Heavenly
Operation Heavenly CD
K. KLP-059.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 26, 1996.
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While listening to this album, it's a bit difficult to write a review
of it, or for that matter, do anything much of a productive nature, as
between tracks ranging from sugary punk ("K-Klass Kisschase," "Cut
Off") and splendorous works of celestial explorations ("Space
Manatee," "By The Way"), I am either left far too hyped up or
hopelessly captivated to succesfully collect my thoughts.
So, no question, this 4th LP by Heavenly is super fantastic, and it continues on the harder, bitter path that most noticeably began with the PUNK Girl EP. Yet it still retains the affectionate, sunshiney feel that has surrounded these musicians since their Talulah Gosh days.
On one track, Heavenly again join forces with Calvin Johnson and his oh-so-low, oh-so-bored voice. "Pet Monkey" is more than a bit grating, but alas, perhaps one of the most hysterical listens since the last collaboration with Calvin: "C is the Heavenly Option?" Unfortunately, I don't think "Pet Monkey" was meant to be funny?!
Blueboy
"Love Yourself" 7" vinyl
Shinkansen. Shinkansen 4.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 26, 1996.
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I always found Blueboy to be one of the least interesting Sarah bands,
their landscapes seemed more vacant than inspired and the music was
never all that comely. The last album Unisex made me change my
opinion and this 7", by the now two strong Blueboy, is an alluring
piece of acoustic wistfulness and innocence.
Ectogram
I Can't Believe It's Not Reggae CD
Ankst. cd069.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 26, 1996.
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This has been a groovy summer musically, if for no other reason than
mine and the rest of the world's discovery of the Welsh brand of weird
and wacky pop. Perhaps the oddest of the lot, Ectogram share a lot in
common with Pram, but where Pram draw their inspiration from German
innovators like Can and Neu, Ectogram are a little closer to home and
often times find themselves wrapped in a nebulous ball of indie skree
and thrilling noise. The vocals are split between Welsh and English
and are mostly sung by Ann Matthews. Some guy helps (not all that
impressively) on a few songs. Anything goes on this album, should be
great for parties. Especially interesting might be an attempt to
extrapolate the meanings of the Welsh song titles like "Ebargofiant"
and "Gwagle." One hint in conclusion, it might be a good idea to skip
the second song as it is a bizarre, kinda useless gothish number.
Republica
Republica CD
RCA.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 26, 1996.
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For songs that have actually managed to get major airplay, "Ready to
Go," and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" are pretty groovy: two popular cuts that
lie in that elusive realm of ones I might actually play if I had a
radio show.
As for the rest of the album, a major disappointment is that the guitar is often relegated to a role of near irrelevancy, surrendering the songs to a significantly more mechanical sounding representation than I'd like. The music is still enjoyable enough for its artistic quality, but on the other hand, I also hear some of the more synthetic of the tracks as throw-away dance music cut-out bin fodder. And I can nearly swear on the Bible that I've heard some of these songs on those Dance Music CD infomercials that you see on late night TV, hosted by former MTV VJs?
As with a lot of dance music, I have lingering doubts about how much of the record was actually performed by humans, and not just churned out with a couple of clicks on a mouse? But in the end, if you're just looking for a little thump-thump-thump fun coming from your speakers, put on this record, flip on the strobe lights, and in no time at all you'll be having a much better Brit-popping time than those kids on "The Grind."
Reverberation
Blue Stereo Music CD
Taang!.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 26, 1996.
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Have you ever imagined what a French Spiritualized might sound like?
Well, stop racking your brain at the possibility and find this cd as
it is pretty obvious that Reverberation's record collection begins and
ends with Spiritualized. Of course there are worse bands to emulate,
and this is a nice record. In fact, it may have been great if they
didn't have the unfortunate bit with the soulful? backup singers on
the second track, hopelessly lost in their own world. It appears
their Spiritualized collection only dates back to Pure Phase as
this is not nearly as droney as J. Spaceman was apt to have been in the
past and a trifle more lithe than he is now. Now if the lyrics were
French it might have been infinitely more exotic but as it is, it is
comfortably familiar and still variably intriguing.
Lilys
"Which Studies The Past?" 7" vinyl
Sub Pop. sp356.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 26, 1996.
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The Lilys are on a roll, everything they touch seems golden to the
ear. This here single on subterranean pop is just brilliant. The
a-side "Welfare Murder Plot" has nothing to do with welfare as far as
I can hear, but what it is is a chugging tune fueled by infectious
keyboards and wonderful vocals. This single was recorded with the
guys from Apples in Stereo and the song shares a bit of their pop
attitude. The flip is an authentic recreation of 60's style garage
pop with the guitar up front and the vocals, well they aren't
scorching, but they are more imperative than on the a-side.