Crowded House, the group New Zealand songwriter/singer/guitarist Neil Finn formed (with bassist Nick Seymour, who happens to be the brother of Hunters and Collectors leader Mark Seymour) after Split Enz, followed the trend toward simplification of that band’s later albums. Despite occasional keyboards (on disc by Finn and producer Mitchell Froom and onstage by ex-Enzman…
Much the way Robbie Robertson served as the creative mainspring for the Band, guitarist/writer Dave Alvin was the guiding force behind the Blasters, providing his brother, singer Phil Alvin, with stellar, Americana-soaked tunes. After leaving that band (high and dry) and joining X for a short stint, Alvin embarked on what could have been an…
Singer Phil Alvin co-founded the Blasters in Los Angeles with his guitar-slinging kid brother Dave in 1979; the blues-roots-rocking band ended its recording career in the mid-’80s and, shortly thereafter, except for the occasional reunion gig, folded its tent for a while. Before dedicating himself to academics (getting graduate degrees in esoteric math disciplines), Phil…
Once upon a time, Detroit’s Romantics were the band the Knack always wanted to be, hammering out a few essential chords while the singer wailed out inconsequential lyrics about girls. They played fast, loose and tough but, unlike the Knack, weren’t obnoxious. This is the kind of band that would have been happy jamming to…
Prefiguring the Stray Cats, the Kingbees were one of the first neo-rockabilly bands to augment nostalgia with an original approach. The West Coast trio’s sound on these two albums is sinewy and unpretentious, thanks primarily to frontman Jamie James’ economical guitar and no-nonsense vocals. What’s more, the material is a first-rate blend of his originals…
The Brains’ story is typical of many independent bands who signed to not-so-swift big labels. Led by lanky Tom Gray, this Atlanta-based quartet first garnered widespread attention with a striking homemade single, “Money Changes Everything.” The Brains subsequently recorded two LPs for Mercury, but neither sold a speck. Following a divorce by mutual consent, the…
When London art-school escapee Adam (Stuart Goddard) turned up with the Ants on the awful Jubilee movie soundtrack in 1978, you’d never have guessed he’d amount to anything. Like much of the record, his two cuts were just ordinary meatgrinder punk. Nor was the ambitious Dirk Wears White Socks all that encouraging, despite the considerable…
Derivative, arrogant and at times unbearably pretentious, Terence Trent D’Arby is nevertheless so inventive and entertaining (when he’s in the mood) that it’s hard not to be seduced by his rock’n’soul pastiche. Recorded with British veterans of the pub-rock/new wave wars, the New York native’s accomplished debut, Introducing the Hardline, includes the sultry hit “Wishing…
Singer, songwriter, ace producer (Los Lobos, Marshall Crenshaw, etc.), Christian moralist and pal of Elvis Costello, T(-)Bone Burnett has wielded a steady and growing influence on the music scene since the late ’70s. Whether his inconsistent records leave any lasting mark or not, he’s likely to make his presence felt in some role for a…
Born out of tragedy, fIREHOSE began after the 1985 death of Minutemen guitarist D. Boon in a car crash. Knowing there was no way to recapture Boon’s burly bluster, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley didn’t try to find someone to fill those iconoclastic shoes. Instead, they recruited another kind of dude entirely in…
Athens, Georgia’s Love Tractor started out playing instrumental rock’n’roll, with reference points in the non- vocal golden rock era of two decades ago. Unlike the Raybeats, they’re not so style-conscious, so you get far fewer sly references to the Ventures and other camp heroes, and more outright flirtation with fusion and cocktail lounge muzaks. Though…
One part Scottish, two parts English, this fierce trio (led by two ex-members of Motor Boys Motor) is well-named. Not averse to howling until blue in the face, they could very well be the prophesied saviors of static ’80s pop. The Messiahs take their jaundiced love of Americana and render it into an unrecognizable hybrid…
Sometimes disparaged for his striking vocal similarity to Elvis Costello — who has, himself, expressed displeasure with the uncanny likeness — Wesley Harding Stace boasts many appealing virtues that belong to him alone. A witty but more straightforward wordsmith than Mr. C, he pens concise, catchy tunes, fancies himself a renegade folk musician rather than…
For all of the ominous brooding in his dramatic music, London’s Matt Johnson, aka the The, has, over the years, matured into a subtle and versatile artist. Working in styles ranging from light dance-influenced pop to mutant country, he’s outgrown the fashionable despair embraced as an ultimate goal by lesser lights, creating moving testimonials to…
Ah, the wonders of showbiz. As lead guitarist and singer for the !Screamin’ Sirens!, Rosie Flores (previously of San Diego’s Rosie and the Screamers) performed her share of perky throwaway power pop, the kind of junk that fairly exploded out of the woodwork in the wake of Blondie’s late-’70s success. At other times, the four…
M (Robin Scott) may go down in Top 40 history as a glorious one-hit wonder but, oh, what a hit! Easily the highlight of his first LP, “Pop Muzik” combines the moronic appeal of a brilliant semi-electronic novelty record with the sturdy danceability of a hot disco mix. Give this Englishman (with assists by Wally…
Unlike the Gang of Four, this English trio (which included future Soft Boy Matthew Seligman) offered radical political perspectives that are neither simplistically axiomatic nor delivered amid musical fireworks. The Heroes’ brand of dialectical materialism largely avoids slogans; while its more fluid rhythm’n’pop derives from a similar basis, odd bits of pop and tricky turns…
For an example of shifting perceptions, consider the Cars. When their debut LP appeared in 1978, the Boston quintet was tagged as a prime commercial and critical prospect of the emerging post-punk phenomenon called new wave. In other words, they were cool and potentially popular. Then, presto! Upon release of an album, the Cars became…
Although the ’70s Senders never broke out of the New York club circuit, the unreconstructed rock’n’roll quartet left behind the Seven Song Super Single as a delightful, all too brief, memento. The rambunctious blend of originals and oldies (Little Richard, Howlin’ Wolf et al.) disproves the conventional wisdom that classicism has to be stuffy; the…
Formerly known as Kleenex (with a batch of 45s under that name), the three Swiss women in Liliput play a now-popular form of anti-rock characterized by choppy rhythms, harsh melodies and atonal vocals. Amazingly, they exhibit such upbeat enthusiasm in their attack that the music acquires a prickly charm. Hard on the ears, though. (Guitarist…
