Newspaper Page Text
Page 16
Flagpole Magazine
February 28, 199
a
Out of Dave’s Ear...
27 Devils Joking " Smells Like Fun" Dionysus
Buffalo Tom "Buffalo Tom” SST
I can’t think of a whole hell of a lot to say about 27 Devils Joking except that
they remind me more of second rate Squirrel Bait than anything else. The only
thing that stands out is one of their 3 guitarists’ ability to crank out some organ
like sounds. Other than that Smells Like Fun is competent, but dull. In fact that's
the whole problem here-a lack of imagination. It’s not that they can’t play or
don’t rock (God forbid!!!), but the songs are nowhere. There is nothing to grab
onto when you’re done. If you only bought a record to look at and not to listen
to you might be pacified for a while. Smells Like Fun sports some incredible
cover art. Just the front cover, though. The back looks like it was ordered out
of “Make Your Own New Wave Record For Fun And Profit....in Minutes!”
On the other hand, Buffalo Tom’s debut won’t leave me alone. Produced
by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, it smells a lot like his band doing Soul Asylum-style
rock crunchers. If it sounds a bit like Dinosaur Jr., does that mean you can hear
a Neil Young influence? You bet. The fact that BuffaloTom reminds me of some
other music doesn’t mean that they’re copy cats. I just think that they’re coming
from the same basic direction as those others. They pulled it off without
sounding too derivative, an uncommon feat, and wound up making a fine
record. That's what sets them apart from 27 Devils Joking.
While Buffalo Tom’s style naturally fits, 27 Devils Joking’s sounds forced,
like they don't totally know what they want and lack the material to do it anyway.
I gave both records a good fair shake. For some reason I really wanted to like
Smells Like Fun. I did think it was kind of promising at first, but it never delivered
on that promise.
Two young bands with new records. Both are guitar driven rock. Both
remind me of someone else. The difference? Songs. Buffalo Tom has good
ones, 27 Devils Joking don’t. Or if they do they didn't put any on Smells like Fun.
Buffalo Tom’s are from the heart and the gut. That overcomes any stylistic
similarities to Mascis or whoever. The melodies pull the instruments along. Not
the other way around, where the singer sounds like he/she's just filler between
chord changes. If you've got the cash for a couple of records, skip Smells Like
Fun, buy Buffalo Tom and use the rest for a 12 pack. It’ll do you right.
David Barbe
Texas Ramblin’
Dennis said “Well maybe we could afford to send !
both of you if you drive to Birmingham”. Apparently the
airfare is cheaper than flying from Atlanta to Austin. Yes,
I am ramblin’ about South By Southwest again. This rag
is sending Melissa Bock and me to the Texas State
Capital for the time of our lives. We will be sending in
faxed reports to the new Flagpole fax machine and
eating all the chicken fried steaks and bar-b-q we can
stuff in our faces. There are over 250 bands scheduled
for this event and we will try to see every one we possibly
can. Here are some of the confirmed bands from this
area or that have record companies in the area that are
playing:
Thursday March 1 Si Mark Bingham ,
Vic Chesnutt, Pylon, Follow For Now
Friday March 16: Fred Le Blanc, Holly Faith,
Dangtrippers, Seven Simons, Shadow Puppets,
The Windbreakers, The Jody Grind
Saturday March 17: Flies on Fire (never heard
of them, but they claim to be from Athens),
Raging Slab- Steamboat
Sunday March 16' Snatches of Pink,
Ellen James Society
Also, there will be Athenian speakers at two of the
panel discussions, Jefferson Holt (REM) speaking at the
Management panel, and Allen Wolff (Dog Gone Rec
ords) speaking at the Indie Labels panel.
We will be trying to stave off hangovers and answer
that eternal question for you readers back home- Who
has the best Chicken Fried Steak? The Green Mesquite
Grill or Threadgills Family Diner? Look for our reports or
look for us at the conference, if you get the chance to go.
It’s not to late to sign up, but it gets more expensive to
register as time goes by. Call (512) 477-7979 for info.
Jared H. Bailey, Predator, Flagpole
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