Reviews

Zola Turn, Aaron Flinn, The Elevator Drops, Feast of Fools, Gladly, Guppyboy, Chin Ho!, Kristin Hersh, Kate Barclay, Southern Culture on the Skids, Muscadine, Non Compos Mentis, Pop Pie.

Zola Turn
Cousin Battie
Vicious Rhombus

By Charlie Messing

Very interesting album from one of the must-see bands in Burlington. Kinda pop-influenced hypnotic-metal folk-rock. Jennifer Karson, the main writer and singer, has a very pretty voice that blends nicely with the aggressive guitar sound, solid bass and strong, deft drums. Punky rhythmic hammering in the faster tunes, dreamy strumming in the slower tunes. Really nice harmonies - nothing like the sound of family (Alice Austin, also on lead guitar, and Julia Austin, also on bass), I always say. This band overflows with team spirit and camaraderie.

Songs about romance, but mostly romance gone sour. Sort of torn between pretty and tough, Jen has real angst. Alice sings two songs, which gives a nice variety, and I really like her quirky delivery, especially on the word "heard" on track 4 "Bulletproof Vest." Slinky bass from Julia, who seems to be the hub of the rhythm. Alice plays a blend of tough 70's rock and punk guitar. Jen plays the more velvet (underground) style guitar. Rachel Bischoff is a great drummer, and the drum-sound begs to be louder.

I'd call the standout tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 12.

I like this band: I've seen them more than once, and this album is a good representation of what they're like. I hope they get wilder, and go further in all directions. Give 'em hell!

Charlie Messing is a singer songwriter with a long, sordid history in the music biz most recently with the bands Johnny Vermont and Be That Way. He was also the editor and co-founder of the Big Fish literary magazine. 

Aaron Flinn
Rattle
Sungod Records

By Simon Plumpton

Aaron Flinn's solo release Rattle (on the Sungod label) easily rates as a must hear for fans of cerebral pop/folk. Think Waterboys, Ani DiFranco, XTC, anything by Bob Mould. The sixteen-plus song album, half recorded solo in Florida in December of 1995 and the other half recorded at Vermont's own Chuck Eller Studio in November of 1996, flows effortlessly between the acoustic songs and the electric counterparts. Upon my first listen, several tunes immediately caught my attention, including "Take it Home," "Painted Horses," "Welcome to Your Salad Days" and my personal favorite "Suddenly."

Aaron's vocal control is quite evident on many tracks with an essence of Bob Mould apparent and even a Beatles homage on track seven. Rattle is a good example of what Mr. Flinn is capable of - writing, producing, arranging and playing all of the instruments with confidence and ability. I am left with only a single desire and that is to hear more of this man, perhaps with the members of the live "Salad Days" band.

Simon Plumpton is a transplanted Brit who deftly carresses the skins for the band Chin Ho!

The Elevator Drops
People Mover
Time Bomb

By Andrew Smith

Damn it all do I love this band. Every song on this album makes me exclaim it again: "Damn it all I love this band!" That's what I say to myself. Over and over. Really.

I love this band for all of the same reasons I love Supergrass and Blur and the Kinks and Deaf School and Splodgnessabounds and all the great complicated pop bands I've loved over the years. I love the Elevator Drops the same way I love The Who and XTC and the really weird Donovan stuff ("I Love My Shirt," "Happiness Runs") and Julian Cope when he's in a good mood.

Damn it all do I love this band.

Andrew Smith loves the Elevator Drops album People Mover. Really. He does. If that wasn't obvious.

Gladly
HYDRo FLEx
4 song tape

By Christopher Parizo

I love Chris Farley and David Spade. I think that they are two talented and funny guys and I think the first movie that they made together Tommy Boy was extremely funny and creative. The movie was about a wisecracking prissy (Spade) who is forced to take a numbskull fatboy (Farley) under his wing as they try to save Farley's family business. Later, the two comedians made another movie called Black Sheep, a story about a wise cracking prissy (Spade) who is forced to take a numbskull fatboy (Farley) under his wing as they try to save Farley's family business. The second movie was an exact mimic of the first, and although funny and hilarious, it was an attempt to re-create the success of the first. Why do I bring this up? Because I feel Gladly is a great example of such a phenomenon, a good band made up of talented players, but way too familiar at times. As David Spade would put it: (extremely annoying voice). I liked them better the first time I heard them . . . when they were called Snowplow.

The songs themselves are not bad, I feel a recording with better sound quality would do the band more justice. During the opening song "Turn + Cough," there is a point where the vocals are completely drowned out by the distortion of the guitar and during the title track "Hydroflex" the catchiest part of the song is the second vocal line sung under the chorus...so far under I didn't even hear it until I turned up the volume on my stereo. I understand this is a basement recording, but I have heard better quality. Although they sound like a lot of other regional bands Gladly is one of those groups that I expect to hear a lot about over the next couple of years but only if they seperate themselves from the pack. I must admit that I had the melody to "Be Like That" stuck in my head for a while.

Christopher Parizo was abducted by aliens last February and was replaced by a close to perfect clone. Blame this review on the clone.

Guppyboy
Jeffersonville
Sudden Shame Records

By Kevin Murrihy

Guppyboy's Jeffersonville - my introduction to the band - showcases the band's flavor of slow-moving Vermont folk. Not that this is a folk CD. Folk may be too vague a description of this release. Jeffersonville incorporates a classic rock flavor, in the tradition of the Animals, with the post-Sonic Youth adventures of Thurston Moore. Get it? Hmmm . . .

If you don't, listen to the opening track "Washington Square" and maybe you'll understand. The light vocals and even lighter guitar work - and well, at that. I'd have to say that this track is my favorite; the layering of music on such a slow song is remarkable. Did I hear someone on recorder? Listen closely and you'll hear Construction Joe's Nelson Caldwell on cello.

Once I pulled myself away from the repeat button, I discovered the rest of the disc kind of jumping in mood. Happy, sad, sad, happy, sad...repeat. The overall melancholy mood of the disc is to the bands credit, however, some tracks are downright depressing. If you're thinking about ending it all, steer clear from "The A.M.," "Ball in the Sky" and "Urb's Lament." Not that sad songs are bad: in fact, the lonely "Twisted," eight songs in, is one of my favorites songs on the whole album.

The more lively tunes balance this disc. The bluegrass "Trouble," with boot pounding banjo-picking contributed by David Kamm, is fun and by far the liveliest number on Jeffersonville. Other notably 'up' songs include "Avalon Ballroom," "Wendy" and the - I have to say it, somewhat annoying "Holiday."

A great disc for a rainy day, Jeffersonville is highly recommended. I wish there were more liner-notes so I could tell you more about the disc, but there aren't, so I can't.

Kevin Murrihy is a student at St. Michaels College and the host of "Burlington and Beyond," a weekly three hour local music show on WWPV (88.7 fm) every Friday night from 9 to 12.

Chin Ho!
Low Flying Planes
Good Citizen

By Andrew Smith

I approached reviewing this CD with some trepidation since I know the singer is kind of an egomaniac. I thought if I didn't give his disc a good review he'd make a lot of trouble for me and then my band would never get any more good gigs because he is the almighty God that he is and I am nothing, less than a peon, barely a groveling sack of useless flesh. And plus since I know that he's the editor of this magazine I figured that he'd boycott me or something and never let me write for this esteemed publication ever again. Or maybe something even worse than that.

Luckily, I loved Low Flying Planes. Every member of the band is brilliant, and I especially liked the singer, Andrew Smith. But then, what would I know?

Andrew Smith is the editor of this magazine and the singer for the band Chin Ho! Read this slowly (and say it aloud if you have to): t h i s i s a j o k e.