Scroll down for the latest releases by Sparks, Robert Pollard, Fools Face, Immaculate Machine, Rock E. Rollins and The Spectacular Fantastic

Sparks
Hello Young Lovers

(In The Red)

intheredrecords.com

The twentieth Sparks album is their second of the 21st Century. In 2002, Ron and Russell Mael decided to abandon rock and dance music, their staple sounds, in a quest to find a new way to make music. The resulting album, Lil' Beethoven, succeeded in taking Sparks' music in a new direction, though closer inspection revealed that some things weren't entirely new to their sound. Still, the orchestration, emphasis on repetition and disjointed song structures sounded like no one else in pop. And shouldn't that always be the case with Sparks?

Of course, try following that up. The challenge in making this album was readily apparent – how do you keep the non-formula from becoming formulaic? The best solution, as this album illustrates, is to go further over-the-top than Sparks has ever gone before. However, the band had certainly not exhausted the possibilities of what I would call baroque minimalism. On the last album, elements seemed to either pop up out of nowhere, or, the Maels just kept repeating phrases and interlocking them in a clever fashion. So you got tracks like "My Baby's Taking Me Home", which was just a chorus run through various styles, or "How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?", which stitched together a few components, and pumped them up with grandeur.

The effect is sometimes like hearing highlights from a musical, condensed into five or six minutes. Other times, it's like a music montage. This is the best description I can come up with for the striking "The Very Next Fight". It is an uncharacteristically dark Sparks song, looking at romance from the point of view from a jealous guy with a hair-trigger temper. Different sets of lyrics get a unique melody and then a chorus of Russell Maels sing the parts, which blend and separate at different intervals. This is one of the most emotional Sparks songs ever waxed, as this oaf describes this cycle of perpetual violence – a guy stares at his woman, and a fight ensues ("it's always the same"). This about sums it up: "blood on the floor of some posh restaurant/deep down I'm sure that this is what you want." The cyclical repetition in the music fits the ugly pattern being described in the song.

Things are chirpier on "(Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country", with a bouncy acoustic guitar part accompanying a recitation of most of the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner" – which turns out to be something of a pick up line. On this jaunty song, the Maels conflate preemptive strike doctrine with courtship...would this lead to preemptive sex? Meanwhile, in an effort not to sound paranoid, Russell sounds quite paranoid on "There's No Such Thing As Aliens". This song moves from a plaintive piano piece to high drama, as Russell looks out the door and the window, but sees nothing, singing the title, over and over.

The boys turn their attention to pop music on two songs. "Metaphor" has a subtly clever conceit in its lyrics: "A metaphor is a glorious thing/a diamond ring, the first day of summer/a metaphor is a breath of fresh air." Like most of the songs on the album, it really boils down to sex, as the brothers guarantee that "chicks, dig, dig, d-i-g, dig metaphors." The middle section of this song is particularly great, as Russell sings in his upper register as if it were still 1975. On "Rock, Rock, Rock", Sparks bring all of their symphonic fervor to explaining how "soft passages, they get you into trouble." As Russell warbles as operatically as possible that he's going to rock like "a mother," the incongruity of the lyrics and the music reminds me of the old Mr. Show sketch, Rap, The Musical – a musical about rap, without any rap.
For all of the fun histrionics, the Maels show they can still knock out a relatively normal pop tune on "Perfume". The album's first single has a subtle electronic pulse, while Russell lists 30 women and the scents they wear. But the woman he loves, wears none at all. Between the insistent rhythm of the song and the jazzy piano figure that serves as the primary hook, this song is irresistible.

And a necessary respite after the album's monolithic opening track, "Dick Around". This song is about a guy crashing hard after being dumped with no warning. "Dick Around" is a pompous mock opera that is thoroughly tongue in cheek. The song starts with choral vocals then moves into Broadway musical mode and builds into crunching rock, with Tammy Glover (drums), Dean Menta (guitar) and Steve (Redd Kross) McDonald (bass) lashing out. The song twists and turns in most unpredictable fashion, finding a common ground in these seemingly disparate elements. This is where words like ‘genius' must be thrown about.

The same might be said about "Waterproof", which starts like something that could have come off of Indiscreet. This song moves through so many different musical motifs, so effortlessly, it's a bit mind boggling. The song has three strong distinct melodies, and, to some degree, has a classic pop standard type of sound. Despite the cheer of the tune, the song is actually about a cold hearted bastard, who won't let his woman's tears affect him: "I see you crying/but I'm not buying/your Meryl Streep mimicry."

The album's closer, "As I Sit to Play the Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral", seems to encapsulate and summarize the current Sparks approach to music. This 7-minute epic has a series of distinctive musical parts (I count seven of them), all to tell the tale of a guy who plays the organ at the historic place of worship to pick up women (of course, on the "Here Kitty", women get cats stuck in trees to pick up firemen). This song is a collection of hooks that are perfectly put together. The king of all hooks is the ghostly electronic organ part played by Ron. Russell knows that as he plays the organ, he's "gonna be upstaged by Him." But he knows "[t]here's always one face that just might be game." The blend of more low key melodic parts with frenzied choral vocals winds up in a breathtaking conclusion.

Even more so than Lil' Beethoven, this is an album that will be as hated by some, while loved by others. But no one could feel indifferent to this confident and aggressive album. The only thing that could make it better would be if Ron Mael could incorporate more of his classic wordplay into the mix. Then again, why bother? Just keep pushing boundaries and exploring. Although this isn't as initially striking as Lil' Beethoven, after a number of plays, it sounds like it is its equal.

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Robert Pollard
From A Compound Eye

(Merge)

mergerecords.com

While this is far from Robert Pollard's first solo record, this is his first true post-Guided By Voices release. Unsurprisingly, Pollard tills pretty much the same turf as before, though there are a few tracks that probably would not have come out on GBV releases. As it stands, this record is pretty typical of his old band's output over the past decade -- some killer songs mixed in with some listenable tracks and a few unfinished ideas.

Before getting into the particulars, I should let you know my expertise in this area. I'm definitely a Guided By Voices fan. I have everyone of their proper LPs and a few sundry EPs and singles. However, I'm not a megafan -- I don't have any live sets and haven't invested in the boxsets of outtakes. Furthermore, I never purchased any of Pollard's prior side projects (though I will certainly get his collaboration with Tommy Keene that is due later this year). So there may be comments here than a megafan will have to set me straight on. My frame of reference is solely GBV's prime work.

On the back cover of the digipak, Pollard has separated the 24 songs into four sides. So I'm going to try to review each side, making sure to eat a saltine between each side, to cleanse the palette. Side one starts off with "Gold". Some reverb guitar sets the mood. Indeed, this song is all about mood, with Pollard creating a bit of a psych-pop drama -- a modern day Pretty Things, perhaps. The piano at the end is a nice touch. "Field Jacket Blues" begins with a sci-fi guitar lead contrasted with some Bob Mould-ish guitar chord sheets, but then the song moves into a nice drum and guitar rhythm bounce. The two disparate parts don't really fit, but that's probably the point. Pollard then goes Cheap Trick on us with "Dancing Girls and Dancing Men". This tune is a cousin of "I Want You to Want Me", with drummer Todd Tobias even throwing in a familiar Bun E. beat in the intro of the song. This is a great light pop song. This is followed by a brief pastoral interlude, the delicate "A Flowering Orphan", with synthesized strings and...philosophizing: "Who do I play/in this virtual world/of threatening pans/and legalized pots?" Then Pollard digs out a chord combo on "The Right Thing" that is vaguely reminiscent of the Schoolhouse Rock classic "Adjectives". I'm not kidding about this. It's a great riff. The song starts out low fi, just Pollard and the guitar part, before picking up in fidelity while a spooky looped percussion track lingers in the background. Things end with another bit of ‘60s-styled psych-pop, in the form of "U.S. Mustard Company". It has a bit of a latter day Small Faces feel. All-in-all, a really good side.

Okay, on to side two, which lumbers in with "The Numbered Head". A prominent bass evinces doom, punctuated by a guitar lead in the distance. This is pretty familiar territory that has been explored on many a Guided By Voices album. I do like the extended instrumental coda at the end, that washes over the rest of the song. Next up, "I'm a Widow" reminds me of a lot of "Skills Like This" from GBV's classic Isolation Drills, but with a more rollicking rock and roll rhythm underneath. The closing line is pretty cool: "I'm a widow/and I'm hot to do you." How often have I heard that? Things get quiet again on the ruminative "Fresh Threats Salad Shooters and Zip Guns". This is a brief acoustic ditty. Then another tune with a solid riff, "Kick Me And Cancel". It has a Who-like middle eight, slightly majestic. "Other Dogs Remain" is another quieter number that has an ascending melody -- this song is just under three minutes, and really should have been developed more, as it could have been a real show stopper, the way Pollard builds the drama. Crashing acoustics distinguish "Kensington Circle", though the song itself is pretty routine. That can't be said for another brilliant single worthy pop tune, "Love is Stronger Than Witchcraft", which shows that Robert Pollard has somehow inherited Pete Townshend's songwriting ability. This is a song that bridges the gap between the poppier ‘60s Who and the powerhouse band that made Quadrophenia. If anything, this number should have been played more forcefully.

Side two is not quite as strong as one. What about side three? Well, I'm starting to get to a point of diminishing returns here. This is what is becoming a problem for Pollard. There are basically three or four types of songs that he writes, and then he just paces himself for an album. Other than a few different production textures, they are played pretty much the same way. No matter how I try to deal with these songs in the six-song units Pollard has divided them into, it's hard not to think by side three, that I've heard a lot of this before. Pollard relies on a few different melodic ideas and just changes them around a bit from song-to-song.

That being said, the second half of the disc has its charms. Moreover, this does seem to be a bit stronger than the last two Guided By Voices releases. But Pollard forces fans like myself to start questioning whether I want to keep spending $15 to hear good but extremely familiar material. There is no doubt that this is a good record. I'm so sure it's a necessary one. Isn't it time to find something new to say?

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Fools Face
Live At Last

(Talk)

notlame.com

Three years ago, the power pop gods gave hungry fans manna from melodic nirvana -- an eponymous Fools Face disc, with 16 new tunes from the Springfield, Missouri band that had hung it up in the early ‘80s. While, like most of their music, it did not get nearly the attention it deserved, everyone who went nuts for their music went equally nuts for the new stuff. Much like Mission Of Burma's 2004 reunion album, it sounded like no time had passed between records, rather than decades.

The band played a triumphant set at the International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles (oddly enough, on the same night Mission Of Burma played El Rey in L.A.), with only one thing missing -- the old songs. Other than an encore rendition of "L5", the band played new stuff. They sounded great, but it left me wanting more.

Here is more. This is a New Year's Eve performance, ringing in 2001, well captured by engineer Lou Whitney (yes, that Lou Whitney, from The Morells and The Skeletons). Here, Fools Face hits a lot of the highlights from their three albums and ‘finale' EP. And the boys are smoking throughout, and I can only guess that they had to pot down the crowd noise -- you can tell how they are roaring as some songs start or conclude, and I know it had to be louder in person.

The disc starts off with a one-two punch of Fools Face classics. "The jocks call me pussy/and the frats think I'm a queer/but I gotta look like this/so I can hang around here" These are the opening lyrics of "To Be Someone" from the band's third album, Public Places. This song has all the hallmarks of Fools Face -- smart lyrics, an instantly winning melody, getting to the hook immediately, strong lead and harmony vocals, and tight and rocking instrumentation. There have been very few rock and roll songs that better portray teenage awkwardness than this tune.

One of the things that made Fools Face stand out during the skinny tie power pop era was their willingness to tackle topics outside the normal broken hearts, girls, cars and rock and roll. "American Guilt" is the opening track on Tell America, arguably the best power pop album of the ‘80s. The performance here is masterful, a song built on a few distinctive melodies, a majestic guitar part, omnipresent piano flourishes, and scathing observations from Dale McCoy: "blow it up/you're better dead than red/why not drop the fucking bomb/on your American head." This song, a great put down of close minded people, kicked off a series of socially aware songs on that album.

Allow me to repeat myself – the second and third albums by Fools Face are all-time great power pop. These LPs are well represented on this disc. "Even Angels Fall", "Behind Bars", "Land of the Hunted", "Positive I'm Negative", "Got to Get a Letter to You" and more. The performances are uniformly excellent. Numbers like "Angels" and "Letter" are sublime songs in the tradition of acts like The Raspberries and Dwight Twilley Band. Meanwhile, "Hunted" and "Negative" are more ‘80s-centric, with a new wave edge, with forceful guitar parts supporting the melodies.

The band also polishes off tracks from their first and final records. The Fools Face debut album Here To Observe is probably the most new wavey of all of their records, and it was a typical promising first effort. The songwriting and sound hadn't quite been fully established. But there are great tunes on the record, and while I'm disappointed that the wonderful title cut wasn't on this live album, I'm reminded how great songs like "Cocaine vs. the Neutron Bomb" and "I Don't Wanna Hear It" (not to be confused with the Shoes song) were.

Even better for fanatics who couldn't snag a copy of Fools Face's finale, an untitled cassette known as The Red Tape, you can finally here a bit of that tuneage. One of the songs is the oddest of the band's career, "Story of The Son of Man". It's an avant-garde doo-wop shuffle with lyrics to match.
The album ends with what I presume was their set closer in the their last few years of existence, "L5". This track is the opener of the second side of Tell America, and it showcases so much of what makes Fools Face such a special band. It starts dramatically with Jimmy Frink intoning "Man, you've gone astray/hope it's not too late." He's accompanied by a "Dear Prudence"-style guitar and Jim Wirt's bass. Then Tommy Dwyer kicks in on the drums, which fuel the up-and-down rhythm of the verses. The verse moves right into the chorus – Wirt's bass, a hint of guitar and Dale McCoy's sci-fi keyboards, with Frink singing boyishly "L5." In the second verse, everyone, including guitarist Brian Coffman chips in with harmony backing vocals, and the second chorus then leads to a floating bridge, while a Morse code pattern lead guitar cascades underneath. The song ends with a great multi-part vocal riff on the title, which carries the song home, Dwyer's drum roll leading the guitars back in while the Fools keep singing. This song is right up there with 20/20's "Yellow Pills" and The Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away" as one of the truly perfect power pop songs of the ‘80s.

Because none of the band's ‘80s albums are currently available on CD, this disc becomes all the more essential. Anyone who wants a truly representative power pop collection should own this. And then demand that all of ‘80s stuff finally come out on CD too.

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Immaculate Machine
Ones And Zeros

(Mint)

mintrecs.com

Had I not known anything about Immaculate Machine, I likely would have thrown in a New Pornographers comparison somewhere in this review. Some of their songs almost sound like a mid-point between Carl Newman's frenzied pop classicism and Dan Bejar's oddball catchiness, with a slight frosting of folk rock. But knowing that keyboardist/vocalist Kathryn Calder is Newman's niece and now a part-time Pornographer makes the comparison even harder to avoid.

While being compared to one of the best pop-rock bands of the past few years is, in many respects, unfair, the best tracks on this album compare quite favorably to the Vancouver supergroup. Calder and Brook Gallupe (guitar/vocals) make a great team, often harmonizing or trading vocals. With Luke Kozlowski (drums/vocals) and sterling production from John Collins (yes, another New Pornographer!) and Dave Carswell of The Smugglers, this is a promising debut.

There a certain arch, formal quality to many of the melodies on this record, which compliments Calder's clear vocal tone. The dense arrangements prevent any of the songs from being too precious. While I wouldn't call these guys rocking, they have their moments. The instrumental section of "Fire in the Lobby", for example, features some scalding hot guitar wrok from Gallupe.

While their lyrics are not always straightforward, these folks can really turn a memorable phrase. Many songs have hooks that are augmented by pithy words. Like in the chorus of "Army", a nice song about not conforming to pre-packaged ‘rebellious' marketing: "We're not...gonna join your army/we're gonna start our own." On the swell opener "Broken Ship", Calder emphatically sings "these streets are not my home/these streets are not my home/they'll never be my home/never be my home." This simple defiant declaration fits the urgent thrust of the music. In the second chorus, Gallupe and Kozlowski sing a counterpoint melody, and then the middle eight ends on with a great tag line: "If it never really started/how can it be over?"

The two best tracks are in the middle of the disc. "Invention ‘77" begins dramatically with Calder playing a hard jazzy line on the electric piano. Then her bandmates join in, laying down a groove -- it has somewhat of a ska-feel to it, primarily due to the chicken scratch guitar. The harmony vocals, with Calder at the forefront, are passionate. Picking up on a theme that's also explored in "Army", the Machine decries living in the past: "About time for a new invention/there's no way the past has said it all." There is a great syncopated instrumental section, with piano, guitar and drums playing in unison, leading to a great Gallupe guitar solo, which sets up the final chorus.
This is followed by "So Cynical". This is a mid-tempo song that builds in intensity. This song could easily be performed by The New Pornographers. The structure is classic ‘60s pop, as Gallupe urges on a (as the title notes) cynical companion to go out and live life. In the second verse, Gallupe breaks with the melody and the words just come tumbling out, as he pleads and implores: "Don't wait inside your prison of a mind." Whereas a number of Machine songs take twists and turns, the band wisely just pursues the basic groove of the song, preferring to layer on vocals and guitars, letting the emotion build.

All in all, a very enjoyable affair. However, at 13 songs, this is a tad long. The band definitively establishes a sound, so by the last few tracks of this disc, there isn't quite enough variety to sustain the flow. Nevertheless, there are plenty of good songs here. I hope that Calder's New Pornographers work does not prevent her from working with this band, as they have a bright future.

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Rock E. Rollins
Superheterodyne

(Vinyl Frontier)

rockerollins.com

Two years ago, I blurbed about the last Rock E. Rollins album. I enjoyed his gruff vocals and thought he had a nice rock and roll sound. But I thought his pub rock/power pop material needed a bit more work. I'm going to have to go through the stacks of CDs in my apartment and track down that last one -- just to confirm my first impression. Because this is one hell of second impression.

Rollins ups the ante like a guy going all in during the World Series of Poker. On this disc, Rollins isn't just content to write some catchy songs. Rollins works with different styles and production techniques, and segues the songs together (or sometimes, just smashes them into each other). This wouldn't amount to much if the songs weren't good. But in challenging himself, Rollins rises to the occasion and this energetic album almost plays like Graham Parker cross-bred with Guided By Voices and Cheap Trick.

After some swell opening numbers, things move to another level around track number five, "Games". This song mixes GBV/Who-like chording to a Parker-esque snarl, with a brief burst of an ascending melody in the chorus. This is a song that contrasts the pounding rhythm with the melody to great effect. This song ends abruptly, leading into "Temporary Anesthesia", which sounds like it could have come off a recent Marah album. It's gritty, with a nifty Beatle-esque wrinkle in the bridge. This is followed by "(I Need a) Rave Up". This song begs the question, "Why, Mr. Rollins, as you are raving up quite the storm right now." Rollins is practically screaming on a rocker that falls somewhere between The Rolling Stones and early Tom Petty -- some R & B and some jangle. This is followed by the sound of a needle hitting worn vinyl, which begins the jaunty acoustic pop track "Girl With a Choker". It's simply an aw shucks nice song. But then the speakers explode with the percussive "45", which sounds like G. Parker fronting the aforementioned Cheap Trick. Pounding drums and catchy lead guitar lines rule this track, all setting up a "sha la la la" sing-a-long. Perfect.

All of these songs are between two and four minutes, and by running them together, Rollins boosts the energy further. This album mixes up the up tempo stuff with some slower songs in a perfect blend. Over the course of nearly an hour, the album is always moving.

And there are so many other great songs to choose from. "U Turn" is a majestic acoustic song with dramatic guitar flourishes worthy of prime Pink Floyd. "Kissing Cobras" mixes a psychedelic chord progression with odd electronic noises underneath. It's kind of Dukes Of Rollinsphear: "Dr. Seuss is bombing Mickey Mouse/it's a strange affair, maybe you were there." On "Mercury Girls", Rollins throws in a bit more psych-pop, while on "The Train to Liverpool" he effortlessly crafts an acoustic number that is foreboding and enticing, with a hooky "chim-chim-chimaree" chorus.

There is plenty more good stuff on here. This is simply a grab bag of great rock and pop, as Rollins draws from many great sources and ties things together with his creative instrumentation and distinctive voice. Kudos to Rock E. for not settling for less and really testing himself. He has passed with honors.

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The Spectacular Fantastic
Goes Underground

(Ionik)

ionikrecords.com

The second Spectacular Fantastic record navigates the same territory as the last one -- catchy songs with a healthy ‘60s pop influence (especially The Kinks), done in fine indie rock style, but tight enough to verge on power pop, at times. The only real difference on this disc is that the playing is a bit ballsier and mastermind Mike Detmer seems even more confident this time around.

And why shouldn't he be? This 14-song album just makes itself at home right away, coming out of the gate quickly and getting stronger as it goes along. This Cincinnati (by way of Indiana) kid gets things off to a sunny start on, oddly enough, "Darkest Hour". It establishes some things that pervade throughout the disc -- Detmer's vocals, which strain a bit in the high range, but never to the breaking point, strong lead guitar lines and buoyant melodies.

In addition to the ‘60s pop I cited above, a couple other musical strains come to mind when listening to The Spectacular Fantastic. First, I hear a healthy dose of the Southern guitar pop that made college radio such a joy back in the ‘80s. I'm talking about bands such as The Windbreakers, Guadalcanal Diary, and (especially) The dB's. Second, Detmer's breezy bubblegummy approach to some of the material is in line with groups like Apples In Stereo, The Flashing Lights and Ciao Bella.

The Southern guitar pop vibe is quite strong on "Harmony". The song starts with a distinctive lead guitar part, which sounds a bit like Television, an influence on those ‘80s bands. Then a bouncing rhythm kicks in -- this track pulses with life. Indeed, this song could be a missing link between Big Star and Television. If there is such a missing link.

On the superb "All in My Head", the music has a bit of the power of The Who and Guided By Voices and Detmer sings in a bit lower register that is strongly reminiscent of Peter Holsapple of The dB's. This big sound mixes a ebullient burst of bliss with an undercurrent of unhappiness. This is reflected in the lyrics, in which Detmer is struggling with self-esteem in a bad way. It's nice to hear direct lyrics which pack a real punch: "Today, such a beautiful day/ tomorrow wasting away/Tuesday, what a wonderful way/tomorrow, I'll watch what I say." The key line comes in the middle eight: "I guess there's still some hope for me/maybe I'm still the man I see."
Another song that reminds me of the Holsapple-era dB's is the title cut, "Underground" ("that's where I'll be found"). Guest drummer Bryan Dellefield plays sharply on this song that mixes a driving chorus with more wistful verses. On the other hand, "You've Got It" sounds a little bit more like dB Chris Stamey on a Beach Boys jag. Moreover, it's yet another song which refers to sunshine in the lyrics. Okay, the whole dark/light motif isn't original, but when dealing with highs and lows, it has a lot of currency. Here, Detmer has found a girl whose "breath is sweeter that the sugar [she's] coating," and the music is suitably happy.

On "Did It For Me", Detmer starts off with some dual lead guitar whimsy and heads into a song that sounds like The Jesus and Mary Chain gone Elephant 6. "Living in a Dream" lopes around with a Kinks-y charm. Closing track "Yesterday" hits a chillbump nerve with its yearning melody -- it's a really resonant finale. And that concludes the second swell album by The Spectacular Fantastic.

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