[This review was originally published in Badaboom Gramaphone #3 and appears here with permission.]
Hailing from the much-bandied-about city of Chapel Hill, NC, Spatula released a wonderful “Radio Helmet,” a wonderful 7-inch in 1994. Recorded by the duo of guitarist-singer Chuck Johnson and drummer Matt Gocke, it’s a great song with the loud-soft aesthetic of Codeine and Bedhead and the angular aggression of Slint and Polvo — minus the pretension associated with either micro-genre.
On Even the Thorny Acacia, Johnson’s guitar work is exploratory; he juxtaposes swirling, distorted chords with distinct notes and phrases. Although he’ll often layer the two, he sometimes throws something completely unrelated on top. Gocke (who was previously the bass player in 81 Mulberry) is remarkable for his timing and restraint: he pushes the music along very deliberately, and his soft touch on the cymbals is particularly nice. The one thing that detracts from this album is the vocals. While usually buried in the mix, Johnson’s voice is marginal.
The duo then added cellist Chris Eubank (who played bass in Metal Blade punkers Ugly Americans), who has a big impact on Medium Planers and Matchers. His cello fills the background with the broad strokes once occupied by Johnson (who plays some synth here as well) and his guitar effects. Only one track, “Adhesive Sky,” has vocals. The material is all superb, and this is a great showcase for a band that is expanding and unsure of exactly where it’s going next. But the album doesn’t gel. The sprawling melodies laid out and explored on “Dover Downs” and “Defenestration” seem out of place next to the more angular short pieces.
Things fit together more tightly on the mini-album Under the Veil of Health. “VFW” and “Empire of the Sun” show off Spatula’s rock sensibilities without straying too far from the edge they enjoy teetering upon. The handful of songs are interspersed with short experimental nuggets on which, variously, Gocke plays guitar and Johnson fools around with tape manipulation.
Surprisingly, Despina by Land, is a motherfuckin’ rock album that incorporates all the special things Spatula has to offer. “Snake of One Hundred Paces” manages to bracket free composition with some of the catchiest guitar work Johnson has ever recorded. “The Field Broadens,” with guest Dave Brylawski on sarod (an Indian stringed instrument), manages to take the various world music and neo-classical influences Spatula often hints at and bring them to the forefront, translated into rock before they fade away. “Sometimes You Die” recalls the best material on the first album, with its subtle exploration through minor permutations, yet it incorporates more advanced techniques, resulting in a greater use of space and texture. The final song, a remix of “Lasko” by Friend Side Monkey (local electronic wiz kids), is both silly and strangely compelling. Worth noting that the album was well recorded by Bob Weston of Shellac; the production is far superior to any previous albums.
Ivanovich was one of Johnson’s avenues to explore other types of music. The tapes (released on his own Cirrus Oxide label) showcase his creative talents in many areas, ranging from compositional to jazz to droney noise to just plain oddball. Johnson also plays piano, and he displays an incredible facility with that instrument as well. For people who feel that Spatula’s music is a little too structured and poppy, these releases are very nice indeed. Ivanovich has amalgamated other members in its live excursions: Amy Wilkinson (formerly of Chew Toy and Speed McQueen) and Troy Hicks, who records solo material under the moniker Zelium Quang.
The increasingly prolific and ambitious Johnson has done many other projects, including film scores, since relocating to California. He recorded The Apocacryptic Session with Todd Robinett and Charlie “Papa” Devica, all of them trading off on guitar, bass, percussion and tape manipulation. And he has done some work in a “new jazz” context as Montauk Project, with Wilkinson on clarinet and Brylawski on piano.