Glitter Gutter Trash – September 2005

A psychotic candyland full of glam glitz, trashy pop, new wave, post-everything, retrofuturisms and distorted beauty.

From the broken mind of ryan michael painter
rien@davidbowie.com

Loquat
It’s Yours to Keep
Jackpine Social Club
Street: 05.31.05
Loquat = The Sundays + The Cardigans + Mandalay

Having already stirred up plenty of positive attention from their trilogy of EP releases San Francisco’s Loquat deliver their debut full-length with beautiful results. There’s more than just a touch of The Sundays in Kylee Swenson’s vocal and Earl Otsuka guitar and while some might discredit their adept musicianship because of the similarities I prefer to embrace the album on its own merits. When compared to The Sundays’ efforts It’s Yours to Keep is given a warmer production, a tighter headspace with keyboards filling in what empty space remains behind the guitar, bass and drums which in turn limits the vocal dynamic by smoothing it out; the choruses just don’t explode like they did on The Sundays’ best recordings. I feel rather guilty for extending the comparison this far; Loquat are pleasingly talented and deserve the opportunity to stand on their own without being pigeonholed as a clone. Still I can’t help but find myself waiting for the emotional burst that never comes.

 

Stellastarr*
Harmonies for the Haunted
RCA
Street: 09.13.05
Stellastarr*= Interpol + Echo & The Bunneymen

One of the more impressive releases from the past couple years was Stellastarr*’s self titled debut. Despite the fantastic rumors and a fan base that included Placebo and Iggy & the Stooges it seemed to take me forever to finally sit back and give it a listen; I was instantly hooked. I’m a sucker for guitars all jangled in chorus and delay. The climaxes were fantastic (take that as you will), the hysteria was infectious, the vocals though a bit theatrical worked; especially when the female backing vocal that added a strange, yet warm, dynamic. Ah, but then there is always living up to the past. You can’t just live off the fumes of one solid album (unless you’re the Violent Femmes I suppose). Fear abated. Harmonies is a fantastic follow up. The hysteria has been pulled back a bit in the vocal and they aren’t as apt to punch the distortion peddle but the guitars still chime perfectly. “Love and Longing” even has a U2 guitar bit that bounces around like The Unforgettable Fire album played 3 times too fast or Fields of the Nephilim if they were on uppers. My only complaint is that it ends so quickly. Guess I’ll just have to listen to it again…

 

New Buffalo
The Last Beautiful Day
Arts & Crafts
Street: 08.23.05
New Buffalo = Ivy + Jem + Jane Siberry + Bjork –Insanity

Heralded as one of the best albums released in Australia in 2004, The Last Beautiful Day strolls along without demanding your attention, but you’re constantly aware of it and you can’t help but feel a little bit better for the company. What’s even more engaging is on close inspection it’s far more experimental than you’d expect from an album that at first seems to be your standard female vocal with layered electronics and organic instrumentation. Clearly there is some brilliance in Sally Seltmann and Arts & Crafts were wise to sign her as their first non-Canadian artist (she also happens to be the wife of The Avalanches’ Darren Seltmann). Beth Orton even pops in for a cameo, as does Dirty Three drummer Jim White.

 

The Dandy Warhols
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars
Capitol
Street: 09.13.05
The Dandys = Sex, Drugs & Debauchery + Britpop – Brit

With their banana labeled jaunt into Duran Duran’s pants behind them the Dandy’s pick up their guitars try to remind us why they’re the best bunch of bohemians rock’n’roll has to offer. Mission not quite accomplished. Odditorium really isn’t a far cry from the Monkey House recordings which had a sort of kitsch charm. Instead of the brilliant wit and fuzzed out guitars that punctured the notion that the Brits were the best at Britpop Odditorium comes off half hearted, like a band trying to be what’s expected of them. Sure it hints at brilliance with a ridiculous take on how The Dandy’s invented Rock’n’Roll, their mutated take on country music with “The New Country”, multiple 9 minute epics that buzz along without becoming boring, and oddly enough Taylor-Taylor pulls off sounding like Gary Numan on “A Loan Tonight.” For your average band that’s pretty impressive. They’re anything but average and they’d be the first to tell you. This time, however, it seems they’re rushing for the after party. All in all the Dandy’s can still they can claim they’ve never released a bad album; it’s just been awhile since they released a really good one.

 

Morcheeba
The Antidote
Echo
Street: 09.27.05
Morcheeba = Dido – Rollo + Your Mother’s 70’s 8 Tracks

Once upon a time I held Ross and Paul Godfrey and vocalist Skye Edwards in the same esteem as Portishead and Massive Attack. Who Can You Trust was an ambitious debut and Big Calm was an even better sophomore release. Then the collapse known as Fragments of Freedom came along. My faith would never recover, and neither have they. Charango was Fragments of Freedom done better, wiser, tighter but it was clear that the old magic was gone. Now with The Antidote we find Edwards replaced by Daisy Martey and the result is a 70’s influence romp through the happy hour sugar coating of contemporary adult radio. It isn’t incredibly horrible; it’s just horrendously mediocre. Well, actually the title track is horrible, incredibly horrible.