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Canto" has once again earned
its name — romance language
groupies, you know what I'm
talking about.
Mike Cuccaro
LOTION
Nobody's Cool/ Warner Bros.
It could be that this album's
biggest failing is that the first
song, "Dear Sir,” is so damn
good. The rest of the album just
has something lacking — that
first blast is so uncharacteris
tic of the rest of the album. The
band seems to fall over itself
as it rolls through the song, but
with a polish that few bands
can couple with this much en
ergy. Then, the earnestness of
the first song gradually fades
to the feel of some laid-back
mellow jam. Energy gone, the
listener is left high and dry.
wondering where the sudden
urgency of the first song has
gone.
Forced to listen to the rest
of the album, I must admit that
there are some good songs
here. There are moments hid
den among the remainder of
Nobody's Cool. Perhaps most
could be described as “alter
native ballads." or some such
nonsense. But my reaction is
still this: The rest of the album
may be d,ecent, but who cares?
Play me that first song again.
Perhaps most notable of all
about this album is the little
essay in the liner notes by Tho
mas Pynchon (you're wonder
ing and I'm guessing: that Tho
mas Pynchon?). While I faii to
see much of the significance
Pynchon ascribes to this al
bum, his descriptive powers
really depress me — maybe
Flagpole should just print this
beautiful and inspiring essay
instead of a second-rate review
by a self-professed musical
dilettante. But then again,
maybe not.
Mike Cuccaro
BAD RELIGION
The Gray Race/Atlantic Records
When Bad Religion started
playing 15 years ago. it was the
youth that listened. The guys in
the band have gottan older, but
their message hasn't changed
in the slightest. They've just
learned how to state ihat mes
sage more efficiently.
There is a true breadth to
what vocalist Greg Graffin has
to say. In “The Gray Race."
Graffin says, “The framework
of the world is black and white
/ The infrastructure builders
flex their might / Turning true
emotion / Into digital expres
sion / One by one we all fall
down / The gray race shrivels
/ Trapped inside the world it
creates / It's black and white."
The song evokes images of
omnipotent, unseen puppet-
mas-ters that cause us. their
willing marionettes, to tear
each other apart. Maybe it's a
bit paranoid. But it makes you
think. There should be more
songs that do that.
If 1994’s groundbreaking
Stranger Than Fiction was a
“scathing indictment of Pavlov-
ian apathy and Generation X
complacency,” then The Gray
Race simply shows that Bad
Religion is in it for the long haul.
Owning a collection of two-
minute punk songs is not the
same as owning a person. Baa
Religion refuses to be bought.
Jamie Ponsoldt
O-MATIC
Dog Years/Grass Records/BMG
O-matic plays a fairly
heavy, fairly fast brand of rock
that at its best sounds like a
second-rate Sonic Youth —
which isn't bad In fact, several
of the songs are all right.
Michelle and Scott Bodine
share vocal duties, alternating
lead on a few songs. Again,
this isn't bad. Both can shout,
sneer and ooze contempt.
These are “vocals" in the broad
sense, because there isn't a
whole lot of real "singing" go
ing on.
But you know, when you
get right down to it, there is
nothing all that inspiring about
the album. Nothing special
about the lyrics at all, and
though this is a rockin’ album,
it never really reaches critical
mass. O-matic is like one of
those bands that might be OK
opening a show, but you really
wouldn't go JUST to see them.
There's smoke, but no fire.
Mike Cuccaro
GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
House of GVSB / Touch and
Go Records
Like a playground bully,
Girls Against Boys offer noth
ing but ugliness and pain. For
the past five years or so, they
have^been putting out solid,
chunky rock and doing it their
own way.
While bands like Green
Day have turned to early punk
rock for inspiration, Girls
Against Boys mix the guitar
noise of Sonic Youth with the
melodic hardcore of Fugazi.
On House of GVSB.
singer Scott McCloud deliv
ers his lyrics in the brooding
but sheepish style of Mark
Smith of the Fall. He matter-
of-factly rips through each
angst-filled song without re
ally raising his voice much a<
all. His detached approach
contrasts with the raucous
guitars and robust rhythms
that inundate the album. Key
boards are also thrown in on
a few tracks, adding more of
a Satanic roller-rink feel than
mellow ambiance.
Girls Against Boys never
quiet down, and they don't
apologize for it. They play it
their way. and if you don't like
it, they’ll take their ball and go
home. N e i| Swanson'
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