Ashtray Boy
The Everyman's Fourth Dimension CD
Ajax. 057.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 1, 1996.
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The fifth album from the most prolific Australian around finds him in
familiar form. Quiet acoustic strummers dominate the melancholy
landscape found here, with only a few more upbeat numbers. Features
efforts from both the American and Australian incarnations of Ashtray
Boy and with special assistance from Mary Wyer (formerly of Even As We
Speak) on the songs "Saying No to Romper Room' and "A Universal
Occult," two songs which are among the highlights of this fine disc.
Fans of his previous albums will find this album from Mr. Randall Lee
to rank among his best, not quite as good as the last Cannanes album,
but still pretty swell.
the Autocollants
"Tennis Racket" 7" vinyl
Drive-In. drive04.
by Scott Zimmerman.
May 26, 1997.
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Laura's got a really groovy Rose Melberg sort of voice which combined
with the slightly dissonant creations of lo-fi pop here, make this
five song 7" a really intriguing listen. You could say the vocals work
as a mediating force in a world of developing conflict.
"Tennis Racket" and "Trio," the two songs on the mellow a-side feature a nice twist of trumpet, and, in pacing, take their time.
On the more guitar-oriented B-side, things pick up a little bit with "Skybloom" and then really jet with "Butterscotch." It offers hit-the-accelerator, exciting fuzz-pop-fun that Volkswagen perhaps should license for their next indie-rock carmercial?
And in the unenviable role of slow song after fast song, "High School Summer" nicely wraps up the record, lalala.
Automatics
"I Wish" 7" vinyl
AmPop. 002.
by Scott Zimmerman.
January 8, 1998.
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This single is pretty wacky. "I
Wish" is a laid back guitar-tune with
a comedically mispronounced (at least to my experience) chorus of "gouge
my eyeball" (GOO-GEE, hee!). And although not a particularly
terrific track to release as a single, it is still darn smilie and
pleasant, particularly with the kind of amusing atmosphere you get
when sugar-pop music falls into an ironic alliance with horrific
lyrics about mutilation.
The release comes from yet another group calling itself the Automatics. That's at least three by my count. The Automatics starring in this particular review hail from Japan, have a charming female lead vocalist, and formerly called themselves Sunnychar. Yep, the group of bouncy "You're My Battery" fame.
The flipside opens with the immediately catchy "Secrets" which is a cover of the Primitives song. It's the most memorable track on this release, which actually makes this record a bit disappointing to me as I would prefer to be blown out of my shoes by original songs. But, hey, I don't mind adding cool Primitives covers to my record collection and this one is mad-crazy punk-rock fun.
The single finishes casually with "Moralities," which is sort of similar in mood to the opener, although without the anthematic edge. More of a stroll in the park, let's say.
the Autumn Leaves
Treats And Treasures CD
Grimsey. 009.
by Keith McLachlan.
September 4, 1998.
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On first listen I thought I might really come to like this record. On
second listen I thought I might grow to at least
appreciate this record. On third listen I thought
'what was I thinking on those first two listens?'
On the fourth listen I tried to figure out if the local
record store would accept this in trade or if it should be filed with all
the rest of the garbage.
To my ears they want to be part of the whole jangly big star obsessed gaggle of bands, most from Scotland and most having Frances Macdonald as a member, but their big drawback is the moribound, lifeless singer. He sounds sorta like Stephin Merrit in a coma. The music is nice has some Love-like flourishes and a pretty luminescent jangle but the record is a bummer mostly.
Baby Bird
Dying Happy CD
by Keith McLachlan.
October 12, 1997.
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The final installment of the Baby Bird home recording juggernaut Dying
Happy is perhaps the loveliest of the entire set. For it evokes all
the splendid images found commonly on Bob Wratten records, where the
atmosphere and mood is dominated by an undeniable sadness mixed with
addictive melancholic charm. A good share of the songs here are
instrumentals with the seeming purpose of setting a tone of almost twee
transfixion.
Rated against his other Lo-Fi records I would say it ranks only behind Fatherhood in terms of quality. Baby Bird the band is an odious proposition and their proper LP Ugly Beautiful is more of the former than the latter. For in his reworking of all the seductive, highly nuanced and terribly clever songs picked by fans as their favourites he basically homogenized the entire lot and churned out a dreadful sounding rawk album.
But here, though long delayed, the fifth lo-fi record reminds you of why he was thought to be so interesting in the first place. It really does remind me of the the dreamier moments of Northern Picture Library or Saint Etienne, only that it is a product of homemade ingenuity rather than the technical prowess of Ian Catt. Most of the vocals are high pitched falsetto types and work wonderfully on songs like "Homesick Satellites" and the anti-televison song appropiately titled "TV."
None of the songs here exhibit the wicked wit seen earlier and really makes a fine denoument for a pleasant story coming to an end.
Bailter Space
Capsul CD
Turnbuckle. tb005.
by Keith McLachlan.
December 28, 1997.
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This used to be one of the
mightiest bands on the planet, and now? Well, they aren't. This is a
better record than the last one, but it still lacks the power of the first
four records, when Parker, Halvorsen and Mclachlan (no relation) took the
world hostage, terrorizing eardrums all over the globe. From the sound of
this record I think they remember the heady days but they have their sites
set on a less rocky terrain, that of commercial viability. Sure this is
hardly generic enough to get played on MTV but it just seems so pedestrian
in comparison with past efforts.
The allure of Bailter Space was their dichotomous nature, the lush arrangements of songs like 'X' and 'No More Reason' mixed with the darker, more sinister edge of tunes like 'Get Lost' and 'Projects.' Here on 'Capsul' the emotions seem more mutable and less defined, the darker songs are less harsh and the aesthetic palette is pretty much extinguished. The record has a metallic texture, not heavy metal, but an urban industrial scope that just doesn't do much for me. They are still incredible live and a few of these songs are very nearly great, especially the new longer version of 'Argonaut' but mostly this is a miss.