Guardians and Gargoyles: Jack Grisham and T.S.O.L.

"Dance with me my dear..."

Jack Grisham in the 1983 film Suburbia.

True Sounds of Liberty covered deathrock, anti-establishment  political punk and keyboard-heavy theater-rock in the span of four album releases. The strength of these albums lay heavily on the lead vocalist Jack Grisham (aliases would vary by release). Without his slick vocal stylings, the band may have fallen through the cracks and become just another footnote on the history of hardcore punk.

I remember being stricken by the uncompromising weight of the lyrics, combined with the poetic crooning style, all against the backdrop of thrashing guitar and speed-freak drums. "Army, Navy, Air Force... or jail!" Lyrically, this band was every bit as challenging and compelling as the Dead Kennedys, but their preferred sound was in a remarkably darker vein.

Their darkest hour.

Grisham and company offered something that was missing in the southern CA punk scene of the time; theatricality and even maturity (the maturity argument only holds up of course, if one excludes "Code Blue", a song about fucking corpses in mortuaries). Listening to the band's earliest works even now, Grisham sounds like he is performing a scene from a play, rather than screaming miserable cliches into a microphone. Songs with stories, characters give their albums a deeper, more thoughtful tone than those of their contemporaries. Despite the unrefined quality of the music, T.S.O.L. seemed like a group that could last a long time, instead of reflecting the flash-in-the-pan nature of most other punk bands. T.S.O.L. was never as unprofessional and desperate as the Germs, et. al. (although were known to have raucous crowds at their shows). Nor were they as narrowly themed as the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, and their songs were better than other horror-themed bands, such as 45 Grave. The finishing touch was a frontman who could actually sing, and wasn't just onstage to thrash around and attract as much attention as possible.  Grisham's melodramatic vocals were clearly reminiscent of Dave Vanian of the Damned, almost certainly purposefully so. Songs and albums that sounded different from one another and weren't just endless rehashings of the same idea... what a novel idea!

Why are so many other, less qualified bands are considered "legendary", while Jack Grisham and T.S.O.L. are swept under the rug, critically ignored in the development of punk and dark edged rock music?

Nick Feratu and Lin Zee

The Do-Somethings - The Do-Somethings

The music scene is always in a state of flux, most especially in the barren artistic wasteland of Phoenix. Stray upstart bands pop up outta nowhere and immediately begin the usual squabble for attention and start adjusting themselves to the ever-changing sound and vision of whatever happens to be popular at the time. With that in mind, it's refreshing to see a young group that is obviously not attempting to follow a particular scene or style, but is simply making the music they want to make. The Do-Somethings are Andrew Goard (guitar and vocals), Erin Garcia (upright bass and vocals), and Vai Peterson (drums and illegal substances) and they don't need people around them, stifling them. So if you don't like it, there's the door!

The instrumental opener "Intro" hangs out in safe territory combining Danzig riffs with Psychobilly guitar. This would have done well had it been expanded into a full song rather than keeping it short and predictable. "Hawthorne's Dream" gets a little more elemental with Erin's cool feminine croon and Andrew's low-register vocals blending well. The upright bass keeps the ship afloat amongst the torrents of guitar distortion. "Too Drunk" merges seamlessly, becoming the sonic sequel of the previous track. Lyrically, this song could have used a bit of buffing, but it's swing is suitable for the content. The true saving grace is the light touch of guitar and the backing vocals rounding things out. It turns all your bad feelings into good feelings! It's a nightmare!

"Goodnight Darlin" is clunky blues-a-billy with the main focus being abrupt tempo / chord changes. "The Reverend" kicks out the jams for a brief rock instrumental, only to lead us right back where we'd came from. Right when we were just beginning to shake! "The Strangest Place" is yet another slowish ballad with out-of-nowhere tempo changes, this time with improved clarity and a nimble guitar introduction. Andrew's mom should be proud her son learned to play guitar so well... even without a sense of smell! "Who Are You?" is along similar lines with a boozy campfire guitar strum pattern and walking bass, until the ass falls out of the tune and everything gets weird! For a brief moment, guitars become wildly over-driven and things threaten to fall apart at the seams.

It's tempting to draw comparisons to dark-tinged country acts such as Slim Cessna's Auto Club, The Coffinshakers and 16 Horsepower, with the leanings toward a gloomy, galloping sound almost as if Marty Robbins went off on a suicidal bender. With a bit more polish and finesse, this band is certain to make their mark on our wilting music scene. It's a long hard walk, and there's no doubt these guys can walk... HARD.

http://www.myspace.com/thedosomethings

- Nick Feratu

The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream

I first happened upon these Austin city surrealist rockers in 2006, right in time for their first full length release, "Passover". That very album restored my faith in modern psychedelia (no small feat for an outspoken anti-hippie such as myself). Not since the Nuggets CD box sets had I heard such great, rattling guitar tones and dripping wet reverb. I remember in vivid detail the first time I popped their CD in the car stereo and was promptly poked right in the cosmic "third eye". Now they have returned and I must say, they have brought the extra spicy mustard this time!

The album opener "Bad Vibrations" provides us with spaced out, eerie sounds. Things smashing and clattering in the background and a sudden increase in tempo that jacks things up in the best way possible. "Haunting At 1300 McKinley" conjures the standard 12-bar blues, but then shifts into gear by flipping the fuzzbox on and letting the drummer let loose. "Yellow Elevator #2" features another inescapable set of riffs with the guitars and organs intermingling. This song makes you wanna get go find the nearest shaman and get yourself spiritually awakened with it's excellent harmonies and hip-shaking rhythm. The band brings out the extended family for the sing-along track "Sunday Afternoon". Listen for the inexplicable, warbling alien noises and the tight vocal hooks. "Entrance Song" features deadpan vocals which somehow manage to be cool and groovy.

"River of Blood" and the title track "Phosphene Dream" are probably the weakest tracks on the entire album. I'm curious why they decided to name the album after an obvious filler cut. Not bad tracks, but somehow lacking the same luster as the rest of the album. But never fear, for they bring it all back home for the finale. "True Believers" and "Telephone" have the band showing their influences. Both tracks carry the distinct flavor of 60s garage / Jefferson Airplane intonations and you have to dig the jangling, psych-out boot stomp. Things take a turn for the weird and droney with sitar-effected guitars and you feel like you're brain is about to vibrate out of your skull (that is if you listen to these albums properly - at full fucking volume). It's all just in time for the final track "The Sniper" to slide in, slow 'er down, and introduce the real groove. This could easily have been a song from the Easy Rider soundtrack with the tremolo guitars and tambourine rattling.

It is often tempting to write off bands in this vein as mere "revivalist" acts and move on your jolly way, but I think there is much more to this act than that. It's true they show their influences casually, but since when is that a bad thing? They've most likely done their studying of The Flaming Groovies, 13th Floor Elevators and the Count Five, but I sense something deeper in them. There are more modern elements of bands like The Cult, Love and Rockets and Jesus and Mary Chain. The Black Angels take the shimmering exuberance of Vietnam era protest music and take it to a darker place. I am left wanting much more at the end of their albums, and that is a phenomenon I've not experienced with rock and roll very often. The Black Angels deserve a congratulatory pat on the back just for managing to capture my interest for a full album's length, let alone making me want to give them a second listen. And a third, a fourth and on and on until our eternal, sonic oblivion.

http://www.theblackangels.com/

Review by Nick Feratu

The Birthday Party - Mutiny / Bad Seed EP

The Birthday Party are known for their non-stop sonic assaults in the form of Tracy Pew's pounding and relentlessly heavy bass lines, Nick Cave's tortured and dissonant wail, and the overall synchronized chaos the band projects in their material, or as some like to call them 'songs'. The Birthday Party combined elements of Punk, New Wave, and Jazz to form their own brand of grinding ambiance that left no one unaffected, whether it be for better or for worse. Mutiny/The Bad Seed EP (which we'll just call 'Mutiny' for the sake of saving time) is somewhat of a departure from their previous material, with less focus on aural torment and more attention to traditional musicianship. Now, this isn't to say that this is The Birthday Party's "sell out" album, because it's anything but. This is simply the evolution of the band, moving away from the raw aggression of their previous albums, and into something more morose, darker, and arguably more meaningful than anything they had done in the past. The album was originally released as a compilation plucked from their last two recording sessions, but you'd never know it. The sound is seamless, and for newer listeners, easily the most accessible album from the band.

Running 40 minutes long, and spanning 10 tracks, the album quenches whatever thirst you may be having for something outlandish but not out of touch, strange yet relate-able. Mutiny show cases each individual member's best talents. Nick Cave's commanding voice, Tracy Pew's innate ability to control the atmosphere with his bass, and Rowland Howard's prowess and deadly precision with his guitar. But
Mutiny doesn't stop there, it even features a stellar performance by Mick Harvey on drums, something not seen on any other album from the group.

High-points of your listening experience will include "Wildworld", "Deep In The Woods", "Jennifer's Veil", "Say a Spell", and "Pleasure Avalanche". Some (like "Wildworld", "Deep In The Woods", and "Say a Spell") for their pounding bass and ability to evoke a sense of malaise and melancholy, and others for their sheer uniqueness (e.g. "Jennifer's Veil", and "Pleasure Avalanche"). If used as directed, Mutiny could produce many desirable results such as: out of body experiences, goosebumps, a creatively inspired mood, chain smoking, excessive grinning, and head bobbing. However, over dose of this product for new users could cause headaches, and irritability. The Birthday Party is an acquired taste for most, and should be treated as such by those unfamiliar with similar artists such as Captain Beefheart et al.

Review by Zia Loirrant

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