==== ISSUE 89 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [October 14, 1996] Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@email.njin.net Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker Correspondents: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Paul Grzelak, Janet Herman, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Stephen Jackson, Daniel Kane, Mario Lia, Stephen Lin, Bob Mackin, Al Muzer, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak, Jason Williams Also Contributing: Carol Hamer Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@email.njin.net ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' REVIEW: Pearl Jam, _No Code_ - Scott Byron REVIEW: Tool, _Aenema_ - Sean Eric McGill INTERVIEW: Fountains of Wayne - Al Muzer REVIEW: Soundtrack, _That Thing You Do!_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Crash Test Dummies, _A Worm's Life_ - Reto Koradi REVIEW: They Might Be Giants, _Factory Showroom_ - Carol Hamer REVIEW: John Mellencamp, _Mr. Happy Go Lucky_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Dodgy, _Free Peace Sweet_ (A&M UK) - Tim Kennedy REVIEW: The Ocean Blue, _See The Ocean Blue_ - Lee Graham Bridges REVIEW: Adrian Belew, _Op Zop Too Wah_ - Al Muzer REVIEW: The Blackeyed Susans, _Mouth to Mouth_ - David Landgren REVIEW: Slobberbone, _Crow Pot Pie_ - Jon Steltenpohl NEWS: Free Los Angeles concerts, Zebra Searches TOUR DATES: Tom Cochrane / Tara MacLean, Cracker / Self, Cravin' Melon, Melissa Etheridge, Extra Fancy, Honeycrack, Lazy, Lemonheads / Imperial Teen, Lizard Music, London Suede, Madball, Marilyn Manson, Mother Hips, Ozzy Osbourne / Sepultura, Poorhouse Rockers, Porno For Pyros, Primitive Radio Gods, Psychotica, Republica / Gravity Kills, Jonathan Richman, Slayer, Richard Thompson, Tool, Neil Young / Jewel / Moist THE READERS WRITE BACK! Back Issues of Consumbale --- REVIEW: Pearl Jam, _No Code_ (Epic) - Scott Byron The first thing you notice about Pearl Jam's latest is that once again they've held nothing back in the packaging. The CD set unfolds almost to LP size, with a mess of small Polaroid photos on one side and studio photos on the other. There are two sleeves, one containing he CD, the other a set of Polaroid-size photos with the songs' lyrics on the back. It's one of the most impressive packages ever. The music inside is hardly a disappointment. _No Code_ packs in thirteen new songs, ranging from raunchy rockers to pleasant ballads. The sound is top-notch, clean and sharp, and the band is in fine form. Each musician shines individually, but what makes the album work is how beautifully they play together, particularly in the way Mike McCready's and Stone Gossard's guitar parts interweave and complement each other. Eddie Vedder is in fine voice, perhaps more in control than on previous albums. The ballad "Off He Goes," one of the album's high points, requires a restrained, not-too-emotional reading, and Vedder nails it. Then, when the album explodes into the raucous "Habit," his voice cracks and soars just as it should. Perhaps most impressive are the lyrics themselves, all of which have a strong emotional resonance. I avoided reading along with the lyrics the first few times I listened to the album, just to get my own interpretations of the songs, and was impressed. But almost every track took on new dimension and meaning when I read the lyrics. There's less of the strident polemics of _Vitalogy_; these are songs about feelings, and that makes them connect even more strongly. There are some rhythmic variations from the usual Pearl Jam fare here, partially due to new drummer Jack Irons, and partially due to the influence (presumably) of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, who has been collaborating with Eddie Vedder on side projects. The latter is most notable on the single "Who You Are," but it's not an overwhelming influence; it still sounds like Pearl Jam. There's also a definite influence from Neil Young, whose trademark sound is evident throughout - Pearl Jam worked with him recently, too, on _Mirror Ball_. But still, the sound of _No Code_ is distinctively Pearl Jam's and that, for the most part, is alright. And now, a tangent. After listening to this album a couple of dozen times, I've become obsessed with what it _doesn't_ do. What I _wanted_ it to do. What I think it doesn't do is speak to the future. It doesn't take us anywhere we haven't been, or point us anywhere new. Perhaps it's unfair to expect or demand such a thing from any pop album, and I didn't begin listening to this one with that goal in mind. But the thought keeps returning. Kurt Cobain taught us that to take the pressures of pop artistry too seriously is a tragic mistake, but he was, I believe, aware that his obsessive nature (with artistic integrity, history, family, etc.) was part of his brilliance. He wanted to be great, to lead us, and he did. But the pressure he put on himself ended up destroying him. Eddie Vedder is a great singer, performer and songwriter. He, too, has an inate understanding of the balance between the art and the artifice of success, as well as the trappings of fame that proved fatal to Kurt. Vedder and his bandmates take great pains to stay true to their beliefs, drawing lines that Kurt didn't - no more videos, fuck Ticketmaster, etc. These are admirable concerns, but in the end, it's what's on tape that counts. And when all that other stuff is long forgotten, we'll still have these CDs. And while I can't begin to guess where music will take us in the next few months, years and decades, I'm beginning to believe we're approaching the end of an era. I'm going to say it again, just to be clear: _No Code_ is a very good record. I enjoyed it a lot, and will continue to listen to it. I just wish I thought it meant something more. --- REVIEW: Tool, _Aenema_ (Zoo Entertainment) - Sean Eric McGill My advice to anyone buying _Aenema_, the latest album from Tool, is simple. When you buy the album, buy a set of headphones - good ones. Don't listen to it in your car on the way home, don't listen to it before you go back to work or wherever - just wait until you get home, lock yourself away in a room, get the materials you need to sustain your existence for a few hours, put on the headphones and strap yourself in. One of the first things you'll notice in the liner notes of the album is a portrait of the late comedian Bill Hicks. I saw Hicks live a few times during his career and the parallels between his comedy and Tool's musical and lyrical style are uncanny. Hicks could leave you bowled over with laughter one minute and genuinely disturbed the next with his biting wit towards the world around him. Nothing was sacred to him, and the same can be said of Tool. The sound of the album is vastly different from that of _Undertow_, Tool's now three years-old first LP. _Undertow_ was criticized by some as being almost commercial, a label that seemed to stick in some circles with the success of the singles for "Sober" and "Prison Sex". But when you really stopped to listen to the album, you realized that commercialism had nothing to do with the equation at all. Where Tool separated itself from the rest of the alternative / metal / whatever-the-hell-it-is-this-week genre on _Undertow_ and again on _Aenema_ is their songwriting - which is about as far from commercial as you can get. Let's be honest: Does the line "I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this shit blood and cum on my hands" (from "Prison Sex") sound commercial to you? There are some instances where Tool's musical approach to their material isn't completely original. The garbled vocals on "Eulogy", for instance, are a trick employed quite a few times by bands ranging from Ministry to Stone Temple Pilots. But even though the tricks aren't always completely original (and you find me ten different albums released these days that are completely original, and I'll crawl through glass to worship at your feet), Tool's approach is to put a new twist on them. And more often than not, that twist is provided through the vocals of Maynard James Keenan. Keenan's vocals can at times be soul-wrenching in their tortured agony and soul-crushing in their rage, and it is that diversity that makes _Aenema_ more of a trip through a bands mind and soul than the usual album. This is a personal album in every sense of the word, with the band paying homage to their friend Hicks and taking shots at L. Ron Hubbard, fans who accuse them of selling out, and anyone else who gets in their way. Bottom line is this: no matter what you thought of _Undertow_, or what you think of the loosely-defined genre that Tool is placed in (the alternative/metal/whatever genre I spoke of above), _Aenema_ is an incredible album. It has more soul and strength than the majority of the releases from any genre this year combined, and will leave you feeling worn out at its conclusion. You'll go places, thats for damn sure - but some of those places aren't too nice at all. --- INTERVIEW: Fountains of Wayne - Al Muzer One blast of "Radiation Vibe's" joyous, "baby, baby, baby" chorus is generally enough to convert most casual listeners into card carrying Fountains Of Wayne fans. By adroitly blending the modern power-pop feel of bands such as Weezer, You And What Army and Ruth Ruth with classic, AM radio inspired hooks, reverential blasts of energetic garage-rock jangle, shameless pop cliches, McCartney-sweet choruses and soaring, multi tracked harmonies - the New York-based four-piece have come up with a 12-song genre-masterpiece their first time out. Led by Chris Collingwood (also a member of the country band, Mercy Buckets) and Adam Schlesinger (currently with Ivy), the group's lineup also includes guitarist Jody Porter and drummer Jeff Perrott. Although four in number, the genius spark behind the infectiously-poppy sound heard on Fountains Of Wayne's self-titled debut is clearly the songwriting partnership of Collingwood and Schlesinger. In fact, a good portion of the industry buzz surrounding the record's release has focused on the duo's winning way with a melody. "Radiation Vibe," "She's Got A Problem," "Survival Car," "Sick Day," "Leave The Biker," "You Curse At Girls," "Please Don't Rock Me Tonight" - all are brilliant, memorable, hit-worthy songs much deeper, twisted and, occasionally, outright dumber than a quick listen allows time to grasp. Case in point is the hilarious "Leave The Biker"; in which Collingwood pleads with "every man's dream" to, "please leave the biker (break his heart)" who has, "crumbs in his beard from the seafood special" - all set to one of the catchiest melodies this side of Nada Surf. "We taught each other to write pop songs by listening to great songwriters like The Beatles, Squeeze and Jules Schear and trying to figure out what they did," says Collingwood of the duo's partnership. "You can't really make too much of a conscious decision as to what sort of music you're gonna be drawn to or like," adds Schlesinger. "It just seems that when Chris and I get together, pop music is what we naturally come up with." In addition to his work with Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy and a partnership with James Iha and D'arcy of The Smashing Pumpkins in the Chicago-based Scratchie label - Schlesinger is also getting attention for the title track he composed for the latest Tom Hanks film, That Thing You Do. "The movie is a 1964 kind'a early-Beatles thing and the song is a big hit for the band in the movie," he chuckles. "But, I don't know if a song written with that era in mind will work as a hit in 1996. Oh well," he laughs, "better a fictitious hit song than no hit song at all." After a few hilarious "mother" jokes (Chris has a million of 'em!), a bit of pre-tour jitters over the band's upcoming cross-country trek, juicy details of Schlesinger's business relationship with two thirds of the 'Pumpkins, a discussion on the sudden re-emergence of pop music and a tale or two about Collingwood's vocal contributions during recent tributes to Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach - the talk turns, once again, to Fountains Of Wayne songs. "It was a challenge to see if we could actually write a good song with a title that bad and get away with it," laughs Collingwood of the gentle, lilting, hopelessly-naive "You Curse At Girls." "A real important part of the writing process for this record," chuckles Schlesinger, "involved the two of us sitting in a bar throwing song names at each other and writing 'em down on napkins." As for the return of pop? "Nirvana was, technically, a pop band," remarks Schlesinger. "They just found a new sound and a fresh approach." "I think people have always responded to 'good' pop music," concludes Collingwood, "and they always will." "Besides, I don't think pop music ever really went away in the first place," he adds. "Bands just do different things with it now." --- REVIEW: Soundtrack, _That Thing You Do!_ (Epic) - Bob Gajarsky Tom Hanks is seemingly a jack-of-all-trades. Actor and now producer of the hit film That Thing You Do, Hanks has also helped co-write part of the soundtrack for his foray into the world of production and the fictitious accounting of a 60's wonder group, the Wonders. Since _That Thing You Do_ *is* a soundtrack, not all of the songs are attributed to the Wonders. Rather, the soundtrack traces the history of the "Play-Tone" label, and the liner notes associated with the compilation have the look (and feel) of many "authentic" 1960's albums. The title track (which appears here in its "original" form and its "live" form, the latter reminiscent of Beatles-mania) is starting to generate airplay today, in 1996. Penned by Fountains of Wayne member Adam Schlesinger, "That Thing You Do" is candy-sweet bubblegum pop with a playful chorus. Mike Viola (the real singer, from the Candy Butchers) sounds like Buddy Holly crossed with a bit of the Brit-pop invasion. Unfortunately, the remainder of the album runs true to the course of their fictionalized biography - good enough for record, but nothing ever approaching the success of *that* hit single. The Hanks-penned "Loving You Lots and Lots" feels like a Kingston Trio song, and nearly all the other songs echo from the 1960's. The other Wonders songs sound resonate with the Merseybeat sound of Gerry & the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits, "Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart" recalls girl groups of the 60's, Darlene Love, Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound; the "Theme From Mr. Downtown" is a knockoff of Duane Eddy meets the James Bond spy series sound and the instrumental "Voyage Around The Moon" and "Drive Faster" remind one of leftover demos from Dick Dale or the Beach Boys. Ironically then, the strongest point for the soundtrack of _That Thing You Do_ is also its weakest point - tracing the history of the band that couldn't shake that big hit single, and their many failures. Some of the songs "could" have been hits in the 1960's, but with the exception of the title track, wouldn't be regular songs on the golden oldies stations today. Recommended to people who walked out of the movie with a smile on their face, or long for the days of the early-mid 1960's. --- REVIEW: Crash Test Dummies, _A Worm's Life_ (Arista) - Reto Koradi The Crash Test Dummies did not rush to follow up on their five and a half million selling album _God Shuffled His Feet_. Nearly three years have passed since that album's release, and two and a half years since the smash success of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". A long tour and a well deserved break were in between, and now, close to being forgotten, they are back ("finally!" some will say, "oh no, not again!" others) with _A Worm's Life_. Right from the beginning, there is a positive contrast compared to _God Shuffled His Feet_, which is especially noticeable on a good stereo. While the previous album sounded quite flat and muddy over large parts, their sound has gained much clearer contours on the new one. Only their live shows had previously demonstrated that they are a surprisingly skilled band, and now this also shows on record. There are distinctive, dry drums, bouncy bass lines, and some high class guitar work. The whole sound has gotten a touch heavier and more intense. One highlight track on the album is "My Enemies", which has a driving beat, some crunchy short guitar solos, and electronically processed vocals in the chorus. Despite a more rock oriented sound, the Crash Test Dummies have of course not become anarchists. There are still some beautiful, slow ballads, like the title track, and Brad Roberts' absolutely unique baritone remains the central part of the songs. And again, the lyrics prove that Mr. Roberts is not a dummy at all, but studied literature and philosophy. An instant killer like "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" is not in sight, but tracks like the opening "Over Achiever" certainly have potential. Whether it will sell as much as _God Shuffled His Feet_ remains questionable, but from a musical point of view, _A Worm's Life_ is a clear step forward for the Crash Test Dummies. Instead of falling for the temptation of repeating what worked in the past, they gain substance and go for a more variable sound. This album will certainly not start a musical revolution, but it's highly enjoyable, mellow rock music. -- REVIEW: They Might Be Giants, _Factory Showroom_ (Elektra) - Carol Hamer As much as I enjoyed this album, I have to admit that, compared to other They Might Be Giants discs, _Factory Showroom_ does not have the same range. They Might Be Giants have long been known for producing sounds that are unusual and experimental, and we certainly see some of this in _Factory Showroom_. For example, they play with funk and disco styles to produce "S-E-X-X-Y", which is a bit different from the usual fare. I also can't picture many other bands going down to Edison Laboratories to record a song on the historical equipment, as They Might Be Giants did for the song "I Can Hear You." Still, with a mere 13 songs, _Factory Showroom_ is about 70% as long as a typical They Might Be Giants album, and seems to contain about 70% as much material that is really fresh and new as you would normally expect to find in a They Might Be Giants album. Some highlights of _Factory Showroom_ include "James K. Polk," which is a favorite from their live shows and first saw the light of day as a B-side; "Metal Detector" and "Spiraling Shape," which are some fun new products of They Might Be Giants' amusingly unique style; and "XTC vs. Adam Ant," a song that is about competing music styles, but which is difficult to identify as belonging to a particular musical genre itself. Still, in all, the album could have stood to contain more surprises. Possibly John Flansburgh's sideline album, _Mono Puff_, proved to be too much of a distraction. Indeed, if you were to take the best five songs from _Mono Puff_ and add them to _Factory Showroom_, you would have a really good album - definitely up to They Might Be Giants usual high standard. The obvious solution for fans of TMBG is to buy both albums and tape them together. If you're not familiar with They Might Be Giants, however, I would recommend starting with one of their other albums. --- REVIEW: John Mellencamp, _Mr. Happy Go Lucky_ (Mercury) - Bob Gajarsky People who are familiar with John Mellencamp's twenty year career will notice a distinctive change on the artwork of his latest release, _Mr. Happy Go Lucky_ - John is painted as a clown in a big top setting, with the cover and artwork designed to look like a circus. Once inside, what could surprise fans is Mellencamp's choice of co-producer - noted New York club DJ and producer Junior Vasquez. The pairing of Mellencamp and Vasquez, which was first thought of when Junior did a remix for "Love and Happiness", brought together two men with totally different backgrounds - Mellencamp's guitar/rock, which expanded into other instruments such as violin and fiddle, and his huge hits such as "Jack and Diane" and "Pink Houses" - and Vasquez, who is renowned in New York City for his remixes, all night disc jockeying (at clubs such as the Tunnel and Palladium), and even his "own" songs such as "If Madonna Calls". Those differences presented themselves in the construction of songs. Vasquez writes songs by "starting from the loop up, and here I am dealing with this acoustic folk song. Then Kenny (Aronoff) goes out and plays these big overheads and drums and it's like 'Where can I take it from there?'. I think John's main focus was to get a stronger bottom." The first single, "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" has traces of _Scarecrow_'s "Between A Laugh And A Tear" with a violin and Caribbean teaser tossed on the top. "Just Another Day" will instantly be recognizable to listeners - its addictive hooks bring to mind the most upbeat moments of previous records such as _Big Daddy_. Some of the tracks do exhibit the differences that Vasquez brings to the table. "Emotional Love" is probably the closest Mellencamp will ever come to recording a street song - and was also not written by John, but by Mellencamp bassist Toby Myers. And, "Life Is Hard" could be a club hit with the right Junior remix. It's likely that the people who know and recognize Junior Vasquez will stay far away from any Mellencamp release. That's unfortunate because Junior has enabled Mellencamp to venture slightly from his rock roots and flesh out a few songs with a street sound. _Mr. Happy Go Lucky_ isn't all about Junior Vasquez - but Mellencamp's albums have now achieved a constant level, where people who have bought anything with his name on it in the last ten years know his consistent level of quality works, and have a fairly certain idea of what they're getting. Mellencamp's latest release twists those perceptions just a little. --- REVIEW: Dodgy, _Free Peace Sweet_ (A&M UK) - Tim Kennedy Dodgy's third CD, _Free Peace Sweet_, is a dramatic step away from the more measured and melodic tones of previous albums. The complexities of the second album (_Homegrown_) the precise, Beatlesque first album _Dodgy Album_, are now brushed aside by a big bad rock sound. This is in direct contrast to the current popularity of the sound that they pioneered back in the days when Cobain was king. At the time, they couldn't give away copies of the gorgeous pure pop _Dodgy Album_. Songs like "In A Room" roar and bluster with dynamite basslines, thundering drums and heavy, riffing guitar. The lyrics take a back seat compared to former Dodgy work, the power trio that was always threatening to burst from within their mild-mannered sixties pop persona has now done so. The ghost of Keith Moon has possessed Matthew Priest to good effect. "Jack The Lad" recalls the Who's manic rock assault and from what I can gather, the lyrics appear to refer to a certain lad's excess and bad behaviour leading to the inwevitable. Do they mean...surely not? In striking contrast to the general rocking theme of the album are gentle ballads such as "Long Life". This in particular might have been performed by the Carpenters, and that is a measure of what a great tune it is. These gentler tunes seem to be Nigel directly addressing his wife and child; for example, "One Of Those Rivers" mentions the heartache of touring with his loved ones at home. A major contrast indeed. "Good Enough" which was a major UK hit single and had postmen whistling around the country for weeks, is actually an excellent attempt at an early seventies style of soul which was deified by the Northern Soul UK youth subculture back then. The lyric is quite banal but the song is so infectious it really doesn't matter. It stands out as the only soul song the band have ever written. As always the positivity of the band stands out, and if Dale Carnegie had smoked dope and travelled about in a VW microbus, he might have written lyrics like these. Dodgy have always had one or two tracks in their repertoire which resemble tripped-out cavernous dub, and there are a couple on this disc as well. "U.K.R.I.P." pauses from the cheerfulness present elsewhere, in order to have an almighty whinge about the bad state of the nation - rich vs poor, black vs white and so on. Extremely worthy, and moreover, quite impressive at a high amount of decibels. All in all then, _Free Peace Sweet_ is a super effort from the Dodgy chaps, proving their versatility, their chartworthiness, but most of all that they can be evil rock beasts like the best of 'em. --- REVIEW: The Ocean Blue, _See The Ocean Blue_ (Mercury) - Lee Graham Bridges With a stroke of luck, the latest release from Hershey, Pennsylvania's The Ocean Blue might become a chart-topper, but as true music lovers know, this is often not an indication of the quality or originality of the album. The new album sees the band trading the more melancholy and/or blissful songs that constituted previous albums like _Cerulean_ for a raspier, (dare I say?) heavier, "we're rocking now!" style. The Smiths and Cocteau Twins influence is less felt, but to interesting effect. Despite being generally more strained and direct (especially lead vocals and guitars), the style change is not all-encompassing, for earlier albums were comprised of similar elements of style (bouncy, consistently hasty, whether solemn or joyful). The new songs stick more to the middle of the great "modern rock" paradigm. _See The Ocean Blue_ is more accurately described as an anthology of mood swings (musically and lyrically) - at times resembling older, lazy Ocean Blue songs ("Slide") or older, jouncy OB songs ("Bite Your Lip"), resembling a more alterna-pop sound ("10 10 Cloud Deck"), or entering a noisy proto-Brit stage ("Bitter"). The album opens with the one-minute instrumental "Jouissance," which would sooner be expected from a Saint Etienne album than this. Then, "Whenever You're Around" and "Out Here", good examples of the coarser, more conventional feel of the album, despite such "experimental" buzzes and noises scattered here and there. "Ways and Means" (despite the superb vocal handling of the line "and leave you dry-AYE-AYE-AYE-AYE!") is a more trademark Ocean Blue song, but not quite comfortable yet. "Past Future Perfect" is a nice acoustic number; "Bitter", though uncharacteristic, is one of the most well-done, biting songs here - short and energetic as hell, unlike many of the other upbeat songs that bore the listener with so-so hooks and vocals. "Slide" appropriately follows, and is one of the only successful melancholy ventures present. The rest follow in a similar, widely varying manner. Besides being less interesting and emotive than earlier works, The Ocean Blue's newest, while making many fans cringe, will likely appeal to most as a clean, straightforward, albeit uninventive album. --- REVIEW: Adrian Belew, _Op Zop Too Wah_ (Passenger) - Al Muzer Belew's latest begins with a twisted jungle/jazz hypno-riff overripe with squealing rhino-guitarx before it down-shifts into a curiously-percussive, spoken-word piece that somehow segues into a Dave Edmunds/Move/Cheap Trick-ish slice of hit-bound boogie-pop. Stepping back for a reflective moment, Belew follows a lovely solo guitar stunner with the semi-techno dreamscape of "All Her Love Is Mine" before laying into the catchy Crimson pulse of "I Remember How To Forget" that, in turn, evolves into the space-monkey surf madness and Mid-Eastern raga-bop of the title track. Working by himself and without a net - the rest of Belew's _Op Zop Too Wah_ rushes by in a brilliant kaleidoscope of intriguing sounds, bright colors and diverse musical processing that, while never boring, stays with you long after the latest indisputable masterpiece from the King of Quirk has ended. --- REVIEW: The Blackeyed Susans, _Mouth to Mouth_ (HiGloss/American) - David Landgren It's been more than a year since _Mouth to Mouth_ was released in Australia, the land where The Blackeyed Susans hail from. The album has recently been released in the States, and that's good news for American readers. The band have been through a number of line-up changes since they formed back in 1989. At the time, the band was one half members of the ever-so-brilliant Triffids. These days, however, Blackeyed Susans are more or less Rob Snarski (ex-Chad's Tree), Phil Kakulas (ex-Martha's Vineyard) who were there in the beginning, and now Kiernan Box, plus a roving group of friends who come and lend a hand from time to time. One pointer that this is a great album is that Tony Cohen mixed and helped produce it. Cohen, unsung hero of the studio, has been involved with some landmark albums such as Hunters & Collectors' early work (_World of Stone_ and their eponymous LP+EP album), most of the Bad Seeds' albums, Crime & the City Solution and more recently The Cruel Sea - with the latter works helping to place the sound that you will find on _Mouth to Mouth_. The album's opening bars are a vintage Triffids retro keyboard sound, but the similarity soon fades as the listener becomes aware of a big electric guitar churning it all up, with black Cave-like lyrics: "My father cast a shadow over me/As it was so shall it be/You're the final result in a very long line/You will carry the mark handed down over time". The second song "She Breathes In", is a hybrid sort of rocker, between Died Pretty & Cruel Sea. Pounding beat and full throttle vocals pulled together by quiet passages. "Let's Live" is a slower number, replete with violins and cello, and I think it is this track that makes you realise that Blackeyed Susans are not just clones of what the aforementioned bands, but are very clearly tracing out their own path. "Hey Buddy" confirms this impression. Another slow number whose lyrics, out of context, could be considered as attempting to be Nick Cave "Hey buddy got a light?/Can you tell me if it's day or night/Seems that I'm a long, long way from home." This then, is the crux of the matter. Is it a fault to resemble the Bad Seeds? I think not, since I once read someone trashing Nick Cave as a white boy attempting to be Muddy Waters. So things cancel each other out, and with that out of the way we can sit back and enjoy the rest of the album. The following track, "By Your Hand" is a gorgeous slow ballad (How without you I'm condemned/To misery without end/How to life this flame was flamed by your hand). Elliptic verse signed by McComb & Snarski. What doesn't work out right? "I Can't Find Your Pulse" is a bit too vague: the vocals are a bit too quiet in the mix, the thump... thump... thump... of the drum is too loud and the song trudges forward interminably. I'm also not to sure why the album was named _Mouth to Mouth_. The track of the same name is certainly good, but in terms of slow ones, I think "By Your Hand" is much better. After this quiet interlude, the band comes back strongly: the keyboards kick in, a strong riff on an acoustic guitar, backing vocal courtesy of Kathryn Wemyss: "Mary Mac"; after you've heard it a couple of times it's difficult to avoid not wanting to singing along (i.e.: bellowing at the top of your voice) yourself. And what a great finish. Then, if you can imagine R.E.M. (more Buck than Stipe) with a pedal steel guitar, you come close to having the idea of "Shadow Of Her Smile". The album closes with a mournful "The End Of The Line". Over the past couple of decades, Australian artists have been absorbing American Country, and have slowly molded it to Australia's unique geography and psyche. This song, as much as any other, is a good example of this absorption. There is a very good web page for the band. I mention it here because it's difficult to find: too many hits of Blackeyed Susans, the flower, and not the band. I eventually found it by searching for The Triffids. It's at http://connexus.apana.org.au/~amckinna/sus-home.html --- REVIEW: Slobberbone, _Crow Pot Pie_ (Doolittle) - Jon Steltenpohl Slobberbone's _Crow Pot Pie_ is a jolting collection of drunk ass, shit kickin', punk flavored, country rock tunes. Slobberbone has brought the genre of alternative country rock back to its backwoods, cry in your beer and piss off the back of your trailer, roots. Imagine Uncle Tupelo's strange cousin with a Replacements hangover (and a bad attitude to match) and you've basically summed up Slobberbone. The band was formed in Denton, Texas by 5 drinking buddies who played their first gigs in the back of a local beer store. With those beginnings, it's not too hard to believe that most every song either deals with drinking, love gone wrong, or, remarkably, both drinking AND love gone wrong. These, of course, are the themes of any good country and western song, but, Slobberbone doesn't delve into the normal C&W cliches. Lead singer Brent Best has a way with words that is, well, quite troubling. There are some highlights. In the 10 minute epic "16 Days", he sings "Once we had meaning, but now we're just hollow." Kind of deep lyrics... until you recall that a verse earlier he was crooning about "watching the dog pee on the car." Dogs peeing are just part of Best's lyrical oddities. In "I can Tell Your Love is Waning", he laments repeatedly that his failing relationship is like "getting caught behind a cattle truck and all you smell is shit", until he finally stabs his love to death after listening to "Mack the Knife" on a blaring radio. Sick? Yes, but it's worse when you find yourself merrily singing along about the smell of the cow shit and the pleasures of slicing up your love in a bathtub. With such lyrics, Slobberbone risks falling into a Mojo Nixon schlockfest. But as strange as they get, Best seems to write from the heart. _Crow Pot Pie_ is filled with honesty, urgency, and regret that recalls the silliness and ultimate seriousness of a band like Weezer. Even when Best sings "you put my heart into a headlock, and threw it on the ground" in "Shoot You Dead", there's sincerity in the air. Slobberbone's music is as earnest as the lyrics. The two-step beat runs under everything, and the guitars, banjos, and fiddle alternate between Grand Ole Opry grins and post-Nirvana grunge. "Little Sister" plays like a western movie theme song with a Mason Proffit groove, and "Tilt-a-Whirl" heads to the land of Southern Culture on the Skids. And, there are enough southern rock guitar solos that you'd think Slobberbone were the sons of Lynyrd Skynyrd who listened to punk after their daddies went to bed. Who knows what the future of Slobberbone holds? _Crow Pot Pie_ is an indie release, and it's not clear when they'll get signed to a major. What is clear is that Slobberbone will sell a ton of records someday. "Ruin Your Day" beats anything groups like the Lemonheads have done, and the success of Wilco and Son Volt after the Uncle Tupelo break-up revealed a market for this type of music. But, until then, search out Slobberbone and be like all the Uncle Tupelo fans who say they "listened to them when." For more info, try e-mailing slobber@doolittle.com or write to Doolittle Records, P.O. Box 4700, Austin, TX 78765. --- NEWS: > Andrew Sanchez has established a web site - located at http://206.170.248.232/calendar.htm - which contains an extensive listing of Los Angeles area free concerts, as well as various other Internet music resources. > Zebra helps buyers and sellers meet in a different manner than traditional web search browsers, by identifying albums which fit a genre, rather than looking for simply any mention of the genre of music. This enables fans of a style - for instance, gothic music - to find albums for sale from both majors and indies who have registered for free with Zebra. Check out http://www.identify.com/zebra for more information. --- TOUR DATES Tom Cochrane / Tara MacLean Oct. 17 Red Deer, AB Memorial Centre Oct. 19 Brandon, MB Western Manitoba Centennial Aud. Cracker / Self Oct. 22 Raleigh, NC Marrz Oct. 23 Myrtle Beach, SC Hard Rock Cafe Oct. 24 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theater Oct. 25 Atlanta, GA Roxy Theater Cravin' Melon Oct. 17 Asheville, NC Be Here Now Oct. 18 Charlotte, NC Sound Factory Oct. 19 Atlanta, GA Chameleon Club Melissa Etheridge Oct. 18 Indianapolis, IN Market Square Oct. 19 Detroit, MI Palace Extra Fancy Oct. 16 Seattle, WA Fenix Underground Oct. 18 Portland, OR Suburbia Club Honeycrack (all dates in England) Oct. 14 Leeds Metropolitan University Oct. 15 Glasgow Cathouse Oct. 16 Edinburgh The Venue Oct. 17 Liverpool Lomax Oct. 19 Bedford Esquires Oct. 20 Nottingham The Rig Oct. 21 Portsmouth Oct. gewood Rooms Oct. 22 Brighton Zap Club Oct. 24 Plymouth University Lazy Oct. 15 New York, NY Brownie's Oct. 17 Cambridge, MA Middle East Oct. 18 Burlington, VT Toast Oct. 23 St. Louis, MO Cicero's Oct. 25 Denton, TX Argo Oct. 26 Austin, TX Electric Lounge Oct. 27 Dallas, TX Orbit Room Lemonheads / Imperial Teen Oct. 24 Danbury, CT Tuxedo Junction Oct. 25 Providence, RI Lupo's Lizard Music Oct. 25 Asbury Park, NJ The Saint (w/Thin Lizard Down) London Suede Oct. 17 Neu-Isenburg Germ Hugenotthalle w/Boo Radleys Oct. 18 Nurnberg, Ger Forum w/Boo Radleys Oct. 20 Amsterdam The Paradiso w/Boo Radleys Oct. 21 Cologne Theater Am Rudolfplatz w/Boo Radleys Oct. 23 Berlin, Ger Huxleys Neu Welt w/ Boo Radleys Oct. 24 Hamburg, Ger Markthalle w/Boo Radleys Oct. 25 Copenhagen Valby Hallen w/Boo Radleys Madball Oct. 14 Minneapolis, MN Mirage Oct. 16 Detroit, MI Shelter Madball / Visions of Disorder Oct. 17 Grand Rapids, MI Reptile House Oct. 18 Columbus, OH Al Rosa Villa Oct. 20 Boston, MA The Rat Oct. 21 Randolph, NJ Obsessions Oct. 22 Washington, DC Capitol Ballroom Oct. 23 New Britain, CT Sports Palace Oct. 24 Moosic, PA Sea Seas Oct. 25 Poughkeepsie, NY Chance Marilyn Manson Oct. 18 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's Oct. 19 Cleveland, OH Agora Oct. 20 Buffalo, NY Ogden Theatre Oct. 22 Toronto, ON Wharehouse Oct. 23 Montreal, QC Spectrum Oct. 25 Burlington, VT Memorial Auditorium Mother Hips Oct. 16 Carmichael, CA El Dorado Oct. 17 Petaluma, CA Mystic Theatre Oct. 18 San Francisco, CA Fillmore Oct. 19 Santa Barbara, CA Toes Tavern Oct. 20 San Luis Obispo, CA Slo Brewing Company Ozzy Osbourne / Sepultura Oct. 18 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome Oct. 20 Portland, OR Rose Garden Oct. 22 Spokane, WA Spokane Coliseum Oct. 25 Phoenix, AZ Desert Sky Poorhouse Rockers Oct. 18 Churchville, MD McStagger's Porno For Pyros Oct. 17 Cleveland, OH Agora Oct. 19 Pittsburgh, PA Metropol Oct. 21 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Oct. 22 Cinncinati, OH Bogart's Oct. 24 St. Louis, MO Mississippi Nights Oct. 25 Davenport, IA River Centre Primitive Radio Gods Oct. 17 San Antonio, TX Hard Rock Cafe Oct. 18 Dallas, TX Hard Rock Cafe Oct. 19 Austin, TX Outdoor @ Austin Music Hall Oct. 21 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre Oct. 22 Memphis, TN Six On Six Oct. 23 Nashville, TN Hard Rock Cafe Oct. 24 Atlanta, GA Hard Rock Cafe Psychotica Oct. 15 Boston, MA Axis Oct. 16 Providence, RI Strand Oct. 17 New York, NY Westbeth Oct. 18 New London, CT El N Gee Club Oct. 19 Washington, DC Capitol Ballroom Oct. 20 Baltimore, MD Warpt Oct. 21 Philadelphia, PA Upstairs At Nicks Oct. 22 Long Branch, NJ Metro Lounge Republica / Gravity Kills Oct. 17 Old Bridge, NJ Birch Hill Oct. 18 New York, NY Irving Plaza Oct. 19 New Haven, CT Toad's Place Oct. 20 Providence, RI Club Babyland Oct. 24 Toronto, ON Lee's Place Oct. 25 Rochester, NY Water Street Jonathan Richman Oct. 16 New York, NY Sam Goody (Free Show) Slayer Oct. 23 Anchorage, AK Egan Civic Center Oct. 25 Phoenix, AZ Desert Sky Richard Thompson Oct. 18 Princeton, NJ McCarter Theatre Oct. 19 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Oct. 20 Tarrytown, NY Music Hall Oct. 22 Northampton, MA Academy of Music Oct. 24-25 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre Tool Oct. 16 Pomona, CA The Glass House Oct. 18 San Diego, CA Soma Oct. 19 Fresno, CA Wilson Theater Oct. 21 San Francisco, CA The Warfield Oct. 24 Tacoma, WA The Field House Oct. 25 Vancouver, CAN P & E Forum Neil Young / Jewel / Moist Oct. 22 Vancouver, BC GM Place Oct. 24 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Coliseum Oct. 25 Calgary, AB Calgary Saddledome --- THE READERS WRITE BACK! > I just got done with the piece in Consumable on the Hooters, and I just gotta say thanks. The Hooters are a big band in Philadelphia, but no one really knows them outside of here and it's nice to see such a great band get out and really get some wonderful press. Long live the Hooters!!! - Nicole Y., Philadelphia, PA > I have to disagree wth your view on "E-Bow The Letter". That *has* to be one of the standout tracks of the album. The half spoken lyrics have shades of "Country Feedback" (one of my fave REM songs). Well, just my $0.02. Anyway, keep up the good work. I've been reading Consumables for close to 2 years now. C.S., Singapore > Hey! Great zine, esp. the tour dates! You had local bands on there, that rulz - Lin (Ed. Note - Well, luckily, everyone's local to somewhere...) --- Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest continuous collaborative music publication on the Internet. To get back issues of Consumable, check out: WWW: http://www.westnet.com/consumable FTP: ftp.quuxuum.org in the directory /pub/consumable ftp.prouser.org Gopher: diana.zems.etf.hr Engleski Jezik/Music/Consumable or Hrvastki Jezik/Glazbena Rubrika/Consumable (URL) gopher://diana.zems.etf.hr:70/11/eng/Music/Consumable http://www.westnet.com/consumable/Consumable.html (CIS) on Compuserve Notes: GO FORUM (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online, 409 Washington St. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===