed into more challenging, satisfying, and individualistic
ways before it was committed to tape like this. Oh well - perhaps
that's the next album's job.
---
REVIEW: 12Rods, _Split Personalities_ (V2)
- Linda Scott
12Rods is a popular trio in Minneapolis where they were named
Best New Band of 1996. Their self-produced EP, _gay?_, and their
live shows led to their V2 Records contract. and their full-length
album, _Split Personalities_. 12Rods is a tight trio with two
brothers, Ryan (vocals, guitars, bass, synths) and Ev (synths,
guitars, vocals) Olcott along with childhood friend Christopher
McGuire on drums.
The tracks in _Split Personalities_ are rich and full, and the
12Rods trio pulls this off with the aid of synthesizers. The band
marries guitar rock with musical electronics and does it so
skillfully that listeners in either camp can enjoy the mix. Full bore
drum/guitar attacks are joined by augmentary, not competing synths.
If _Split Personalities_ reminds the listener of Radiohead,
note that the majority of the album tracks were mixed by Paul
Kolderie and Sean Slade who did the honors for Radiohead, The
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Cure and others. Also worthy of
mention are the lyrics which touch on issues of emotional conflict
in the post-adolescent life. "I Wish You Were A Girl" is about the
barrier between gays and straights while "Make Out Music" is for
all those outcasts who fantasize revenge on bullies. Not all the
tracks are this heavy; there are songs about love and sexuality
while "Split Personality" leads off the album with a look at the
philosophies of digital and analog recording.
The music fits the lyrics, the vocals are mixed so that you
can hear them, and the trio knows what it wants to do with its
music. High marks to McGuire for his drum work. These guys
are good, so go out and find the art-rock meets guitar-rock world
of _Split Personalities_.
---
REVIEW: B.T.K., _B.T.K._ (Ignition)
- Franklin Johnson
Toronto, Canada-based five-piece B.T.K. help create
a new categorization of music - psychedelic hip hop for the
90s - on their full-length debut, _B.T.K._.
Melding rap, hip hop and real guitars, _B.T.K._
produces more fun on any album since De La Soul were rising
three feet high. The pro-marijuana magazine High Times