High Bias aural fixations
April 14, 2002

BELLVUE
To Be Somebody
(Goldenseal)
The sound of Bellvue's To Be Somebody is the sound of an artist in transition. Frontman Jesse Malin led the great, vastly unappreciated glam/punk/pop rock combo D Generation; since this album's recording he's gone the solo route, with an upcoming record produced by Ryan Adams. So To Be Somebody captures the sound of a nascent singer/songwriter still in thrall to loud guitar chords, crashing drums and widescreen dynamics, even as his tunes turn towards more intimate directions. Pop melodies and introspective lyrics roll around in bed with hard rock guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming, while Malin alternates his distinctive vocals between a yowl and a croon. Everything is arranged to maximize the melodies. Bombastic tracks like "Love Streams" and "Brooklyn" flirt with pop metal cheese but never go home with it; faster tunes like "Alien Nation," "Money Runner" and a surprising cover of Sister Double Happiness' "Sweet Talker" use punk energy but classic rock panache. This approach doesn't work very well on the take on the Stones' "Heartbreaker," but it's just dandy for Malin's originals. Stay tuned after the last song for an unlisted bonus track, a duet with Adams. To Be Somebody doesn't quite equal the best of D Generation, but it's a workable, entertaining midpoint between balls-out rock & roll and thoughtful tunesmithery. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Everclear, Sponge, Collective Soul

DASH
Sonic Boom
(Write-On)
After nearly two decades of tearing up every roadhouse and dive bar from coast to coast, Dash Rip Rock decided to set aside its hell-raisin' ways and become Dash, an entity bandleader Bill Davis hopes will be come better known for its songs than its antics. Accordingly, Sonic Boom, the band's ninth record and first under the truncated moniker, is the trio's most song-oriented work since their 1987 debut. Melody is king on tracks like "Eventually Evangeline," "The Plane Song" and "Dream Together," and Davis gives his country jones full flower on "Please Don't Hold My Hand," "We'll Waltz Again" and the chicken-pickin' "Silver Moonlit Rail." The Southern-rocking "Snows in Mississippi" finds the band flexing its higher-volume muscles. These tracks, even more than the name-change, serve notice that the Dash Rip Rock of old is no more. They're all fine songs, but none of them possess the wild-eyed, liquored-up spark old fans will expect. While not exactly sedate, none of the cuts really sets fires either.

When the band does try to fan the old goofball punkabilly flames, as on "Guru" and "High Speed Chase," the results fall strangely flat. Even worse is "Monkeys" ("flyin' outta your ass"), an attempt at a scatological standard a la "Bum Fuck Egypt" or "Rich Little Bitch" that sounds like a junior-high cover band attempting to sound like Dash. It's unfair to expect an artist to never evolve (just ask Paul Westerberg), and a songwriter with as much talent and ambition as Davis should never be expected to stand still and crank out the same goofy songs over and over. But it's unclear whether the trade of songcraft for rock & roll energy is a fair one—perhaps the next album will make a stronger case. Chalk Sonic Boom up as a transitional album. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Joe Ely, the Long Ryders, the Backsliders

GORILLA
Gorilla
(Lunasound)
Another British contribution to the stoner rock annals. Another overamped and overbuzzed power trio. Gorilla should be a yawn, but somehow it isn't. Not that there's anything particularly unique going on during its self-titled debut's 51-minute running time—you've got the usual overdriven guitar sound, impossibly low bass rumble, drums that go from John Bonham thump to Keith Moon frenzy, fuzzed-out solos, decent but not particularly distinctive singing, song titles like "Roachend Salad" and "Acorn Brain," melodies adapted from the Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer songbooks...the usual stoner ingredients. And yet, there's definitely special going on here. Maybe it's the timeless production sound of the all-analog recording. Maybe it's the cut-above songwriting; the band simply knows how to write sharp tunes. Hell, maybe it's just the unbridled enthusiasm guitarist/vocalist John Redfern, bassist Sarah Russell and drummer Richard Guppy bring to the table—the three buds sound like they're having the time of their lives making this grunge-encrusted racket. Regardless of what it is, songs like the crushing "Coxsackie" and "Forty Winks," rockin' "Day Blindness" and "She's Got a Car" and spaced-out "Iron Ball" will satisfyingly scratch your heavy rock itch. Genre fans should definitely shake this Gorilla's cage. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Nebula, Blue Cheer, Orange Goblin

DAN ISRAEL
Cedar Lake
(Persistent)
It's difficult for an acoustic singer/songwriter to make an interesting album, especially solo. But Minneapolis' Dan Israel (also the leader of the roots-rocking Cultivators) has now done it not once but twice. His excellent 2000 album Dan Who? proved that great songs given strong performances need no ornamentation, and the followup Cedar Lake consolidates the notion. Studio polish and production clutter would damage the intimacy of a song like "Phone Call," as the singer relates his reaction to the news of Sept. 11, or "Comin' Round," in which the protagonist laments a buddy lost in war. The disgust of "Power on the Inside," which takes an outgoing politician to task, the confusion of "Drifting" and the world-weariness of "Heavy" and "Going Home" shine more brightly unadorned. The love songs especially benefit from the spare treatment; the warmth of tunes like "Loved You Anyway," "Lucy" and "Shine Like Diamonds" will make your cheeks glow. With nothing but a skillfully strummed guitar, occasional piano and harmonica and his warm vocals, Israel gives these songs full-blooded life. Michael Toland

For fans of: Freedy Johnston, Mike Rosenthal, Peter Himmelman

THE JJ PARADISE PLAYERS CLUB
Wine Cooler Blowout
(Tee Pee)
The JJ Paradise Players Club will make you remember why you fell in love with rock Œn' roll in the first place. Consisting of eleven thudding, roaring rockslides, Wine Cooler Blowout is the Club's first full-length CD. Led by ex-Unsane bassist/vocalist Dave Curran (possessor of the finest rock shout since Slayer's Tom Araya), the band rides riffs like men possessed. Really.

Take your pick of these songs for favorites. Maybe "House of Torment" will be the first to make the jump to a mix CD, as it sounds like the bastard offspring of Black Sabbath and the Who (drummer James Paradise is surely a Keith Moon devotee). "Teddy Salad" is ignited by Curran's unholy pipes and a cowbell. "Spoiler vs. Trailblazer" is impossibly beefy and self-destructive, careening from riff to riff while Curran hollers, "Wasted, mistrusted, stoned and feeling fine."

It's all debauchery and riffitude, and the JJ Paradise Players Club sound like they're having the time of their lives. Wine Cooler Blowout is a ticket to one hell of a show. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Mountain, Pimpadelic, Buick MacKane

KNIEVEL
The Name Rings a Bell That Drowns Out Your Voice
(In Music We Trust)
Knievel seek to bore into your skull with their analog synth and trippy guitar layers. On The Name Rings a Bell That Drowns Out Your Voice, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Wayne Connolly is clearly the primary creative force, as it's his singing, and his guitar/keyboard melange that makes up most of the sound. The bass guitar, courtesy of Tracy Ellis, is mostly not prominent enough to qualify as wallpaper. Nick Kennedy's drumming is exceedingly minimal as well.

Knievel's third CD, when it works, creates a somber and emotive pop soundscape. "Don't Explain," with a synth part that probably consists of setting someone's bong on one of the black keys for four minutes and 21 seconds, almost takes the listener on its trip. It's subtle and melodic and droning. "We Can Identify" builds hazily around organ and vibrato guitar, accented by painfully high-pitched bells. "Sometimes this life's a chore, a slow revolving door," sings Connolly, and the chemistry of sound is kicking in.

But it's a formula that, when not executed perfectly, stumbles over that line between intensity and tedium. Here and there Connolly's pretty voice and spacey noodlings capture an antihistamine buzz, but by halfway through the CD it's hard to tell the songs apart. Droning things and ringing strings do not pop substance make. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: The Charlatans UK, the Posies, Varnaline

SMOKIN' GRANNY
Tarth Shooke
(Metaphoric)
Some virtuoso musicians just can't decide if they want to play fusion or progressive rock. The lads in North Carolina's Smokin' Granny decided to both at the same time. Sounding like a big jam session between the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report on some King Crimson tunes, Tarth Shooke features blazing performances from guitarists Steve Hatch and David Oskardmay, bassist Brian Preston, drummer Jeffrey Damon Lindsey and wind player Todd Barbee, but the quintet never lets their flashy fingerings get the better of the actual tunes. Tracks like "Fuma sin Fuego" and the title track move from one sensibility to another, from melodic accessibility to fiery aggression, with a seamless fluidity and an attention to the needs of the song. More moody pieces like "Assembler" and "Tethered Sky...Skewed Wisdom" concentrate more on mood and atmosphere than vulgar displays. The complex compositions could have formed the backbone of any quality 70s prog or fusion LP. Thankfully, in these days of categorical minutiae, Smokin' Granny sees no reason for the two not to co-exist. Michael Toland

For fans of: King Crimson, Happy the Man, High Tide

Copyright © 2002 High Bias