November 30, 2000
COLDPLAY
Parachutes (Nettwerk)
This young British quartet worships at the twin altars of gentle melody and emotional truth. They could easily pump their catchy, heartfelt tunes up into bloated rock anthems that trumpet their angst with the kind of blast that shatters mountains, but instead they choose to keep things low-key. It's as if they found the inner peace they sought in between the songs' creation and their actual recording, and the result is an forthrightly emotional pop album with a refreshing lack of bombast. The band has garnered plenty of comparisons to Jeff Buckley (an admitted influence) over the past year, but it's the Buckley of "Lover, You Should've Come Over" and "Last Goodbye" rather than the one of "Grace" and "So Real." Radiohead is also a fair touchstone, had that band decided to strip away its complicated arrangements and bad-tempered angst to let its melodies shine unadorned. Parachutes ultimately owes more to the impulses of its creators, though; the influences may be somewhat obvious, but it sounds like Coldplay more than anyone. Very nice stuff.
For fans of: Catherine Wheel, Jeff Buckley, Belle and Sebastian
MATCHLESS
You Shaped Curve (Matchless)
Matchless is something I haven't heard in a long, long while: a genuinely exciting indie rock band. The Seattle quartet, fronted by bassist/singer Molly K, combines the edgy melodies and jagged rhythms of Chicago math rock bands with the anthemic arrangements and unrestrained passion of the emo scene. The result is a powerful, emotional juggernaut of a rock band, with thrilling guitars over a rock-solid rhythm section that turns on a dime, and heartfelt vocals wrestling with complex emotions without lapsing into whining or sappiness. Songs like "Firedrill," "Never in a Vermillion Years" and "Stellar" will make you into a rock 'n' roll true believer again. Vibrant, impressive stuff.
For fans of: the Pixies, Jawbox, Pinkston
ONE MINUTE SILENCE
Buy Now...Saved Later (V2)
It's a bit unfair to put it this baldly, but One Minute Silence is the British version of Rage Against the Machine. With brain hammering drums, crunchy guitar riffs, rap vocals and righteous political anger, OMS would feel right at home in front of one of Rage's moshpits. The reason the comparison is a bit misguided, though, is because (to these ears, at least) OMS is the better band. The order of priorities for Rage is message then medium; for OMS it's the other way around, making the band just plain more fun to listen to. The Brits have a better sense of dynamics, a stronger hold on the groove, a vocalist far more comfortable with rap-shouting than Zack De La Rocha (not to mention a more colorful voice) and an aura of sheer exuberance at making a high-volume racket. They're hardly what I'd call funky, and an hour's worth of this is ultimately tedious, but at least they sound like they're playing music instead of lecturing over power chords. If you find the whole rap/metal thing appealing musically but hate Rage's stiffness and Limp Bizkit's stoopidity, One Minute Silence is the band for you.
For fans of: Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit
EDDIE SKULLER
The Soul of Eddie Skuller (Greatest Hits) (Breath of the Earth)
The Soul of Eddie Skuller is the veteran New York-area singer/songwriter's first full-length album, but as it compiles the best of his massive stack of demo and EP tracks, the "Greatest Hits" subtitle is perfectly appropriate. Skuller possesses a silky, soulful vocal style that could make him big bucks if he decided to ape George Michael; fortunately he has better taste (witness guests like Health & Happiness Show leader James Mastro and new wave guitar god Robert Quine). A skilled songwriter, he's able to weave memorable melodies, rubbery grooves and lyrics that cut to the heart of the emotional matter into melodic pop songs that sound superficial on the surface but reveal deeper truths with every listen. There's nothing here that sounds particularly subversive at first pass, but the more you listen the more the dark corners and unobtrusive funk rhythms reveal themselves—it's like Leonard Cohen writing songs for Hall & Oates. There are a couple of clunkers—"Without Your Love" sounds like a facile top 40 ballad and the 80s-era "I Didn't Mean to Hurt You" sounds horribly dated, though both are nearly redeemed by strong vocal performances. But when Skuller hits his stride with strong tunes like "Into This World" (a hit in waiting), "Make It Easy" and "Don't Tell Me," you realize that labeling this collection his "greatest hits" is no hollow boast.
For fans of: David Gray, Joe Henry, Charlie Peacock
CHAGALL GUEVARA
Chagall Guevara (MCA)
Back in the early 90s, a group of veteran Christian rock musicians, fed up with the narrow-minded attitudes rampant in their chosen genre, decided to uproot themselves from the safe but stifling haven of the LA Christian rock scene, move to Nashville and form Chagall Guevara, who signed to MCA and released a single album. Consisting of guitarists L. Arthur Nichols (Phil Keaggy) and Dave Perkins (solo, Steve Taylor, sessions), drummer Mike Mead (Phil Keaggy, sessions), bassist Wade Jaynes and frontman Steve Taylor (whose sarcastic, intelligent songs make him sort of the Christian Randy Newman), Chagall Guevara makes exciting, panoramic rock on its 1993 self-titled LP. Jaynes and Mead make for a versatile rhythm section, easily able to handle whatever stylistic curve ball the melodicists throw their way, and Nichols and Perkins dance an edgy, melodious, often intricate dance with their six-strings, transcending the notion of a rhythm/lead team in much the same way as did Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd in Television. Meanwhile Taylor pierces the nearly psychedelic veil of strings and drums with his sharp voice and sharper words. He tones down his sarcasm, surprisingly, but he's still miffed at the dehumanizing effect of American society on the spirit, and doesn't hesitate to say so, even if his ideas are expressed somewhat enigmatically. From sparkling pop songs ("Escher's World," "Love is a Dead Language") to powerhouse rock anthems ("Violent Blue," "Murder in the Big House," "I Need Somebody"), the band feels perfectly comfortable with any approach the song requires, and keep up an energy level throughout that makes the album burn white-hot with excitement. A shame that the mainstream record-buying public for whom this album was made chose to ignore it completely, leading to the band's untimely end. Troll the used bins for this out-of-print gem and find out what you missed.
Chagall Guevara was also released to Christian bookstores on a Christian label, but despite being a critical favorite it still didn't reach a large audience (maybe because the band went out of its way not to use words like God or Jesus). Taylor went back to his solo career, forming his own record company called Squint in order to release his music without compromise. The others, I'm assuming, went back to their session careers.
For fans of: the Tragically Hip, Collective Soul, Miracle Legion