Wednesday, April 2, 1997Komeda "The Genius of Komeda" (North of
No South) OK, so this one isn’t super recent, but it’s so darned
good that you have to hear about it. This film-score-inspired blend
of bossa nova lounge space rock (for lack of a better jumble of
terms) from Sweden’s coolest label lives up to its name and then
some. Though the truly original Komeda have an amazing EP and album
already under their belt, "Genius" could be the one to bring them
U.S. success. It’s more rock oriented than their previous efforts,
and it’s their first album sung (mostly) in English, both of which
will appeal to the average U.S. music fan, who has to be
bull-whipped into trying anything new.
But despite its flirtations with mainstream pop, the album has
Komeda’s idiosyncrasies and uniqueness stamped all over it. The
band combines suave, syncopated rhythms, every sort of ’60s style
piano, organ and chime, electric and acoustic guitars and some of
the most unusual lyrics in any language. Though the music is
anything but kitch or retro, it gives those styles a nod with its
mix of old and new instruments and styles and its lip service to
abject consumerism, parties and girls, and … er, therapy patients
from outer space.
The lyrics are deceptively simple and brilliantly
tongue-in-cheek. Singer Lena Karlsson uses simple but unusual
constructions that a non-native speaker would use, giving the songs
that "art house Euro" thing. The quirks fit perfectly with the
music, which is the important thing, anyway.
The album could be the soundtrack to a mod-style Breakfast at
Tiffanys or Nick at Nite on acid. "Rocket Plane (Music on the
Moon)" uses a swank bossa nova base, organs and what sounds like a
vibraphone to woo one into sex on a rocket ship ("Please me one
more time, then go away"). "Boogie Woogie/ Rock’n’Roll" broaches
the controversial subject of meeting chicks at a party, and "In
Orbit" is a wordless blast of surf music. While those two songs
cover the ’50s and ’60s, "Disko" manages to incorporate disco
rhythms and instruments.
Despite all of these influences and disparate sounds, the album
holds together marvelously, because the main bond is Komeda’s
amazing ability to blend it all together into their own sound.
Though they don’t use samples, they merge styles into a unique
whole as well as Beck, and with as much infectious flair. Komeda
are the kings  and queen  of surreal Swedish pop (woe
to those who compare them to The Cardigans, Abba or Ace of Base).
Catch them at the Alligator Lounge on April 12 and see for
yourself! Kristin Fiore A+
Collective Soul "Disciplined Breakdown" (Atlantic) The latest
release from Collective Soul shows potential, but for their third
album on Atlantic and as a follow-up to their impressive sophomore
release, it simply falls short. The band’s usual formula of using a
mildly catchy guitar riff over and over is painfully obvious on
almost every track, and the riffs become less and less appealing
with each album.
The first single, "Precious Declaration," is surprisingly one of
the more mediocre tracks on the album. Its predictable guitar riff
makes it almost immediately uninteresting. Collective Soul makes
the mistake on "Disciplined Breakdown" of reverting back to the
styles of their debut album  a combination of soft acoustic
strumming mixed with gentle vocals that blend together all too
easily.
Tracks like "Listen" and "Forgiveness," while initially a nice
change from their typical formula, end up being just as dull. Lead
singer Ed Roland’s vocals have always remained very strong, but the
band has had consistently weak songwriting. Collective Soul’s
growth in popularity following their eponymous second release will
undoubtedly cease. Brian Remick C+
The Boo Radleys "C’mon Kids" (Mercury) Instead of letting
themselves get stuck in the uncreative confines of the corporate
demands which must be made on them since the widespread success of
their last work, "Wake Up!," The Boo Radleys have stretched their
talents in new directions. Different even from their first three
albums’ guitar-swamped strummings, "C’mon Kids" flips from well
written selection to well written selection, while still allowing
the amped riffs to spin out of control when necessary.
Sometimes sounding like the spacey, psycho-edged David Bowie,
other times like the sharply bopping Pixies, The Boo Radleys skip
through steady sauntering songs and speedily enraged narratives
alike. They often combine the two, like in "Bullfrog Green," where
mellow bongo drums and soft-tapped lounge cymbals accompany the
cruise boat voiced lead singer and his set of back up singers,
repeating the lines "The sky was Bullfrog Green / You wouldn’t
believe," as a feedback-inducing guitar whines in the background,
even taking over for a surprisingly unobtrusive solo.
Yet, moments arise when the album loses your concentration, as
it slips into catchy, marketable refrains which leave your mind in
its non-active, "I am radio listener, feed me a commercial"
mentality. A perfect example of this comes in the song, "What’s in
the box?" where the words "Look in the box/ See what you got" are
repeated to no avail. Still, this song is followed by the track,
"Four Saints," which must have been conceived of while on crack
because it dabbles in too many separate rhythms and tunes for it to
be just one song  but that’s its charm.
If you can’t make heads or tales of this album at first, just
keep on playing it. Hopefully, it will never stop throwing you
curveballs. Vanessa VanderZanden A-
Poster Children "RTFM" (Reprise) In keeping with the comet-like
burst of energy prevalent on previous recordings, Poster Children
explode trance inducing punk-pop ditties right and left on their
latest work, "RTFM." Always spinning within guitar-infused
feedback, the lead singer’s smooth, well-dictioned voice releases
coherent word after coherent word of spontaneous, action-packed
splendor. Far from a death orgy, the best set of lyrics come in the
album’s mellowest song, "Dream Small," which coos, "Dream small,
tonight/ Be safe, sleep tight/ Dream small tonight, everything’s
gonna be all right." And it seems like everything will be. Neat.
Sometimes, you just need to hear that.
Yet, just a few songs later, "Afterglow," an unsettling tune
about a nuclear explosion, rattles through your head, leaving radio
active treadmarks on all sides of your brain. Still, once the album
clicks to an end, you may be left wondering if you desire to hear
it spin around the CD player one more time. It provides no
emotional backbone to your otherwise crumbling existence, nor does
it cause you to want to drown your sorrows in destructive chemicals
in a trashy expression of freedom. But like the Saturday morning
cartoons, Poster Children’s "RTFM" sends an uplifting "pow" through
your senses without any strings attached. Just turn on, tune out,
and smile. You’ll be back for more in no time. Vanessa VanderZanden
B
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KOMEDA
"The Genius of Komeda"