HIGH BIAS -- reissues

High Bias refreshed

EAST RIVER PIPE
Shining Hours in a Can
(Merge)
East River Pipe is the nom de plume of one F.M. Cornog, a NYC resident who's spent the last decade making records in his apartment on a Tascam 8-track. By releasing them on small labels, he's gained a reputation as one of the pop underground's best songwriters. A collection of tunes originally released as singles, Shining Hours in a Can was first released in 1994 on the tiny Ajax label. Now Merge has rescued it from obscurity, and it deserves it. The first notable thing about these recordings is the production. Cornog gets a startlingly crystalline, even lush sound from his primitive setup; this is most assuredly not lo-fi. The arrangements, which echo the sweeping shimmer of prime mid-90s British rock a la Catherine Wheel with soaring melodies and effects-drenched guitars, wouldn't work otherwise. The second thing you notice about these songs is how damn good they are. Cornog is a gifted tunesmith with an ear for simple but memorable melodies, and he weaves the music around lyrics that plumb the depths of misery without getting precious about it. Cornog tends to hone in on the heart of a matter, leaving the details to the listener's imagination. In the tuneful pop song "Happytown" he matter-of-factly croons "We're going down to Happytown/We never talked the way we feel 'til now" before plaintively asking "Can't you feel your life is burning underground?" On "Times Square Go-Go Boy," he sums up the life of a street hustler with the lines "Buy yourself a ticket/But that ticket isn't where you want to go." Many of the tracks, such as "40 Miles" and "Psychic Whore," create their melancholy aura more with the tunes themselves than the lyrics, emulating an approaching rain on someone's parade. Shining Hours in a Can is a bottle of gloom in which you can happily drown your sorrows. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Starflyer 59, Elliott Smith, Springhouse

THE THE
45 RPM
(Epic/Legacy)
Matt Johnson, who for 20 years has been trading under the name The The, is the proud papa of an expansive catalog of idiosyncratic but compelling rock music that defies easy categorization. With probing lyrics and memorable melodies attuned to a restlessly creative, versatile production aesthetic, he's never quite captured more than a cult audience. Sony's Legacy division is doing its part to spread the word about this remarkable, mercurial artist by remastering and reissuing his back catalog (see upcoming issues), but first they've collected a batch of Johnson's finest singles on 45 RPM. Many of Johnson's most familiar tracks are here: the dance rock landmark "Infected," the harmonica-driven rocker "Dogs of Lust," the searching folk/pop gems "The Beat(en) Generation" and "Slow Emotion Replay," the powerful ballad "Love is Stronger Than Death," the Joe Jacksonish soul/pop sociopolitical treatise "Heartland." Also present, however, are lesser-known tracks and early, rare 45s. The original 7-inch single versions of "Uncertain Smile" and "Perfect," two synth-pop tunes that would later appear on his second album Soul Mining, both sound like Depeche Mode if that band had real melodies, better vocals and genuine soul. The version of "This is the Day," one of his earliest singles, comes from the rare Dis-Infected release, while the unrecognized classic "Decembersunlight (Cried Out)" is an alternate version of the NakedSelf track, featuring duet vocals from Liz Horseman. "Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)" is an undiscovered jewel from Mind Bomb that was simply too provocative to be widely popular when first released, while his rocked-up reworking of Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light" is one of those rare covers that successfully reimagines its source. Best of all is the inclusion of two otherwise-unreleased songs, the shimmering ballad "Pillar Box Red" and the propulsive pop rocker "Deep Down Truth," that testify to Johnson's continued brilliance. The only thing missing is Mind Bomb's Sinead O'Connor duet "Kingdom of Rain." Also included in the package is a second disk of remixes, which features "Gravitate to Me." 45 RPM is a great way to reintroduce yourself to one of rock's most distinctive artists. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Fatima Mansions, That Petrol Emotion, Lloyd Cole