Dave Chamberlain

When Boas, the quintet of boys formerly known as Mansion, play a release party for "Mansion" (Overcoat) this week, they'll unveil one of the most anticipated records to drift out of the incestuous wing of Chicago's music scene.

I've had a hard time with this record, trying to balance fair with gut-reaction. At first, I hated it, thought it was sappy, self-obsessed tripe (I stand by the self-obsessed part). Repeated listens brought it home a bit, though anyone out there used to--and counting on--my pro-loud-rock stance might be horrified. While I might normally dissect a record song-by-song, that approach feels wrong here, as the ten songs in less-than forty minutes craft a continuous musical theme. "Mansion" is brutally slow, though musically dynamic at times. I keep coming back to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd for comparison, minus the acid binge. Every instrument gets featured (and there's some incredibly smart guitar timing), but there's too much piano/vocal duet going on, and some songs feel unfinished. In fact, my major complaint stems from the vocals, which need a greater degree of assertiveness to make this fly for a general audience. All that said, it would surprise me if Boas weren't the next Chicago thing. Judge for yourself, September 27 at the Empty Bottle.

Back in the day, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent were the driving force behind the Zombies, a British Invasion band that had Top 3 hits with "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No." With lush melodies and exceptional pop-music acumen, the Zombies weren't the best of the sixties, but they had enough moments to guarantee their place in the rock canon. They should have stopped there. Blunstone and Argent released "Out of the Shadows" last year, and by the sound of it, they wore their Bad Idea jeans throughout the recording process. It's as if, sometime in the seventies, these guys heard an Air Supply record and said, "Hey, this is good stuff. Let's wait thirty years and get going on some of this style." Goofy orchestration, piano duets, lyrics that seem like they were culled from an anthology of the twentieth century's worst poetry ("and the rain fell; on the lake, in the vast garden/Faster and faster. It was dark.") and a tempo best rated in anti-beats-per-minute, "Out of the Shadows" makes elevator muzak sound like grindcore. (Unless, of course, the band is into some high-end, postmodern humor using quantum physics as a jumping-off point. If that's the case, this shit is brilliant.) This is music for very, very old people--like Socrates. If you go (September 26 at the Abbey Pub), drink about thirty gallons of Red Bull--that should keep you awake for the first two or three songs. Myself, I doubt I'll make it.

Heading into 2002, the Athens, Georgia-based Elf Power averaged two years between records--a little surprising for a lo-fi pop band hanging from the same branch as the Apples in Stereo. But 2002 has seen Elf Power flash a prolific smile; the charming, pop-perfect "Creatures" (SpinArt) came out earlier this year, and on tap soon is "Nothing's Going to Happen" (Orange Twin Records), a sixteen-track collection of cover songs. "Nothing's Going to Happen" paints a perfect picture of Rieger's musical building blocks, featuring a spectrum of covers as far away from Elf Power as possible. A version of Bad Brains' "Pay to Cum" is virtually indistinguishable from the original, except for Rieger's wispy, trippy vocals. The Misfits' "Hybrid Moments" takes a lo-fi turn, while "Never Talking to You Again" from Hüsker Dü dusts off the original sympathetic proto-emo hook with success. Others don't work as well, specifically a stab at Sonic Youth's "Cotton Crown," which sucks the energy right out of the original. And in covering Billy Childish' "You Make Me Die," Elf Power proves that Billy Childish (Headcoats, Mighty Caesars) songs are best played and sung only by the man himself. Elf Power will hit you with plenty of both its 2002 records, September 27 at the Abbey Pub.

Detroit kids the Sights break that city's mold a bit by eschewing the strictly gearhead-fueled garage rock and looking a little deeper into the sixties for inspiration. A trio of mop-haired, very young men, the Sights combine the best of California's psychedelic pop with mod, a little sixties punk rock and a whole lotta hook power. The band's second release, "Got What We Want" (Fall of Rome Records), benefits from the production of Jim Diamond (Mr. Detroit producer guy), who helped them find an even keel between strict revivalism with modern songwriting acumen. Blah blah blah. This record is just plain fun, from the bouncy, sugar-crusted opener "Don't What You Back" to the punchy and almost heavy title track to purified sixties organ-air of "Sweet Little Woman." Anyone into straight rock music with its tongue buried firmly in the sixties won't leave disappointed.

The Sights open for Asteroid #4, September 29 at the Empty Bottle

(2002-09-26)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

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Tip of the Week
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