the Clean
Unknown Country CD
Flying Nun. 346.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 1, 1996.
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Only the third proper lp in the Clean's 15 year career, this lp has
the feel of a musical sketchbook, where sometimes disparate ideas are
combined to form songs that are usually on balance clever and always
interesting. Unknown Country differs from its predecessor, 1994's
Modern Rock in that the sound is less dominated by drummer Hamisch
Kilgour, so the casual, dark groove of Modern Rock has been
replaced
with a more artistic, experimental mode. The vocals are spread out
equally among the three members and David Kilgour's guitar if not
dominant, comes back into play on several songs. The opening
instrumental track "Wipe me, I'm lucky" is just the sort of song only
the Clean can muster, with a simple guitar line, acentuated by
harmonizing vocals and a resonant cymbal starting the album on a
diverse trail. Only on "Twist Top" and "Chumpy" are ghosts of the
past reflected, and still if perhaps they are filled with less spark
than gems from the past, they make it clear that the Clean have indeed
cornered the market on charm.
the Chills
Sunburnt CD
Flying Nun. 303.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 1, 1996.
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Out of Stock.
In the nearly four years since Martin Phillips originally broke up his
band, the Chills, many things have happened and not all of them
positive. Martin had a drawn out legal wrangle with his former record
label Slash, the Tall Dwarfs recorded "Self Deluded Dreamboy in a
Mess" which chronicled their not so shining opinion of Martin's
situation, he released an oddly compiled greatest hits record and
finally reformed his band under the new legally required name of
Martin Phillips and the Chills. And thus we have Sunburnt, his
fourth
album, which while certainly not a benchmark for his career, reminds
us we did miss him during his hiatus. Stylistically it is a return to
his late 80's fusion of keyboards, minimal guitars and ethereal vocals
in a manner very reminiscent of Brian Wilson. A few of the songs are
lyrically unfortunate ("Come Home") but all of them are highly
listenable pop songs. Highlights are the charming "Surrounded," the
hushed title track, and the two closing numbers that reveal Martin's
darker edge. This album might have been entirely dark and pessimistic
and excusably so, but it is not; it retains a feel of optimism.
However, Martin is not completely forgiving as his next album, already
recorded, is said to be his darkest ever, full of tales of his musical
exile. As a whole Sunburnt lies somewhere above the last album
Soft Bomb and is certainly a pleasant listen.
Lilys
"A Nanny In Manhattan" 7" vinyl
Che. 65.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 1, 1996.
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Out of Stock.
The a-side is from the wonderful Lilys' full length Better Can't Make
Your Life Better and is a slice of Revolver-like pop with a
psychedelic touch of guitar reverb and piano. The flip is a quieter
number, split into several parts, it is different from the album in
that it is a bit more plaintive and mellow. Another example to help
witness the Lilys' remarkable transformation.
Electrolux
"Happy And Oblivious" 7" vinyl
Lux Electric. lux-001.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 1, 1996.
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Out of Stock.
Electrolux vocalist Jennifer Kagler reminds me a bit of the singer for
Dance Hall Crashers, and the rest of the band, particularly on the
sugar-sweet opener "Happy and Oblivious," has that same sort of
carefree bounce. With "happy, happy, happy, happy, happy" vocals, some
sweet, cute lead guitar, and somewhat of a "let's party!" atmosphere,
you might just be thrown into a B-52's type diabetic coma. Oh how us
pop music fans must live on the edge! This ep then mellows out a tad
on track two with "In my Town," and its twisty, interlaced vocal
arrangements.
On the flip side, "Mrs. Nixon's Finished" starts off with speed, takes time out to feature some spacey, flange-laced vocals, and then finishes with a noisy rage. The finale, "I Hate Summer" is apparently the band's attempt at escaping from the images their music conjures up, and back to the cold of Cleveland that they call home. A very spry release!
Incidently, this band plans to go forth as the Palindromes, as the lawyers for Electrolux, Inc. don't care so much for free advertisement.
Lilys
Better Can't Make Your Life Better CD
Che.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 1, 1996.
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Out of Stock.
Whew!!! This is one exhilirating record. First off, this is not the
Lilys you have either come to know as sublime shoegazers or droll My
Bloody Valentine impersonators. No, apparently the shrine to the
missing in action Kevin Shields has been dismantled, and in its place
you might find all of your favorite records of the 60s. This is the
sort of album you swear you've heard before but you can't quite place
it. You hear that George Harrison guitar, the Ray Davies vocals, the
Brian Wilson like arrangements and you realize man this guy is onto
something. There isn't a slack track on this record, from start to
finish it is a winner. The song "The Tennis System" has all of these
voices coming from nowhere over a distant percussion and is
luminescent, "Who is Moving" turns in two or three different
directions, and the closer "Returns Every Morning" leaves you longing
for more. A serious contender for album of the year.
Gilroy
"Renaissance Girl" 7" vinyl
Bi-Joopiter.
by Aurore Bacmann.
December 1, 1996.
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Out of Stock.
In the 70s (but not only) it was quite frequent that the guitarist of
a famous rock band, the drummer of heavy-metal gods and some
progressive rock legend singer joined their talents to form a
"supergroup" that was to be a sonic wonder that would have saved
humankind from doom. Or so it was considered. However the result
turned out to be rather average and in some instances, the worst was
to be feared. Fortunately it is not the case with Gilroy, a group made
of various members of the McTells and Cathy Rodgers out of Heavenly on
vocals. Here, it is a good old indie-pop recipe that is used:
distortion for the guitars, but a clear voice following a nice melody.
"Sophists" the 2nd track even bears a little resemblance with the best
of the Primitives, which is a good reference after all.