Album Reviews
COSMIC ROUGH RIDERS
Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine
(Poptones)
The third album by Glasgow's Cosmic Rough Riders couldn't be better named. The quintet plays a clean, catchy brand of folky pop that emphasizes a bright mixture of acoustic and electric strumming, vocal harmonies and frontman Daniel Wylie's personable croon. Despite the album packaging and the band's name, there's little overt psychedelia present; the blokes seem less concerned with altering your consciousness than with getting you to sing along. They prefer to cut to the chase, and the songs—written in the main by Wylie and guitarist Stephen Fleming—get straight to the tuneful point, never letting any excessive ornamentation get in the way of the melodic payoff. Whether the tone of the lyrics evokes heartbreak ("The Pain Inside"), disappointment ("Melanie"), wistful reminiscence ("Glastonbury Revisited"), satirical seduction ("Baby You're So Free") or serious contemplation ("Revolution (In the Summertime)"), the sunny melodies and singalong choruses carry the day so wonderfully the Riders make it look easy. Listening to Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine is like drinking a cool glass of freshly squeezed orange juice while watching the sun rise. Michael Toland
For fans of: the Jayhawks, It's a Shame About Ray-era Lemonheads, Buffalo Springfield
ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN
Annie's Grave
(Victory)
They've exchanged lead guitarist Jim Foster for Carl Porcaro, but otherwise it's business as usual for this prolific Jersey rock 'n' roll quintet. Leader Sal Canzonieri hammers out massive six-string riffs that brutally navigate the often-treacherous waters between the punk Scylla and the hard rock Charibdes. Bassist Dan Canzonieri and drummer Rob Sefcik keep their hands firmly on the rhythm rudder and singer Steve Miller attacks the lyrics like a hungry (if slightly sarcastic) shark. Songs like "Already Dead," "Backs Against the Wall," "Just Can't Kick" and the unusually heavy "My Father's Son" join the ranks of past EF classics, and the production is clear and punchy for the most part. If you're already a fan, this is a worthy addition to your collection (even if it's no match for their previous album How to Make a Monster). If you're not familiar with this graceful behemoth, Annie's Grave isn't a bad place to start digging. Michael Toland
For fans of: the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, Motörhead, Black Flag
GRAVY BOAT
Gravy Boat
(High On the Hog, 6102 Estates Cove, Austin, TX 78745)
Two guitars, bass and drums playing three-chord roots rock songs—it seems like a formula that should be exhausted by now. Every once in a while, though, one gets a craving for simple fare, something unvarnished and pure, something with minimal spice. Austin quartet Gravy Boat provides that something on their debut disc. An outgrowth of Austin's best punk band Jesus Christ Superfly, Gravy Boat—guitarists/singers Rick Carney and Jerry Renshaw, bassist Ron Williams and drummer Brian DiFrank—plays pumped-up roots rock that sounds like Buck Owens after being roughed up in a biker bar. A hoppin' rhythm section, raw vocals, those three chords and an attitude are all these boys need to make songs like "Night Train to Texas," "Oughta Be a Law" and "Jim Beam Drunk" rumble down the dirt road in fine fashion. Their choice in covers tells the story: Eddie Cochran's "My Way," the New York Dolls' "Lone Star Queen" and the Rolling Stones' "Last Time," as if done by the Sir Douglas Quintet. Mix those influences together with a heavy dose of C&W and you've got Gravy Boat. Nothing here will change your life, but sometimes you need something like this to cleanse the palette, giving you the pause that refreshes. Michael Toland
For fans of: Mike Ness, Doug Sahm, the Drive-By Truckers
ICE AGE
Liberation
(Magna Carta)
A couple of years ago, New York's Ice Age released their debut album The Great Divide, a fairly pedestrian progressive metal album that nonetheless contained sparks of something greater. If Liberation is any indication, the band has been fanning those sparks into flames, as this record is an improvement on all fronts. Having proven their technical mettle on the debut, on Liberation the quartet concentrates less on dazzling virtuosity and more on songwriting and arrangements. Singer Josh Pincus' keyboards feature more prominently in the mix, and while guitarist Jimmy Pappas still gets his share of blazing solos, he puts more effort into riffs and fills, showing at least a modicum of taste even in his lead breaks. Songs like "The Guardian of Forever," "When You're Ready" and "To Say Goodbye, Part III: Still Here" show a welcome emphasis on melody, instead of being showcases for Pappas' ax wank and Pincus' Dennis DeYoung-like wail. Best of all is the powerful, tuneful "The Lhasa Road (No Surrender)," about the Chinese invasion of Tibet, which sums up the band's strengths and is easily the band's strongest piece yet. They're still not above writing silly headbangers like "The Wolf," but they're continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, and their next album may very well be a start-to-finish killer. Michael Toland
For fans of: Magellan, Dali's Dilemma, Dream Theater
IDLEWILD
100 Broken Windows
(Food/Odeon/Capitol)
It's hard to imagine now, but in the late 80s and early 90s, "alternative rock" meant good music. Before Blink 182, Limp Bizkit and the Toadies inflicted themselves on the radio, alternative rock meant passionate, guitar-fueled anthems that drew musical inspiration from equal parts classic rock, postpunk and power pop sounds. If 100 Broken Windows is any indication, young Scottish quartet Idlewild remember that time well. Catchy melodies bump up against punk fury, atmospheric layers of guitar and organ alternate with frenzied six-string squalls, lush vocal harmonies share space with buzzing feedback, and, most importantly, youthful angst is tempered with wry humor. The band looks out on the world of art and entertainment and winces, but they refuse to sink into despair. "These Wooden Ideas" may contain sarcasm like "It's a better way to feel/When you're not real/You're postmodern" and snide accusations like "I'll bet you don't know how to sell conviction," but the soaring melody puts hope back on the table. The difference between Windows and their two previous platters is the laser-sighted focus they've developed on their material—the songs obviously come first, with the group's many assets applied as needed by each tune. "Mistake Pageant," "Little Discourage" seethe with melody and emotion, and "Roseability" is quite simply the culmination of all the band's ideas into one glowing track. 100 Broken Windows may not be life-changing, but it should definitely put a smile on the face of all who hear it. Michael Toland
For fans of: Gene, Whipping Boy, Nirvana
MALKUM & CHRIS
Walk On
(Buckatoon)
At first listen, Malkum Gibson and Chris Kleeman have a lot going for them. An acoustic guitar/harmonica-backed duo, they play tastefully and sing well. Their arrangements are subtle and smart, and Gibson's harp tone is musical and round, not grating. Thirty-plus years ago they put out an album which BB King produced, and since then they've played with a lot of other musicians and logged a lot of miles.
But, and this is a big BUT, of the 14 songs on this CD, only one ("I Love the Way You Everything") is an original. The others? Covers of good, but well-worn blues classics. The potential fan of Walk On, a blues CD on a tiny label, would probably already own copies (not to mention multiple covers) of songs like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee's "Walk On," Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway," Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'," Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too," and maybe even Blind Boy Fuller's "Step It Up and Go" (Fuller's East Coast Piedmont Style CD is highly recommended, by the way).
So Malkum Gibson and Chris Kleeman present an interesting conundrum by performing likable versions of songs that could have been on their set list back when they were working with King, songs that have certainly been covered ad nauseam before and since. They're probably great at a party or in a club, but on CD, they just don't bring enough to the table. "I Love the Way You Everything," though, is quite good. Brian Briscoe
For fans of: Satan and Adam, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Ted Hawkins
JENNIFER MARKS
My Name's Not Red
(Red Kurl)
NYC's Jennifer Marks plays a superior brand of folk pop. There's nothing particularly unusual about her sound—it's mostly acoustic pop songs with tasteful electric embellishments. Her lyrics, however, set her apart. She's an intelligent young artist, at turns playful and passionate, witty and worn out, and she's strong enough not to be afraid to show vulnerability. In short, she's a well-rounded human being with a gift for self-expression, and sounds like she'd be a pleasure to hang out with. My Name's Not Red is the next best thing to being there. Michael Toland
For fans of: Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, Kristina Olsen
PAVED COUNTRY
Deconstructing Paradise
(Paved Country)
Hailing from Boston, Paved Country are a slick, twangy country-pop band built around the voices and lyrics of Marjie Alonso and Sarah Mendelsohn. On Deconstructing Paradise, their second CD, eleven originals and one Merle Haggard cover ("What Am I Gonna Do") chug and swoon, with line after line sung in nearly-familial two-part harmonies.
These are sincere, slick little songs with more than a passing nod to the Indigo Girls. With gutsy, Telecaster-driven quicksteps, and lyrics such as "Well I almost didn't think about you last night" (from "Too Much Fun"), it'd be hard not to like this CD, familiar as it may sound. They slow it down effectively too; on "Hush Hush," the closer, Alonso sings, "You know I always feel afraid, even when I seem OK" to an ambient, Nashville-strung acoustic guitar.
Deconstructing Paradise doesn't save the world, but it doesn't have to. As good as it is, the potential shown by Alonso and Mendelsohn is what's really exciting; they're only going to get better. Brian Briscoe
For fans of: Indigo Girls, Darden Smith, Foster and Lloyd
TURBONEGRO
Darkness Forever!
(Bitzcore/Get Hip)
Considered by many to be the godfathers of the currently vital Scandinavian rock 'n' roll scene, Oslo's self-described deathpunk/denim rock sextet Turbonegro disintegrated in late '98, but not before recording their final concert for Darkness Forever! Drawing from all points of their decade-long career (sampling most heavily from their then-latest album Apocalypse Dudes and their classic Ass Cobra), the band romps and raves through a virtual greatest hits package of their goofy, good-naturedly menacing heavy rock. Dressed like the devil's ringmaster, singer Hans Erik Dyvik Husby aggressively blusters his way through such scatologically enhanced tunes as "Rock Against Ass," "I Got Erection," their virtual theme song "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)" and the brilliantly-titled "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker." The band is all thundering rhythms, sizzling leads and crunching power chords, while Husby rides the beast with a whisky bottle in one hand and a cat 'o' nine tails in the other. Given the energy of the performance and the group's evident delight in its material, it's hard to believe they were on the verge of an allegedly traumatic split. Then again, this spirited, demented document would have been hard to top. Michael Toland
For fans of: Gluecifer, the Hellacopters, AC/DC
