Sebadoh - Bakesale

MINE

Oh, I'm sorry, YourZ - I know this is your first favourite and I tried, I really tried to like it.  But it's no way as good as Harmacy - except perhaps for the opening number.  The rest of it was kind of ordinary.  It's pretty typical of that indie sound that was all around in 1994.  The production's OK but there's nothing to make me wake up and say hello.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

My first choice out is Bakesale, by Sebadoh.  This album, probably more than any other of the time (with a possible exception being Slanted & Enchanted by Pavement), was the one that helped define me as both a fan and a songwriter.  I wasn't interested in the glamour and sheen of big production nor could I give two shits for high fashion either in video or on stage.  What I wanted was something raw, impassioned and personal.  And Sebadoh had this in spades.

Not as lo-fi as previous albums, Bakesale garnered the band some mainstream attention, particularly on the back of singles Rebound, Skulls and Magnets Coil, all emotive slices of indie rock.  Main man, Lou Barlow, seemed to be able to tap into the emotional bedrock of a generation of slackers with his self-deprecating lyrics.  But the strength of this album doesn't belong to Barlow alone.  Jason Lowenstein's contributions to the album are as equally strong and in tune with the times.

The follow up to this, Harmacy, which we reviewed here, continued in a similar vein, although it could never quite match up to the sheer emotional weight of Bakesale, at least not for me, anyway.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


For more information go to http://www.sebadoh.com/

Turnstyle - Turnstyle Country

YOURZ

I wanna know what the fuck is in the water in Perth.  For one of the world's most remote cities, it has produced an incredible amount of really good, really cool bands, some of whom we've reviewed here in the past.  Turnstyle is no exception.

I remember when Turnstyle Country came out and particularly the first single Spray Water On The Stereo, I was really excited to hear some of my favourite influences in their music.  Admittedly influenced by Pavement, Gerling, Guided By Voices and The Beach Boys, among others, Turnstyle combine pop sensibilities and melodies with blips and sounds to create truly individual-sounding tracks.  They also utilise the soft/loud dynamic particularly effectively. 

But it is album tracks like Flank Attack, Portamento, Honey and Knuckles that are the real surprises of this album, sounding more like forerunners to British bands like Athlete and Fonda 500.  Given Turnstyle Country came a few years before either of these bands released anything, Turnstyle could well have been an influence.  But who knows.  There is also no denying the similarities to fellow Perth band, Jebediah, who they toured extensively with at times.

I'm just pleased doing this blog has brought Turnstyle back into play.  It's definitely a Forgotten Gem, but not forgotten any longer.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Casio DJs?  OK, I guess they get points for being the first band I've ever heard to use the sound of an electric razor as a musical instrument, but I found this generally very boring.  And to compare them to Athlete and Fonda 500? No, no and no again.

Indie-by-numbers.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For further information go to: http://www.myspace.com/turnstylecountry

In our colletion we also have Turnstyle Corporation

Front End Loader - How Can We Fail When We're So Sincere

YOURZ

Front End Loader are, without a doubt, one of the best live bands in Australia, even though they don't play so much anymore.  But when they do, it's a guaranteed sellout show.  It's their no-bullshit attitude coupled with some of the best rock musicians in the country that give them this status.  I've seen them on small pub stages, at larger venues and at huge festivals - it doesn't matter where, they're always on their game.

I also think both Davis Claymore and Bow Campbell's vocals are not only on the money but some of the best in this wide brown land.  And the rhythm section of Rich Corey on bass and Pete Kostic on drums (who also plays the skins for Regurgitator and The Hard Ons) are so tight, they're waterproof.

The biggest mystery is why FEL haven't taken off both in Australia and around the world.  They write smart, articulate rock that moves from punk-ish styling to melodic alt-rock and everything in between.  Each of their albums has seen the band stretch themselves but remain resolutely original.  Maybe it's this uncompromising attitude that has held them at odds with the generally narrow-minded music industry in Australia.  And more's the pity because this is a band that deserves wider fame.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It was better than I expected, but there were no Pavement-style moments here for me.  The songs are well-written and performed, plus the production didn't suck, but I'm afraid I don't think their lead singer's got enough of a voice to carry them.

Apart from that, it's pretty standard rock.  So while I wouldn't make a face if YourZ put it on, it's not an album I'd reach for myself.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/frontendloader

In our collection we also have Front End Loader (self-titled) and Last Of The V8 Interceptors

Built To Spill - Keep It Like A Secret

YOURZ

What a fucking awesome Forgotten Gem.  I can't figure out why it's sat in my collection for so long without being played, I really can't.  But I'm so pleased the pointy stick landed on it to remind me again.  And it's been so long since I heard Keep It Like A Secret, it's almost like I'm listening to it for the first time again.

I was turned on to this wonderful band by an old friend (g'day Ciaron, if you're reading, give us a call).  He made my day when he said this reminded him of the sort of songs I wrote.  I'd love to say I agree with him but it's hardly true.  Regardless, I was fairly chuffed with the comment.

For me, BTS plumb the spaces between The Grifters, Superchunk, Archers Of Loaf, Pavement and Sebadoh, with a little Grandaddy thrown into the mix as well.  I suppose all this could be gathered loosely under the heading 'Slacker Rock' but as we eschew labels here, lets just leave it at my first descriptive - 'fucking awesome'.  In researching this, I found out they are still putting out records and, in fact, their latest has been rated as good as this one.  *sigh* I guess we have another band to add to the list, Mine.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

YourZ handed me this CD with the comment that he likes this band, but wasn't sure about me.  So I'll start right away with my criticisms.  That drummer sounds like he got a new set of cymbals for his birthday and just can't stop playing them.  And the vocals once or twice moved over into that whiny indie-pop inflection, which irritates me.  Just sing, don't complain!

OK, that's it.

Oh, how about what I liked about Built to Spill?  Everything else.  The melodies are happy and well-structured, the sound is multi-layered and beautifully produced, the songs are hummable and the standout song is track 8, You Were Right.  I'm looking forward to hearing it again.  1999, really?  I'm not surprised I haven't heard this before, because I was working for commercial radio at the time, and it would have passed me by.  It's a pity they weren't more popular here, this is an excellent CD.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.builttospill.com/

Sebadoh - Harmacy

MINE

OK, not what I expected.  For some reason I'd equated Sebadoh in my head with another shouty-boy-band.  But lo, as I listened, I was occasionally delighted by what I heard.  OK, it does on occasion move across to the harder-edged sound.  But generally it's perfectly (to me) acceptable, and beautifully mixed music.  Which wasn't what I was expecting when I'd read these guys were proponents of the "lo-fi" sound I have previously dissed.  At length.  (YourZ sez: I'm not surprised you like this - you gave Pavement a 'Turn It Up' too.)

So maybe I'll gingerly dip into some of their earlier albums.  And hopefully I won't be disappointed.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

YOURZ

There was a time when I thought Sebadoh were the best band in the world.  I have a copy of their previous album, the classic Bakesale, that's been played so much, the cover is worn and falling apart.  They toured Australia and played a blistering set at an inner city venue that has since been closed and torn down (no reflection on them, of course).

Even after getting Harmacy, I continued to play the forerunner more than I ever did this.  But this isn't to say this isn't an awesome album, 'cause it is.  The leap from Barlow-voiced numbers to the Loewenstein blasts of punk is fabulous, along with the instrumentals (particularly Sforzando! - written by drummer Bob Fay).

It is the strength of both Loewenstein and Barlow's song writing that is really highlighted here, along with the former's trust of the latter to take the lead on his songs.  It really shows a band working to its fullest capacity. But it's really the Barlow penned numbers that shine through.  His heart-on-his-sleeve lyrics along with the sad-sack delivery is what spoke to the younger man back then, still trying to find his feet through his heart and failing miserably.  Thankfully, I've never suffered depression but I've felt it vicariously through people such as Lou Barlow.  Just listen to Too Pure (played here at the show I attended all those years ago) and I think you'll understand what I'm on about.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.sebadoh.com/

In our collection we also have Bakesale and Bubble & Scrape

The Cruel Sea - Where There's Smoke

YOURZ

I've mentioned on earlier posts here how I was in an indie band in the 90s who did really well in the city where we all lived at the time.  Most of us have since left this city, escaping, as it were, to bright lights and bigger cities both in Australia and overseas.

Back in the day, we played a lot of support shows for major acts at the local university and supported some great acts, like Pavement (see our review here).  The Cruel Sea were another of the bands we supported back then.

On the day, we arrived at the uni, set up and did our sound check.  All went well and we got to hang out and watch The Cruel Sea do the same.  Later, when we got up to start our set, the worst thing that can happen to a musician happened to me - my amp refused to work.  After a few minutes of madly scrambling around trying to sort out the problem, one of the guitarists from The Cruel Sea (I think it was Dan Rumour) plugged me into his amp and gave me strict instructions not to touch his settings.  Thanks to him, we were able to continue our set without any further problems.  Of course, when I got the amp home and plugged it in, the fucking thing worked fine.  But to share the stage with this band would have to be, despite my amp problems, one of the highlights of my musical career.

Where There's Smoke is their swan song, recorded not long before the band decided to call it quits, although they have done the odd show or two here and there since and occasionally threaten to reform and record (I wish they would).  Recorded with one of Australia's best producers, Magoo, this album isn't far removed from their previous efforts, is a shining example of their hybrid blues/reggae/rock and a perfect bookend to their first album, Down Below, recorded over a decade earlier.

Now, what happened to my copy of This Is Not The Way Home and The Honeymoon Is Over - purloined by thieving house-mates years ago, no doubt.  Guess we've gotta add these to our must haves as well, Mine. Oh boy, that list is getting long.


VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It's not the most fabulous Cruel Sea album, but it has their trademark sound - bold and bluesy.  I guess my biggest objection is that the tunes don't showcase the sound of Tex Perkins' vocals as well as The Honeymoon Is Over did.

I remember when that album swept the ARIAs (The Aussie equivalent of the Grammys) in 1993, and one of the guys I worked with asked me who the hell they were.  It was kind of difficult to explain that they'd been an instrumental band who'd picked up a vocalist with a personality bigger than most who'd previously fronted a legendary pub-rock band called the Beasts of Bourbon.  I remember snickering to myself in a record shop in country Victoria one time when I came across one of the Beasts albums - called The Axeman's Jazz - filed in the Jazz section.  They'd obviously never listened to it.

Tex is a true performer and the tight, driving tunes the rest of the Cruel Sea provide form a perfect backdrop to his gravelly, wild vocals.  He's also one of those guys who looks like he's not only undressing you with his eyes, he's also doing unspeakable things to you before borrowing $50 for cab fare and never showing up again.  A barbarian.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


For more information go to http://texperkins.net/

In our collection we also have The Most

The Grifters - Ain't My Lookout

MINE

What a surprise - I actually liked it!

I've never even heard of this band, and they've now disappeared into that special ether that's reserved for "weren't you in the...?" indie bands.  But the tunes are excellent, the mix was unobjectionable, and the instrumental track in particular blew me away.  Positively orchestral in parts.

Um, the singing - not so much.  Not that it's really bad - but there are moments when it's of that deliberately-untuneful-indie-band style that initially led me to suppose I'd hate this CD.  But the tunes are so delightful, it's possible to allow those flat notes to just drift past, like an oil splodge on the surface of an otherwise picture-perfect lake.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

The Grifters' Aint My Lookout was another one of those discs I was asked to review and ended up keeping because I loved it.  It was 1996 - I'd quit my job in the public service, took a hefty redundancy package and moved from Canberra to inner-city Sydney hoping to become a rock star.  

I immediately started working for a street press publication as a feature writer and live/ CD reviewer.  I was seeing lots of fresh, interesting and exciting acts and copping a lot of great free music.  I was into all things indie and noisy and lofi.  To give you an idea, I was listening to (among other things) a lot of Pavement, Sebadoh, Superchunk, Archers Of Loaf and other bands I've long forgotten.  

Listening to this disc after quite a number of years, I still feel a tingle of delight hearing songs like Boho/Alt, Parting Shot, Covered In Flies and Day Shift.  There's also something distinctly Bowie-esque about them (just listen to Last Man Alive or Give Yourself To Me).  There's absolutely no doubting his influence.  Of course, The Grifters are now long gone, more's the shame.  I'm sure there are a bunch of indie kids out there now who would take to them like a duck to water.

I'm almost sure Mine probably won't like this but then I thought she'd vomit when she heard Pavement so I'm fully prepared to be wrong on this one.  (Mine says: tee hee, and you are) I'm glad I still have it to remind me of those times.  And in honour of this, I'm definitely naming it another Forgotten Gem.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/shangrilagrifters

Pavement - Wowee Zowee

MINE

My initial reaction to this album - to dismiss it as the shoegazer version of boy music - was abruptly changed this morning, when I listened to it for the first time in my car. I'd previously given it a go at home, while other things were going on, and hadn't had the time to really pay attention. And it's a lot better than I thought. I can tell you it's especially good cranked up to 11 at 4.30 am on the way to work for the fourth early shift in a row. Vibrated my car's windows, yo. Caused some head-banging and steering-wheel drums. I think some early-morning delivery drivers in trucks were bemused at the sight of a small middle aged lady rockin' out in a hatchback.

That initial reaction's not so surprising, come to think of it. When the worldwide phenomenon that was Nirvana broke, I officially considered myself "old" for a long time - because I simply didn't get it. It took me about six months to a year before I began to appreciate the grunge sound, which I think I can thank Helmet for. I caught them live at a music festival around the time of Betty and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, I was there to see Iggy Pop, so I guess my "rawk" gene had been engaged for the day.

So, Wowee Zowee. While described as "lo-fi", I can actually hear what's being sung most of the time. There are even country elements in it, which made me smile. The lyrics are intelligent and occasionally witty. Given all this, I might give the rest of Pavement's albums in our collection a go. A girl's gotta have something to get her heart started on those early mornings. I wonder if YourZ wants to catch them on the reunion tour?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (long hair optional for headbanging)

YOURZ

I was once in an indie band in a small city in the western world. We rehearsed a lot, wrote a lot and got heaps of gigs. In my eyes, the pinnacle of our career was supporting Pavement when they toured. It was around the time of Slanted And Enchanted, their now-seminal album of articulate lo-fi art-rock. Our indie cred couldn't have been higher.

We had supported many good bands before, names I could say and you, dear reader, would recognise. But Pavement were in a league of their own. Apart from being nice blokes (and that lead singer, Steve Malkmus, was a bit of an indie poster boy and made all the girls swoon) they were also responsible for an album of such standing it's still talked about today. To say we were a little awed would be an understatement. I remember standing to one side of the stage and watching them perform and thinking to myself 'I just shared a stage with these guys'. Just thinking about it gives me a bit of a thrill. I still have a poster of that gig - it's one of my prized possessions.

But this isn't why I own this album. I own it because it's good music. Even after 14 years, it still sounds urgent, vibrant and alive. And weirdly good. But then this band have never been normal and this has always been part of their appeal.

At the gig I played all those years ago, the drummer at the time, Gary Young, handed out Real Estate pamphlets to everyone as they came into the venue. In the middle of the set, when his drumming duties were minimal, he lay on the stage and rode an air bicycle and then did some star jumps. We were so enchanted by the silliness we thought it was cool. Apparently the band didn't because not long after this tour, Gary was sacked and replaced.

The new drummer, while not the character Young was, brought better skills and tightened up Pavement's often shambolic sound. I preferred the 'Gary' version only because it gave the music a feeling that it could all collapse in a feedback-laden heap. But anyway...

Wowee Zowee has a veritable smorgasbord of flavours, with something to please even the most difficult listening palate (if you only like metal or hard rock then you're shit outta luck, I'm afraid). I forgot how good this album was, usually satisfying my urge to hear this band with Slanted and Enchanted. This is something I'm going to have to change, if only to refresh my memory.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/pavement

In our collection we also have Slanted & Enchanted, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Terror Twilight, Brighten The Corners and Slanted & Enchanted - Luxe & Redux (Tenth Anniversary Edition)