Monday, October 26, 1998
Sound Bites
The Queers, "Punk Rock Confidential" (Hopeless Records)
With a name like "Punk Rock Confidential," you would expect the
15 song album to be nothing more than a string of fast and angry
ditties about getting drunk in someone’s garage. The Queers don’t
limit themselves to this particular genre  they find
themselves all over the musical map.
Whether borrowing from the Ramones in the opener, "Tamara Is a
Punk" and "Everything’s OK" or surf rock in "The Sun Always Shines
Around You," the Queers diversify themselves handily. They even
handle love songs, as offbeat as they may be.
"Like a parasite I wanna crawl all over you," Joe Queer sings,
bringing a whole new light to romance.
Where the band really hits its stride is with its humor. They
mock the traditional party theme in "I Didn’t Puke," and toss in a
disturbingly amusing punk ballad with "Motherfucker," and show some
wit to go with their gutter minds in "Idiot Savant."
A wicked musical drive-by on pretentious pseudo-intellectuals,
"Idiot" combines punk energy with accessible vocals and downright
rotten lyrics to attack stuffed shirts everywhere. "He’ll show you
who’s really the better man/ As he asks you if you’d like some
fries with that." Anyone who’s ever been sneered at by a snob who
spends most of his time talking out of a headset can feel for Queer
when listening to this song.
The Queers may not be the sharpest musicians or the most
innovative songwriters, but "Punk Rock Confidential" is an
enjoyable album.
Brent Hopkins
Gomez, "Bring It On" (Virgin)
Dubbed the British version of Beck, Gomez is supposedly "the
next big thing," according to the obviously bored British music
press. Eventually magazines such as Select and Melody Maker will
run out of bands to call "the next big thing," but not until they
get to my grandma and her four-piece polka outfit.
Gomez comes from Southport in the UK, but don’t expect the usual
anorexic British fops wearing heavy eyeliner who climb up trees,
fretting at the sight of a beef burrito  or in this case,
fish and chips. There’s actually a machismo to Gomez’s sound that
gives them the odor of a Friday night bar band interlaced with that
of a bored Saturday night musician sitting in his living room and
experimenting to get the right "block-rockin’ beats."
Therein lies the problem with Gomez’s debut album, "Bring It
On." It reflects the group’s identity crisis. Half of the tracks
revert to a retro-’70s sound while the other half pulls forward to
a more modern and eclectic style. Though there are flashes of
brilliance that make listeners stop and go "hmm", much of this
versatility doesn’t make for a cohesive whole. Even the band’s
name, Gomez, displays their identity confusion, containing two lead
singers and being a British band with a Spanish name, singing in
distinct American accents. Maybe they should change their name from
Gomez to Sybil.
The first track, "Get Miles," startles and grabs one’s
attention, due to how Ben Ottewell’s (lead singer numero uno) voice
evokes Tom Waits with his raspy, throaty wail, but without Waits’
drunken playfulness. Think of him as Tom Waits-light. While
interesting in its novelty, one listen is enough to start skipping
to the other tracks. Things definitely improve with the
smoother-sounding Ian Ball, lead singer deux. On "Whippin’
Piccadilly," Ball and company shift midway from what starts as a
slow acoustic ballad to a more postmodern sound with synth samples
and warbled vocals, contributing to the robotic elements within the
song.
Even better is "78 Stone Wobble", an example of why the Beck
comparisons are drawn, as Gomez mixes some jazzy-sounding
saxophones, a little rap, and a touch of slide-guitar country along
with samples of a Spanish phrases such as "Yo soy Sean Connery."
For every "78 Stone Wobble," however, there’s a "Here Come the
Breeze" or a "Free to Run," songs obvious inspired by ’70s folk and
rhythm and blues that offer nothing new to the musical table Â
besides being superfluous rehash.
Gomez is mainly successful when they stay away from standard
barroom fluff and direct their energy towards more innovative
means. Not exactly the second coming as hyped by the press, but
definitely better than my grandma.
Tristan Thai
The Flys, "Holiday Man" (Trauma)
No strangers to the art of sensationalism in Southern
California, Hollywood-based band The Flys create a refreshing sense
of energy and creativity in their newest album, "Holiday Man."
The Flys continue riding the airwaves of KROQ-FM and other
modern rock stations with the song "Got You (Where I Want You),"
included both on the new album and the "Disturbing Behavior"
soundtrack. The slow, calculated melody remains a simple tune set
to catchy beats and impressive vocals.
The rest of the album holds more of the same heavy-hitting
rhythms. Most of the songs use a vocal distortion generator to
create lyrics with a darker, more effective edge.
Songs such as "Afraid" and "Girls Are The Cruelest", use slower
beats to hypnotize the listener. Other danceable picks such as "The
Gods of Basketball" and "Give You My Car," show off the band’s
powerful vitality.
The songs remain distinct from one tune to the next. For
instance, while "She’s So Huge" grasps the distinct
punk-alternative sound, "The Family" experiments with jazzy
undertones.
Each song evokes a different emotion from listeners, but it
always produces a great reaction.
The Flys show great promise as a band who knows how to rock,
knows how to please and holds a real future in the biz.
Michelle Zubiate
Kirk Franklin, "The Nu Nation Project" (Gospo Centric)
Kick off your best Sunday shoes and get ready to clap your
hands, wave your arms and shout aloud, because the man who joined
together hip-hop, R&B and gospel is back at it again.
And as before, Kirk Franklin is stompin’ through the doors and
crashin’ on the scene in full force with his new album, "The Nu
Nation Project."
Riding high after his last album, "God’s Property From Kirk
Franklin’s Nu Nation," became the biggest-selling gospel album
ever, Kirk Franklin continues to remind listeners that gospel is no
longer just to be enjoyed in church.
Part Edwin Hawkins, Puff Daddy and Babyface, he continues to
combine rumbling bass and energetic religious rejoicing into
head-bobbing, adrenaline rushing innovations.
And while some albums suffer from having only one or two
standout songs, this collection is consistently solid from
beginning to end.
Whether it’s the heart-pounding "Revolution" or the gentle "Hold
Me Now," each track smoothly blends into the next without a
disappointment.
Standing tall above all else is the song "Lean On Me," featuring
the likes of Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly and U2’s Bono. Playing
regularly over R&B stations and MTV, this concoction is a
reassuring anthem about holding faith in ourselves, with a belief
that someone or something is always watching over us.
Understandably, many will find "The Nu Nation Project" a tad bit
too Å’churchy’ for their regular listening rotation, but it’s a
delightful mixture of sparkling choruses and rhythmic, up-tempo
beats.
The exhausting mixture of spine-tingling funk and soothing
gospel might not make you an adoring fan, but it will definitely
get your blood flowing and your body going.
Teron HideThe Queers
"Punk Rock Confidential"
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]