the Carousel
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz CD
Vinyl Japan. MASKCD50.
by Aurore Bacmann.
May 1, 1995.
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Sometimes you just browse in records shops, barely looking at the
records, and not at all expecting to come across anything worth
buying. Let's say you're just there seeking shelter because it's
raining outside. Moreover, you're not even in the mood to spend
some money on a circular mirror-like piece of plastic -- they
call it a "CD" -- viciously packed inside a case that will
undergo an unexpected self-destruction phenomenon the first time
you try to open it. Counting out the fact that the case itself is
wrapped up in a sheet of plastic and it usually takes you longer
to take off than to listen to the record.
Yes, there was a time when a record shop was a magic garden, full of surprises, crammed with 12"s of all kinds in large colourful sleeves, and where some incredible little records could be found.
Now the invasion of CDs has made music more and more market-oriented and while CDs made themselves comfortable in record shops, the frustration of never finding the records they were looking for never made itself comfortable in popkids' minds. Especially those who were into lovely homemade "I recorded it in my kitchen" sort of things. How can you hope to find the first ep of a group that split up after 2 releases and whose only fans are the few lucky people who bought the record because the sleeve had silly pink drawings on it? So there you are, half looking at the records while the sighs of disappointment at the sight of the records have replaced the frequent excited "Aaaaagh, I must buy this" or other "Hm, why no buy that" of yore.
However there are some cases of happy surprise when a sudd en cheery "Oh my God!!!" distracts you from your lethargic, aimless search, makes you look at the person who uttered those words in a puzzled way and grab the record from his hands "let me see let me see what is it oh the Carousel oh the new album oh wow I can't believe my eyes." Grin.
This second album by the Carousel will not turn upside down the landscape that I Forgot to Remember to Forget, the first one, had painted. The songs are still built on the basis rhythm guitar/strings/vocals and have kept their simplicity and enchanting, catchy melodies.
Helped by almost the whole of Heavenly (fans can have fun trying to spot Amelia's voice), Gregory Webster and his Rickenbacker -- the pop reference! -- Elizabeth Price reigns like a princess on her new album, her voice leading the instruments. Like in I Forgot to Remember to Forget a religious atmosphere floats around on the LP but sometimes the voice becomes less ethereal and emerges from the music.
For, in her songs, Elizabeth Price lays emphasis on the singing -- the rhythm guitars are wrapped up in several tracks of perfect vocals. This new album by the Carousel is globally more energetic than the previous one. An effort has been made on the sound -- the guitars are less harsh, the reverb rounds off the angles. Moreover, the LP is full of bubblegum lyrics praising "him so sweet" which made so glorious the songs Elizabeth wrote for Talulah Gosh. She sings about a dreamlike Prince Charming (the enthusiastic "Like a honeybee") or stories of pride and preciousness like in "Sidesaddle."
In a kind of music often hated by the conventional and well-established indie music press (too twee, too childish, not deep enough, not violent enough, etc.), yet adored by the numbers of a certain Pop Underground who draw flowers on every piece of paper that comes under their hands, (play the guitar neatly and sing shyly -- sometimes out of tune) Elizabeth has put her personal touch which gives her songs their originality and special sound. In those 8 short popsongs, she proves that it is possible to write great music just with acoustic guitars -- no drums, no distortion. As straightforward as the alphabet.
Happy Rhodes
Building The Colossus CD
Aural Gratification. AGCD0029.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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Building The Colossus, Happy's intriguing seventh album has
demanded
a number of listens, but I'm still left with mixed, hard to figure
feelings
towards it. On it, as expected, Happy's voice sounds completely amazing.
It resides all over the musical spectrum and Happy can use it to some
really weird effects! I honestly can not compare it to anyone else's.
Unfortunately, her music travels further down a synthetic musical path
that runs through aural scenery I am not always able to enjoy. There are
many moments of haunting brilliance on this album, but there too are a
slew of overly commercial sounding cheery, joyful vocal segments that I
do not much care for. This is probably the most poppy and happy sounding
of her albums. Unfortunately, to me, a Happy song does not usually
seem appropriate being a happy song. It's been the dark, gothic
Rhodes tunes that have always given me the most exciting, shivering
thrills and chills. Thankfully, the songs on this album do retain darker
aspects. Also thankfully, the acoustic guitar has made a real, noticeable
reemergence!
Rocketship
"Hey, Hey, Girl" 7" vinyl
Bus Stop. bus 034.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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In a world where pop-sensibility was given just weight, "Hey, Hey, Girl"
by Sacramento's Rocketship would have been number one with a bullet on
the relevant Billboard charts. It's fun, simple, catchy keyboard-based
pop featuring endearing boy/girl vox, and a classic 3 word chorus. For
the length of this song, the sun's shining, the world's at peace, and
you're flying high watching it all. The two other tracks, "Naomi and Me"
and "People I Know" are more subdued, but engagingly honest, and also
unmistakably pop pop pop!
Various Artists
Munch (Part 1) VHS Video
Season. Season Two.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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Since the advent of MTV, music videos have become increasingly important
in catapulting bands to mega-success. What is perhaps MTV's most
important contribution to late 20th century musical philosophy is the
notion that a new single without an accompanying video is simply
incomplete. And it's this new slightly tongue-in-cheek philosophy that
leads many bands to film music videos, even while knowing that it is
infinitely easier to get a song played on the radio than a music video
played on broadcast television. Lending additional motivation to bands,
filming a music video is fun -- sort of a group's award to itself for
another song completed!
It is probably this latter reason that led to the filming of most of the twenty videos on the Munch compilation. It is doubtful that even one of them was made with the goal of having it end up on MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown. Slick production is only briefly touched upon. The common trait of these videos is a joyous, and refreshing "we did it ourselves" naiveity. And certainly the nature of the music fits well with less-than-hollywood-esque production techniques, as videos by wholly un-pretentious bands such as the Haywains, Magnetic Fields, the Sugargliders, and Heavenly made it to this compilation.
Munch would be recommendable solely on the grounds of the quality of the music. So considering the bonus cheery video wackiness, and the pure novelty of the tape, it just about qualifies as a must see. It should provide signficant amusement for most indie-pop fans, especially those who's interest lean towards twee soundscapes.
Heavenly
The Decline And Fall Of Heavenly CD
K. KLP-033.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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Upon my first listen, The Decline and Fall of Heavenly didn't sound
much
like a Heavenly album. Things seemed cluttered, too complicated. I could
not make complete sense of it all. I had fears that the title of the
album might in fact turn out to be a non-kidding description of the
contents. However, after only a few more short listens--and I do mean
short, this album clocks in at a mere 25 minutes--I realized that the new
album was in fact another piece of artistic brilliance from the reliable
Oxford band. Hurrah!
The album does have a bit more going on than previous releases, and by golly, on track two, "Modestic," there is even the sound of horns! I never thought I would hear that from Heavenly. But have no fear, it is used sparingly, and Heavenly has far from undergone a complete metamorphosis. The sound of this album is quite a logical progression from that of the last major release, the P.U.N.K. Girl EP. That record introduced the more prominent keyboard sound, and with this new LP, Cathy's keyboard is again featured on many tracks, as are her vocals. She serves as a wonderful smoothing agent--her soft vocals contrasting Amelia's punkier voice; her jolly keyboard adventures taking a wee edge off of those energetic guitars.
I love each of the first seven songs on this record. The first two tracks have great bunches of energy, while the next four feel a tad more casual, and in the middle, for song number five, the band does something which I believe is a first. They lay down an instrumental. The title of the song, "Sacramento," does not figure to be anything other than a nod to Tiger Trap, the defunct Sacramento band that was so often compared to Heavenly. Additionally, it has a surfy feel, like many of Tiger Trap's tunes. As an aside, with so much keyboard, "Sacramento" also brings to mind the more recent Sacramento pop-phenomenon, Rocketship. If the city of Sacramento does not have an official theme song, people should definitely work to make this it!
On track seven, the band totally punks it up again with the marvelously silly-titled "Sperm Meets Egg, So What?" It's a wonderful bit of classic guitar pop, but unfortunately, after that brilliance is over, the album totally grinds to a halt with "She and Me." Oh well. A nearly perfect album!
Dunebuggy
"White Chocolate" 7" vinyl
Spin Art. spart-036.
by Scott Zimmerman.
December 31, 1994.
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I don't come across many of these. It's a 7" that includes lyrics! Wow!
Unfortunately, I have no great desire to read them, as the songs leave me
bored. When I listen to this record, I start wondering what it is that I
don't like about the songs. I can't quite say. "White Chocolate" and
"Chump Change", for example, surely rock. It could be that they're too
fast, with too many things going on inside. If there are arresting
elements in the songs, they whiz by me so rapidly that they're unable to
grab hold. Oh well. I do get the feeling that Dunebuggy might be a fun
live band.