Wednesday, 5/14/97 Soundbites
Tuatara "Breaking the Ethers" (Epic) This CD was released some
time in March without much fanfare, but ignorance is only part of
the reason why this review didn’t run a month ago. The other, more
important reason is that the instrumental album takes at least a
month to sink into your skin. Listening to it twice and then
writing about it would’ve been like popping open and downing a
two-year-old bottle of expensive red wine. The wine, and this
record, need time to age and breathe. This makes sense considering
that the band members’ other projects are equally layered and rich:
The band consists of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Screaming Trees’ Barrett
Martin, Luna’s Justin Harwood and Critters Buggin’s Skerik. Though
there are hints of each musician’s style they have developed
through these bands- some tunes bear the raw, dissonant drone of
R.E.M.’s exquisite "Country Feedback" and many have the harmonies
of Luna or Critters Buggin – the band forges a new sound that is
miles from the rock of each member’s other band. The litany of
instruments is incredible, though each song sounds like a jam
session more than a studio extravaganza. The rich, somber tones of
the strings, horns, organs and hand-hit percussion give the album
some of the intimacy it loses through lack of vocals. Many
instruments bring out the heavy jazz influence on the album, such
as the upright bass, vibes, slide guitar and sax. The sounds are
equally diverse, ranging from airy folk and jazz hybrids to
energetic Latin tunes like the irresistible "Goodnight, La Habana."
Many songs evoke the ethereal, spacious moods that their titles
suggest, like "Dark State of Mind," Dreamscape" and "The Desert
Sky." This may be due to the fact that all the band members reside
in Seattle, with its grey, rainy skies and clear air. Hopefully,
this group – presently known mostly as "Pete Buck’s other band" –
will bring some attention to the fact that rock and rock musicians
can be more than guitar, bass and drums. They can incorporate new
instruments and styles to stretch their own sound and forge new
avenues for creativity. It will be interesting to see if Tuatara
will affect the sound of each member’s original band, encouraging
them to cross some genre lines. Kristin Fiore A- Beyond Video Group
"Electronic Garage – African American Music for the Common Man"
(London Bum Music) Beyond Video Group traces its origins to CalArts
in the late ’80s, where students John Price (percussion), David
Ornette Cherry (keyboards, melodica) and Mark London Sims (bass)
met and solidified the trio, which is the group’s core membership.
Beyond Video Group has been on and off since that time but is now
definitely on with their self-released, self-produced "Electronic
Garage – African American Music for the Common Man." The CD liner
notes give a good self-description of stylistic influences.
According to Beyond Video Group, "Heavily African influenced, this
music combines contemporary American art music with street vibes
and harmelodic jazz to cut through all segments of society and
touch the heart of the common man." The instrumentation of the
group is unique and gives their sound a distinctive and original
collective texture – an ultra-funky chamber group (percussion,
bass, keyboards, violin, talking drum, tenor saxophone, bass
clarinet, bassoon and double bass). On "It’s Yo World! Sweet,"
Price vocalizes his message to African American humankind: "You
must be real – to deal black man, black woman. In a strange land,
in a strange time." Sims provides the rock-steady bottom for which
he is known on each track, check "Doussin Gounni Fantasia" and "No
Space for Space" for evidence of his groove. Cherry (the son of
jazz giant Don Cherry) provides textures, stylistic direction and
piano work on all tracks. African hands contribute to the mix with
Nigerian master drummer Francis Awe on the talking drum (dun dun)
and gudu gudu, a small West African kettle drum. Special praise
goes out to Ralph "Buzzy" Jones (bassoon, bass clarinet and tenor
sax), who provides fine solo and ensemble work throughout the
tracks. Other contributors include Jan Cherry (violin) and Clarence
Robinson (double bass). "Electronic Garage" was recorded with a
minimum of overdubs in one day, jazz style, so what you get are
real-time performances. The sound goes from dense to spacious (and
everywhere between) and the cultural references are real.
"Electronic Garage" is a mix of jazz sensibility, poetry, funky
bass lines, serial techniques, African percussion and sensibility,
horns, strings, collective improvisation, craft and style. There’s
also the historical context and authority drawn from the their
collective experience as African American musicians realizing a
uniquely African American sound. This CD should give the group the
exposure they deserve. The sound is fresh, the aesthetic choice.
Their music synthesizes many influences successfully (Ornette
Coleman, Weather Report, Eric Dolphy, Miles Davis and others) as
well as finding its own sonic place. Play "Electronic Garage" for
all your friends. Respect to Beyond Video Group. Cristian Amigo A
Radish "Restraining Bolt" (Mercury) It was bad enough when
"alternative" rock bands (e.g. Silverchair, Bush and the Toadies)
began emulating respected modern-rock acts (Nirvana, Nirvana and,
um, Nirvana). Now, we have groups imitating the poseurs! Is the
genre we know as alternative rock killing itself? Listening to
"Restraining Bolt" would make its suicide justifiable. Radish, a
youthful yet derivative group who somehow managed to land itself a
picture in the L.A. Times for a story on adolescent rock,
embarrasses itself with recycled grunge and bad pop melodies. But
what makes listening to this bad band even more frustrating is that
they don’t know if they want to be depressed or happy in each and
every song. "Little Pink Stars" is the first wannabe Nirvana track
on the album, though it also combines hooks more associated with
the Gin Blossoms. "Today’s Bargain" completely rips off "Smells
Like Teen Spirit," from the Kurt Cobain-like vocals (actually, they
sound a tad like Gavin Rossdale from Bush, but same difference,
right?) to the guitar and bass. "Dear Aunt Arctica" starts off
exactly like Sonic Youth’s "The Diamond Sea" but then wanders into
that Toadies-like grunge rehash (which is redundant in itself).
Many other artists are poorly imitated here, like Pearl Jam, Neil
Young, Catherine Wheel and the Ramones. The lyrics are another
story. Radish attempts to copy the elusive lyrical style of Kurt
Cobain. But where Cobain comes off like a poet, Radish sounds like
they used a magnetic poetry kit and still confused themselves. Most
of them are pubescent musings about school and girlfriends, but
they make those early ’90s hip hop groups (remember Another Bad
Creation and Kris Kross?) look like teenage Bob Dylans. "Bedtime"
baffles the listener by repeating over and over, "I think it’s past
our bedtime / Let’s go to sleep now / I don’t understand the
question." And in the end (and in the beginning and middle too),
confusion turns to aggravation. "Restraining Bolt" is an
inconsistent mess of second-hand grunge, watered-down punk and
dissonant pop. It reflects a beaten-to-death sound that may finally
be the nail in the coffin. Kurt must be rolling in his own grave.
Mike Prevatt D- Soundbites runs Mondays and Wednesdays. TUATARA
"Breaking the Ethers"