summer 2000 music reviews

Spike & Princess “Indie Rock Queen” 7” (After Party) Cute Casio-pop from Santa Cruz, CA.  Smirky lyrics and catchy melodies from a band made up of a keyboard, a bass, and a little drums.  The A-side is a mini-anthem for the indie rock set, and a must-have for any college radio DJ (particularly indie-pop DJs, although I’ve actually heard someone scratch with it and that was pretty damn cool).  The B-side has two songs—“The Kind of Girl” and  “Decrescendo.”  The former is slow, droning, and short; the latter opens with carnival-esque keyboards and then develops into a clever and poetic song. (lg)

various artists "indie aid abroad: a little help for east timor" (drive-in/ library) & v/a "east timor benefit album" (idols of the marketplace) east timor, on the island of timor, northwest of australia, has undergone years of suffering since it was annexed by indonesia in 1975.  years of conflict, poverty, limited health care and education were the result. in 1999, the citizens of east timor voted for independence.  following the vote, pro-integration militias murdered numerous civilians.  much of the violence went unreported, as journalists were driven out of the country as well. these two compilations seek to, in a small way, raise consciousness on the situation and generate money to assist in the effort to allow the people of east timor to live independently, without fear of censorship.  drive-in joined forced with library records out of australia to put together a tremendous 22-song compilation including the steinbecks, the lucky ladybugs (lucksmiths/ladybug transistor), cannanes, autocollants, mj12, madison electric, the cat's miaow, etc. the idols for the marketplace compilation is a bit scattered, but fun.  it includes tracks by ramona and beezus, the smoking popes and jailbait (doing a rendition of george michael's "i want your sex"!).  each CD goes for about $10, offers you some catchy fun music, and allows you to do your small part to help.

jai agnish "automata" CD (blue bunny records) new cd from the man behind the fabulous flygirl zine.  lots of intricate guitar as well as some casio and samples.  the cd starts off with a blast-off introduction. there's an introspective playfulness going on here. beeps, beats and blips. "how you dream" makes me want to fly.  you can't explain it, but sometimes you sense sincerity in a singer's voice, other times not.  jai's sincerity shines thru, especially on "somerset streets" and "climb to remind"..  the "jesus song" tells us that he's got jesus in his heart. good for him.  jai recorded some of this at home, some in a studio.  he's got something to say.  nice photos as artwork. (sc)

various artists "popular world" CD (skyblue) 23-song compilation to kick off tim hinely's new sky blue records.  tim is the man behind dagger zine.  quite a nice collection of indiepop. st. christopher checks in first with a song called "kerrie" with the obvious chorus "kerrie.....kerrie...".  other highlights include songs by happydeadman, fragile, suretoss, brideshead, ladybug transistor (a live version of "today knows"), the mendoza line, saturnine, pacific ocean, sweet william, etc. instead of describing the affect of each song, here's the overall effect of the compilation: it's happy, it's upbeat, it's  a love affair with pop. it's a lovely start for the sky blue label.  it's very smartly put together.  it's the latest comp to cause you to bob your head and tap your feet. (sc)

fonda "the invisible girl" CD (top quality) i thought their last ep sounded a bit like velocity girl, at least the vocals did.  this CD simply sounds like fonda.  and that's a good thing.  "summer holiday" is such a fun song.  they incorporate a lot of good parts of indiepop, some organ, and lots of toe-tappin sensibilites, and the occasional straight-ahead rock groove. the pace changes every other song, as does life.  the male vocals on "improvements for daily life" instantly remind one of portastic-style mac macaughn, as a duet.  overall, an upbeat record.  music with a positive attitude towards life always should be given a try. (sc)

starlet "stay on my side" CD (parasol) parasol brings us the second cd from this swedish four-piece.  10 songs with lovely titles like "at least in my heart", "scent of you", "silver sportscar" and "friends".  soft, tender vocals are gently laid over intricate instrumentation (with a focus on strum).  lovely designed cd booklet, with pictures of scenery and select faces. i can imagine starlet performing at a coffeehouse when a man proposes marriage to a woman, and she accepts, and the world pauses to move in slow motion, and everything is at peace. (sc)

swearing at motorists "more songs from the mellow struggle" CD (secretlycanadian) introspective mood music from this dayton, ohio two-piece. don thrasher provides the drum beat, while dave doughman provides guitar and eloquent vocals and lyrics.  truly a midwestern classic.  one can easily visualize the band song-making in the midst of midwestern boredom.  topics covered include beer, t.v., telephones, kissing girls, first team all-americans, neighborhood of sirens, etc.... now, doesn't that pretty much cover the topics of any miswestern town during homecoming weekend?  i'm really happy how this has grown on me. (sc)

the wee turtles "this land is your land" CD (pitch-a-tent) the wee turtles hail from athens, georgia, so they have a lot of magic in the air swirling around them.  the magic has leaked into their drinking water, and it's evident on their debut CD.  while some of the edged are frayed, some of the guitars are distorted, some of the singing is raw, there is an undeniable underlying for passion for music in the wee turtles sound.  the catchy pop hooks hit you when you hear songs like collide, summer song, shin splints (the cross country song), rain drag, full throttle, and espicially on "baby you and me".  there's an underlying chaos that makes you want to take off your shirt and run out into the fields in one part madness, one part glee.  their sense of style is unmatched.  the CD artwork makes me want to build a castle without a moat.  the party has started, you're all invited, and the wee turtles are playing at midnight. (sc)

my brain "...did it in the billiard room with the lead pipe" cassette  (audiopants) this is a tough one for me to write.  my brain hails from michigan.  geoff, pj, evan and ryan compose pop music for the joy of it.  keyboards play an instrumental role.  "florida" is a waltz, "pretty" is a super-danceable indie pop-rock gem, albeit short (if they song went on, we could keep dancing!). "you look like hell" is a song to make you sway from side to side to side.  geoff (with back up vocals from pj) is able to write and sing intricate songs that hint at deep meanings.  sometimes, they're just silly, as with the closing song of the 4-song tape, "i believe in (stephen cramer)".  enough said. (sc)

agent origami tape  (lil lion) new pop from the new band of gritty kitty's polly.  six songs.  few people might not recognize it, but polly really does have a beautiful voice, and this batch of songs should make you jump up and down.(sc)

park "trento" tape (lil lion) six songs of jangly pop, keyboards, and drum machines.  "decided to go" is a really catchy album opener.  the singer's voice is striking at first, might grow on you.  it's high-pitched and odd, but heartfelt, like unbunny. (sc)

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