I know, as the song goes (and goes and goes) "it's been awhile" since I last
addressed the stellar creations known as your CDs. Apologies to all of you who
have worked so hard and with such conviction on your projects. They demand, and
command, respect from me and the media in general. And so, here's the first of
a few batches that will appear over the next month.
The Panic Band: Live at the Ladies Humane Society (Apocabilly
Records, (www.apocabilly.org/panicband.html)
There's a manifesto on the Panic Band's web site that helps to define their
ethos, when to the non-believer virtually none seems to exist. Part of that
manifesto states: "The Panic musicians must continually enlarge and enrich the
field of sounds." Elsewhere: "The new orchestra will achieve the most complex
and novel aural emotions by manipulating fantastic juxtapositions of varied
tones and rhythms." With these tenets under our belts (and theirs), we can now
approach the challenge of listening to the band, which happens to be based
around a cabaret group at AS220. At first, the noise is incongruous --
pleasant, but strangely incongruous. Banjos and flutes and basses and trumpets
and accordions all commingle in a droll, delicate cacophony. It's never
overpowering. It never douses you with dissonant washes of noise. Rather it
assumes the more Beefheartian technique of putting out lean melodies and
rhythms, then cutting across them with oddball instrumental forays. I know, it
sounds a little strange. In fact, it is. But it also has a certain tribal
charm, a method of musical communication that sounds, for what it's worth,
quite cute. The skittering "Ritual Damage" and the accordion-led "The Lonesome
Death of Rubby Rub" (the titles don't sound cute, do they?) are compellingly
quaint in a bizarre way. So is the French café sound of "Stork Roving
Mod," and the warped hillbilly closer "Margaret Lederhosen."
Recorded at 54 Hudson Street and AS220's TFO Studios, engineered by Tim
O'Keefe. and mastered by Frank Difficult, Live at the Ladies Humane
Society (not actually "live," by the way) is an amusing, entertaining, and
provocative listen. Kudos to the Panic Band for stretching that imagination and
achieving such a singular musical vision.
Mr. Slugg & The Legion of Doom: Dreams Like These (MSLOD,
www.mp3.com/mrslugg)
Of course, it isn't pop. More like unpop. Mr. Slugg and the Legion of Doom,
which currently features Mr. Slugg, guitarist Chicken Chuck and new singer Thee
Devil, is back with some admittedly unpretty music, nu-goth synth-rock for
black-eyed people. Their second full-length, Dreams Like These, is
infinitely better than their last disc, with richer textures, more skilled
performances, and slightly higher fidelity. The title cut pivots on some
searing, Chicken Chuck licks and dueling vocals. Thee Devil proves an admirable
foil to the nightmarish Slugg, with a throaty, intimidating style that injects
the mix with even more evil sounds.
At times, as on "Sour Apples," the band sounds like Pornography-era
Cure, with eerie, plodding, sparsely arranged craft. An unidentified female
voice graces the uncharacteristically pretty "Everywhere." Elsewhere, when the
band picks up the beat to a nearly danceable point ("Comfort"), they resonate
with a Bauhaus-meets-early Depeche Mode rhythm thing. Clearly, the band loves
the sound of its synthesizer, the thwak thwak ping of a drum machine, and the
way an electric guitar can slice across those textures like a knife through
skin.
Of course, MS&LOD are defiantly unfashionable. Why else would they be
playing the kind of music that went out of style nearly two decades ago? Still,
it's fun, creatively executed, and the band's best material yet.
Overflower: Water on Mars (Aire)
Together three years now, Overflower has become a genuinely impressive band,
one that would not feel uncomfortable on, say, the 4AD roster. With its
atmospheric approach and muted but charming melodies, the band's third disc is
hands-down better than their previous work and a real accomplishment. The
Overflower vision has over just a short time gained greater clarity and their
execution has gained in skill. Marc and Jay Bouchard on bass and guitar
respectively, along with Karen and John Orsi, on guitars and drums
respectively, have shown incredible artistic growth, as if the closer they get
the better they can see their Oz-like musical destination.
Beautifully recorded by Tyler Minnis at Ivy Lane Studio over the past spring
and summer, Water on Mars features eleven strong, concise, and vaguely
psychedelic tunes, all laced with textured rhythms and "pastoral atmospherics."
Songs like "Thank You" and the fragile, shimmering "Breezy" are among the set's
best. Throughout, guitarists Jay Bouchard and Karen Orsi rarely play full
chords. They'd rather kick back and dig into sparkling arpeggios, as they do on
the buoyant, nine-minute "Tunnel to Shore."
Water on Mars marks a bold and impressive step forward for Overflower,
one that earns them entry into the local elite.
Various Artists: Scene of the Crime: 24 Bands Recorded in 24 Hours
(Good Cop/Bad Cop Records, www.goodcopbadcoprecords.com)
It's finally here. The blitzkrieg recording session that happened up in Maine
a few months back has finally yielded the fresh fruit and rotting vegetables of
the area's punk and hardcore scenes. Twenty-four bands (actually, it ends up
being a less catchy 25 bands) in 24 hours showed up to lay down a crackling
track. Given the sheer number of bands, the hasty recording process, and the
disparity of styles, you'd assume the finished product would be something of an
incoherent mess. But the opposite is true. The sound is clean and consistent
across the board, from Meat Depressed's opening "Pissing My Life Away," to the
closing cut by the Wenderlynns, "I Should Have Known." Along the way, you can
enjoy brief but close encounters with Musclecah, Wedgie, and the Midnight
Creeps. All told, there's not a turkey in the bunch. Besides being a wet dream
for punks, it's a sweet little package, a postcard souvenir of the thriving,
Northeast hardcore scene, with lots of blistering performances, heartfelt
hard-ass sentiments and some clever concepts. Great job to Executive Producer
and Brainchild Peter Walsh and all the technical maniacs who tamed this wild
beast in an unrealistically quick 24-hour period. You rule. Long live the
punks.
MainMan: I Can Win (CD demo, allenwood.org/mainman)
Jordan, Ben, Josh, Dave, and Izzy bust out of the gates with their first demo,
a daring statement of intent fused with energy and full of promise. The band
centers around a throttling rhythm section and Ben's unorthodox guitar licks on
songs like "Look In the Eyes," and the opening hymn-stomp "I Can Win." Josh
Ricci's vocals, slightly gothic in tone, sound ever-so-slightly like a young
Iggy Pop. And, hell, let's just say that at their most reckless, they have the
feel of early Stooges. Like that band, though, MainMan perpetrates some
unsuccessful primitivism, passages that don't quite make the cut, or convey the
full-on rock sensibility they were searching for. "3 Times" is an example of a
song that doesn't function on all cylinders. It's slightly out of balance,
without the necessary dynamic to propel it from beginning to end. Still, this
six-song demo is a blistering start to what could end up growing into a very
cool local band. It has way more hits than misses, more careening contact than
closed-eye air punches. We look forward to hearing much more from these wise
Men.
WANDERING EYE. The aforementioned MainMan hits the Safari Friday
night in a good local bill with American Nitro and also aforementioned
Mr. Slugg & the Legion of Doom. And don't forget about the
Amazing Crowns' farewell show on Friday at Lupo's with Fast Acting
Fuses and the Worried. The Fuses play Saturday night in Boston at
the Linwood, too. Kick some butt.
E-mail me with your music news, please, at b_gulla@yahoo.com.
Issue Date: November 30 - December 6, 2001
