But here's one you've still got a chance to see:
Curve
Cuckoo
At Fitzgerald's this Tuesday
2706 White Oak, $10, Doors open at 9
I kind of feel sorry for anybody in a band like Curve right now, because I'm sure comparisons to My Bloody Valentine must come flying at them from all directions. Curve isn't an MBV ripoff, though, just close relatives in the big ol' musical family. They play the same atmospheric, layered music that's dense enough to get lost in, and like plenty of others in the genre, they're damn relaxing to listen to. But their music does contain quite a few twists on the formula.
For one thing, Curve's tunes are rather beat-heavy and they'd be pretty good to dance to (unlike My Bloody Valentine, no matter how much I like them).
On the downside, some songs on here, specifically "Crystal" and "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" (with a prechorus reminiscent of old Tears For Fears) sound a bit too much like dancefloor-diva stuff.
Those songs are a minority, though. This album is a lot darker in subject and sound than any of the band's previous stuff, with a lot less pop. The pop aspect is still there in some spots, though, like the chiming, mellow and well-done "All of One."
Curve takes a stylistic sharp turn for the first song, diving headfirst into space-rock, something they've never done before. Otherworldly, noisy guitars bash and scream alongside rough, nasty-sounding female vocals.
Out of the whole album, my fave is "Left Of Mother." The song begins quietly, with overlaid acoustic guitars and quiet, sweet singing -- the vocalist reminds me of Tori Amos in some spots. Slowly, gradually, a thick wave of noise washes in over the softness, while managing to keep hold of the melodic sweetness. Wow -- I'd recommend this album anyway, but if there were a few more tunes as good as "Left Of Mother" on here I'd fall down on my knees and worship this band.
Curve will be playing with openers Engines of Aggression. Warning: this is a very mixed show. Engines of Aggression seems to be trying to straddle some kind of line between alternative rock and industrial, but the result is just plain boring. Maybe they kick ass live. Go see Curve anyway, even if you show up after the openers have gone back to their dressing room.
Afghan Whigs
Gentlemen
The first Afghan Whigs song I ever heard was off their second album, Up In It, called "Retarded." It was an angry, violent, bitter little bundle of distortion and I loved every second of it. Those days are gone, however, and the Whigs have traded most of that distortion, anger and violence in for melody and slick production. A sellout? No, just maturity.
Gentlemen may lack the volume, but the bitterness is still there. Instead of full-on distortion, many of the tracks contain subtly beautiful melodies and sparsely rocking music. The Whigs manage to keep a style uniquely their own, due largely to the incomparable rasp of vocalist Greg Dulli and the wide variety of musical styles. "If I Were Going" is a melancholy tune, while "Fountain and Fairfax" has a swing-ish beat to it.
There is quite a bit of piano and cello on some of the tracks, but there's still a heavy dose of loud, brash guitars and very expressive drumming as well, courtesy of Dulli, John Curley, Steve Earle, and Rick McCollum. They even pull off a soul-sounding, humming, thoroughly depressing cover of "I Keep Coming Back."
Despite the well-done music, another impressive aspect of this album is Dulli's brilliant lyricism. On songs like "When We Two Parted," "If I Were Going" and "What Jail Is Like," he explores the dark, painful, self-destructive side of love.
This concept runs all through Gentlemen as a linking thread, in different degrees; Dulli even goes so far as to directly link some of the songs by way of using the same chorus. It works, too. This album should be listened to as a whole, as a despairing story of love gone wrong.
Best Kissers In The World
Been There
Occasionally, when I review something, I get an unexpected surprise, and this is my one for the week. I've heard the first album from the Best Kissers, Puddin', and honestly, it struck me as being crap. "This is going to suck just as bad," I thought as I put their latest album in the CD player, but instead, I caught myself humming, tapping, and -- amazingly enough -- singing along! Well boys, you just blew your debut album out of the water and it's a good thing, too.
For anybody who still thinks only "grunge" comes from Seattle (the band's hometown, if my addled memory doesn't lie), Been There will be a refreshing experience. No Nirvana wannabees here, just an excellent album full of loud, spirited power pop that gets its claws in your brain and keeps you humming for days afterward.
Strangely enough, the music these guys make reminds me of nothing more than the reissue "UK Pop" compilation albums from Rhino -- catchy choruses alongside cheery melodies and sweet band harmonies. The pop tunes shine, especially "Bleeder," with its fast, jumping guitars, and "Waltzing," a slow, countryish acoustic song with a -- yup, you guessed it -- waltz beat to it.
The Best Kissers like to be loud and obnoxious, too, as demonstrated by the happy punk shout-along of "Bitch Can't Sing" and the pop-punkiness of "Goddamn." While they songs all sound like pretty, radio-friendly pop, the Best Kissers are more subversive than that.
Perversely wicked lines like "we want to be inside your head when it explodes" and "I rip the tongue right out of your mouth kissing you good bye" make an interesting contrast to the happy pop playing over them. These boys are sick puppies -- and I want to be just like them when I grow up.
(The Rice Thresher, Volume ??? No. ???, November 12, 1993)