Once upon a time I wrote a handful of record reviews for a ‘Zine called Temple of Sting (the ‘zine had an anti-Sting, pro-bee

Once upon a time I wrote a handful of record reviews for a ‘Zine called Temple of Sting (the ‘zine had an anti-Sting, pro-bee theme). Enjoy!

Record reviews:

The Go-Betweens Bellavista Terrace: Best of the Go-Betweens (Beggar's Banquet) 5 bees

Uplifting rhythms and violins reminiscent of The Waterboys, touches of The Cure in the keyboards and guitar sound, a hint of Television and Human Sexual Response in the vocals, an oboe, strategic female harmonies, not-overly-lush production, intelligent lyrics... "Feel so sure of our love/I'll write a song about us breaking up" (Man o' Sand to Girl o' Sea). It all weaves together into a post-punk tapestry that makes me wish I lived in Sydney, Australia in 1983. How did I miss these guys? Probably because they never achieved much in the way of commercial success. Well, I'm glad Ifound them, now. Better late than never! Go get this, you won't regret it.

The Go-Betweens the lost album: '78-'79 (jetset) 3 bees

Discovering the Bellavista Terrace collection made me want to seek out the early albums, so I popped in the lost album: '78-'79. Apparently these songs were recorded for Beserkley Records and were never released due to a contract dispute. It's apparent from the start that this one's a pretty patched-together collection of early demos, not the cohesive album I'd imagined. Nonetheless, I quickly found myself getting into the garage-ey rhythms and bratty lo-fi honesty of these power-pop songs. Contrasting the upbeat, airy quality of the material on Bellavista, these early songs rock hard and have a real edge to them. The lead track, Lee Remick, immediately pulled me in with its catchy chorus lyric, "Ayiyiyiyi/Love Lee Remick/She's a darlin'." The stripped-down arrangement and spoken-sung vocals of Karen invoke the spirit of The Velvet Underground. Off-the-cuff guitar solos, loose drum fills and an overall late-night rehearsal-space sensibility grace the remainder of the disc. There are some really great songs here (Lee Remick, Love Wasn't Made For You + Me, Obsession, People Say, Don't Let Him Come Back). It'd be nice to hear this record as it might have been, but it's pretty cool as it is.

Banjo Spiders Banjo Spiders (Spinning Records) 4 bees

Listening to the Spiders' debut CD brings to mind the energy and wry spirit of Joe Jackson back when he really rocked, and The Kinks, well whenever. There's also an element of classic grind-core along the lines of The Lyres and The Smithereens, and I'll bet the frequent Stones comparisons garner eyeball-rolls from the band. The first track, Gilligan's Daughter, is a frantic stumble down the stairs of l-o-v-e straight into the arms of c-o-n-f-u-s-i-o-n, "I'm so pissed and I really only want the reason" Tone, the second song in this fine assortment of rootsy rock songs, is my personal favorite: "And the pencil weighs a ton/'Cause the songs are never done/It makes me want to throw 'em away." Slightly reminiscent of Buffalo Tom's Taillights Fade, it features some really nice slide guitar and the strongest vocal performance on the CD. Overall the playing is impressive and the songs diverse, making me wish for a fuller sound from the production to really do the material justice. An impressive debut.

Calendar Girl Cool Rocketships in Space (self-released) 4 bees

With a stack of dusty Playboys in one hand and a "Dear Johnny" letter in the other, Mr. Anguish pours it all out for us with a sigh. A quick fistful of guitar crunch, then: "I feel so dirty/Looking at your body/Now that you're gone." Necro-pop? Naw, it's just about a picture of an old girlfriend. The singer's laid-back vocals sit calmly in the eye of an effects-laden guitar hurricane, whispering personal tales of longing and desire. The melodies haunt and the lyrics keep coming back like bad Mexican, "Hey Girl/You got those dirty jeans on." A throbbing rhythm section and yah yah backing vocals keep the energy flowing throughout. The power ballad Cadaverfeatures tremolo-rich guitars, a lovely meandering bass-line, and an awesome lyric: "If in the morning I don't get up and walk away/Who's to blame me I'm so damn lame/In the morning I might stay in bed/Who's to say I'm more than one step from dead/Who's to say I'm not dead?" The band claims the song is about a knee operation involving a cartilage transplant. Really. Yet another excellent recording job by local tube-monger and recordin' genius Darron Burke, this debut 6.2-song release is a talent-soaked appetizer that's gonna leave you hungry for more.

The Icicle Works The Best of The Icicle Works (Beggar's Banquet) 2 bees

What was it about the mid-80's? Even at the time, it seemed pretty cheesy the Anglo-philia, the bad hair, the bad clothes, those keyboard-drenched epics wailed into the wind with oh-so strangled angst… They'd probably try to call it "goth" nowadays. And, ok, it's still kinda cheesy. As Ian McNabb says in the liner notes to this 16-song retrospective, "Try not to listen to it all in one go, it'll do your head in." I actually quite enjoyed the first few tracks, both as a pogo down memory lane and as a discovery of songs I'd never heard at the time (or if I did I didn't know who played them). I probably danced myself into a sweaty mess to Birds Fly, (better known as Whisper to a Scream) at the club Spit back in the days when I owned and actually wore a gray leather tie. Also noteworthy is Love is a Wonderful Colour which got them to the Top 40 in 1983. After track 5, though, the disc gets a bit bland as the collection attempts to demonstrate McNabb's exploration of a broad range of musical styles (they even try to sound like Prince on one song). My personal favorite among these is the entirely uncharacteristic Shit Creek, a rocking tip-of-the-hair to heavy metal that could be an AC/DC cover. This lack of “commercial focus" might arguably be what led to the band's eventual extinction. Buy it used.

Knocked Out Loaded Knocked Out Loaded (Self Released) 4 bees

I happen to know that this album was recorded at home on one of those new digital eight-tracks, and I'm really impressed with the results. Being a Blonde Redhead fan, at first I was taken aback by this more-than-homage to that band. But being influenced by Blonde Redhead is certainly not a bad thing, and this album succeeds on its own merits, despite the inevitability of the comparison. The opening track features a barely audible male/female spoken-word dialog over a really nice instr mental with a wide-open mix that had me reaching for my headphones. After the first track the material gets really quite B.R.-ish, mostly due to the singing style. Further in, though, it gets (and I HATE comparing bands to Pavement) a bit Pavement-ish. Again, not a bad thing. I found myself drawn in and mesmerized, and I wanted more when it was over. Nice dreamy songs a great recording job an enjoyable listen. I'll keep this one on top of the stack for a while.

The Minders Cul de Sacs & Dead Ends (spinART /Elephant 6) 4 bees

This CD, similar to some of the other Elephant 6 offerings (Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel), took a couple of listens to really grab me, but now I'm hooked solid. At first take I was reminded of Guided By Voices' Alien Lanes, particularly in the way many of the songs clock in at under 2 minutes and both start and end abruptly. But by the 3rd track, Chatty Patty, it's clear that the album is an homage to Paul McCartney and the early Beatles, if not an unabashed Beatles ripoff. Not that that's a bad thing. It's kind of neat to hear the pretty progressions of Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper coupled with krispy Pavement-style guitar sounds. The production is delightfully faithful to the early stereo recording style of the fab four, with the pan controls pegged fully left and right, making you think you're deaf in one headphone 'til that 2nd guitar kicks in. The songs are bouncy and catchy, and in fact my girlfriend did a very sexy impromtu dance to Hand Me Downs. Yeaaaah baby! On the down side, I found the tempo of the first 8 songs to be somewhat hectic and unvarying, causing the songs to blend together. It was a relief when Weigh the Anchor kicked in with it's slow groove, lazy guitar line and psychedelic backing vocals. The 14th track, Step Right Up, also broke the mini-ditty formula with Rebecca Cole on vocals and an extended outro full of noodling recorders and bird noises. I love stuff like that. One tip these guys could take from the Beatles is to allow for more dynamics when ordering the songs. After the 5th track I was starting to wonder if the whole record was going to be in the same vein. The second half of the album flows much better than the first, though it's no Abbey Road.

Stratotanker The Miracle of Flight (Anisette) 1 bee

What a waste of really good musicians! The drummer can really play but, ack! The last time I heard vocals like that was when my cat fought a skunk. The lyrics in the sleeve (which are actually kind of cool) seem to have no connection whatsoever with the painful yowling coming out of my speakers. Trying to stay open-minded, I continue bravely through the CD, but find my hand reaching for the SKIP button over and over, until I finally just have to hit EJECT.