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that album in the balance
struck between tunefulness
and explosive guitar worn.
The playing on songs like
“Dreamworld." "Montreal,"
“Kansas" and “Up” is down
right elegiac and will haunt
your ears for some time. In
addition to harmony vocals,
some tasteful vibraphone
work enhances the atmo
sphere here and there If you
have been listening to The
Wedding Present for a whiie,
you will recognize the far
greater variety of musical
moods this new album con
veys, nowhere moreso than in
the two distinctly different
parts (from fast to slow) that
make up the closing song
“Up." (Cooking Vinyl
America. PO. Box 311. Port
Washington. NY 11050)
Jim Winders
DANZIG
Danzig 5: Blackacidevil /
Hollywood
The early Danzig albums
(as we'l as all his work with
The Misfits) are sort of a guilty
pleasure for me. As produced
by Rick Rubin, the debut
Danzig record was like a
darker retelling of The Cult's
Electric, and I have been in
terested in Danzig's direction
(or lack thereof) ever since.
He has basically been mak
ing the same record with
some minor aberrations since
1988. and Blackacidevil
makes me wish 1 '. .ad stuck
to the formula, r-rom the first
moments of the weak opening
track, "7th House," it is obvi
ous Glenn Danzig has simul
taneously discovered White
Zombie and the potential joys
of a drum machine Oh joy.
This is an embarrassing
pseudo-industrial mess that
shows Danzig's lyr ; c writing at
an all-time low (and let's face
it. he was never exactly Tom
Waits to start with).
Blackacidevil was a huge
gamble of a record, and while
I'm halfway glad Mr. Danzig
took it, that doesn’t change
the fact that he’s walking away
from the table one big loser.
Marc Pilvinsky
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Scooch Pooch Records
Plays: Their Original Sins/
Scooch Pooch Records
A comp, for me. is almost
always a double-edged
sword. On the one hand, one
is exposed to a wide variety
of bands with a minimum cash
outlay. On the other, many
tend to be uneven in quality
and to suffer from the attitude
that more is necessarily oet-
ter. Scooch Pooch Records
Plays: Their Original Sins is no
exception. Although the Se
attle label's album contains a
handful of standout tracks, it's
far too long and has several
unremarkable songs.
If, indeed, there is. as the
liner notes claim, a “Scooch
Po^chstyle,” it may be de
scribed best as garage-influ-
encec punk. Within this vast
category, the groups range
from the Teen Angel's tuff
chyx's gruffness to Detroit
Cobra's more traditional or
gan-based sound or to the
Lord High Fixers’ careen
ing, snotty, bad-ass atti
tude. If one over-arching in
fluence must be cited, I
would have to name the
Devil Dogs, who appear to
be the spiritual forefathers
of a good number of the
bands. In fact, the La
Donna's salute them with
“The End of the Devil
Dogs.” Tracks such as the
Bottom Feeders' “The Mighty
Ranxerox" and Steerjockey's
“18 Squeeler" definitely
smack of the Devil Dogs'
sizzling, testosterone-
driven guitar style.
Of the 20 numbers, only
about one-fourth really
caught my fancy. The afore
mentioned Bottom Feeders
and Steerjockey songs had
me quaking in my socks.
The Lord High Fixers’
"Poppa Hoodoo" snarled its
way straight to my heart.
The Hectic's “Bath Mat"
won me over because o f its
scorching female vocals
which never turned into an
annoying screech-fest.
There were, however,
some definite low points.
Zeke's cover of Cheap Trick’s
“Hello There Ladies and
Gentlemen." the only previ
ously unreieased track, was
lackluster at best (If you re
ally want to hear Cheap Trick
done up right, check out The
Vikings’ "Surrender" or.
SFTRI). The Hamicks' "Net
works" features mismatched
Pere Ubu-esque vocals with
an organ part thrown in for
measure.
So, if you're feeling a little
adventurous, check out
Scooch Pooch's Original
Sins, but be warned: there
are more than a few dogs on
this comp. (Scooch Pooch
Records. Inc. 323 Broadway
Ave. E. #405. Seattle. WA
98102)
Sheiia McAlister
KORN
Life is Peachy / 'mmortal/
Epic)
Life is Peachy debuted
in the Billboard Top Ten al
bums last week, and I'm
here to ask why. Hailing
from Bakersfield. California.
Korn sound nothing like
Merle Haggard, which is a
disappointment because I
wish somebody of sub
stance had influenced this
band. Life is Peachy is one
of those albums that is so
bad that you can't stop lis
tening to it. The mediocrity
becomes literally enthral
ling. Korn mixes industrial
noise with hip-hop beats
which sounds interesting,
but it's really not. With such
clever titles as
"A.D.I D A S." which stands
for “All Day I Dream About
Sex", and “K@#0%!“ which
features lead vocalist
Jonathan Davis, who appar
ently can play the bag
pipes, speaking about diar
rhea and female genitalia
and other fascinating sub
jects. Life is Peachy offers
something for the whole
family. When I was younger.
I'd listen to Richard Pryor
records to hear the f-word
but at least he had some
thing to say. Korn doesn't.
Bruce Folkertii
UNDERWATERFALL • Underwater}? /independent
As far as Athens bands go. Underwaterfall has had quite .a musical stigma to shake Often lumped into the seidomly
jreciated groove rock" category, tn* Athens quartet has been waved c“ m the past as a one-jam pony in the eyes of some
cs It ;s a fact that in a live setting the band has garnered -a reputation for exploring the outs-de-pararpeters of an idea and at
?s even taking an extended vacation whiie there When you trim a.' ay me fat. however therein lies Underwraterfail's oft
hooked trait — genu^eiy appealing, catchy rock tunes This is how'me baca approached the r debut seif-titled CD. cutting
iugh by maxing the sengs lean, concise and to the pomt Undenvaierfan as a result comes eff as a structured and disciplined
cducton* which hits accurately on the bands strongest attribute — some good sc fid songwnt ng' '
The production ovetail lends a natural i.ve'feei to the songs, thanks tc local bey Matt VVn.-te. -who win UndlKvaterfaji helped
mar. the boards The end result is a strong set ranging from the be , cing opener Chavier," tc thf fcur-on-the-fioor
-v , . d'lve of "Failin' Down.” to the quirky stop and start of
^ _ Sot : -
; ' \ ^ f - S' ^ strales a uftified non-partisan-dynamic on
Jr" \ ./ uMk f t issues c ( vocal duties -and sdngwriting
Hh / credits lbs rh s approach thathddsarnui-
r. f ' tifaceteti balance to h e 12-song collec-
flV/ JLT ticn T- s rction clearly defines itself on
^ * tfcff *<4 jj1-*’ thetJD's/ncn curious cut? “Edge of a Nail."
v / penned by‘ cyd: arms! Carl Tietze By shift-
.llh-'. ing gears from a smoky Ray Charlesesqe
cy: ^1^ wff to an.sii-ou: gospel-Jesus-hillbiily-
^ '• biues-hoedown at breakneck speed
• the bana seems intent on leaving the
listener exhausted Underwaterfall fs a
* snaesh-c: c‘ a young band m the midst
rpy of m at u- ng into,a finely boned musical
S unit this d-CDut is any indication. ■
a ; shou<d grqw even-etronger with age.
V (Under-waterfall 320 Carr St Athens, GA
l*clude&:
19?°
(ii
Squler Strat Guitar
15 Watt Amp
Gig Bag
Guitar Strap
Extra Set of Strings
Guitar Picks
Guitar Cord
296 W. Broad St
549-6199
Music Exchange^
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