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POSTER CHILDREN Grand Bargain!
( Lotuspool)
The current political-social climate has inspired many artists to add their voices to the din: so enter Poster Children, the darlings of the Champaign-Urbana alternative music scene since the late 1980s. The band has always been socially conscious and now, nearly 15 years since their last album, they prove to be again on Grand Bargain. In the title track, in the band’ s vintage post-punk style, singer Rick Valentin points out,“ In the land of the free market and the home of the wage slave / It’ s not the robots you need to worry about, it’ s the corporate humans.”“ World’ s Insane” tries to rally hope in the face of confounding events(“ We are standing upright in a world turned upside down / We have got to stick together / We have got to stand our ground”). With a slower rocking tempo,“ Devil And The Gun” takes a more pessimistic approach(“ Find a quiet place for the ones you love / There’ s no escape from the devil with the gun”). Valentin’ s urgent vocals seem to hit a manic crescendo in“ Brand New Country”:“ Who are these strangers who let all these heretics in? / Where are the heroes? And where are the true citizens? / I think it’ s time this experiment came to an end.” Issues aside, the band is at its musical best when vocal harmonies between Valentin and bassist Rose Marshack are featured, as on“ Lucky Ones,” a brooding, pure pop rock track, and on“ Hippy Hills,” an upbeat, nostalgic trip to childhood that has the duet singing:“ The best years of our lives / I’ m going home / The way things never were.” Appearing 6 / 29 at Lincoln Hall, Chicago
– Jason Scales
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THE FOREIGN FILMS The Record Collector
( Factor)
This premium-grade 3-LP set collects a long-gestating epic from the mind of Hamilton, Ontario power-pop architect Bill Majoros and his crafty cohorts in the Foreign Films.“ Shadow in the Light” leads the charge with youthful memories and pop savvy.“ The Sun Will Shine Again” draws threads to the glorious descent of Mott the Hoople’ s“ All the Young Dudes” and mid-tempo, harmonyladen ELO ballads like“ Can’ t Get it Out of My Head,” all anchored by a rhythmic nod to Queen’ s“ We Will Rock You.”“ Junior Astronomer’ s Club” adds psychedelic
flourishes like sitar drone and spacefaring guitar leads alongside xylophone and elegant strings, adding the Beatles, Jellyfish, and Frank Zappa to the growing recommend-if-you-like roster. The Princely funk-pop of“ The Record Collector” describes a girl who captures her emotions in the songs she spins, leaving her somewhat hindered when trying to connect with the present. The crashing“ Broken Dreamers” and“ State of the Art” echo the Memphis chime of Big Star and southern jangle of R. E. M. The dubiously titled“ Lucky Streak” is a theme song awaiting the perfect spy movie.“ Teardrop Town” is a slinky film-noir vignette casting familiar streets as an alluring but deadly siren, sung as a duet between Majoros and Kori Pop. All of these highlights merely describe the set’ s first platter. The Record Collector’ s package includes the short story“ Emily Blue and the Star on the Moon,” revealing the thoughts of the character at the heart of the songs. Although isolated, Emily’ s inner life and sense of wonder at everyday beauty sustain her. LP 2 chronicles Emily’ s hopeful“ A Letter( To Our Future Selves).”“ Northern Love Song” recalls the Beatles’“ Getting Better,” fusing George Martin’ s heart-swelling string arrangements with Phil Spector’ s wall of sound and a nimble Brian May-styled guitar solo. LP 3 picks up with Emily as a young woman in Fall of the Summer Heart. Chapters including“ You Were My Summer Sun” and“ The Loneliest Night” tap Majoros’ affinity for the Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Moody Blues and Zombies as they recall the bitter and the sweet of summer romance. Carl Jennings’ bass during“ Emily’ s Dream Sequence” nods to Marvin Gaye’ s“ Inner City Blues.” The thrills culminate in the
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side-long“ Fall of the Summer Heart,” a pop symphony in eight movements. Like the delicate“ Girl by the River,” the songcycle mourns a loss while celebrating its memory. In summary, this ambitious work offers a charming and evocative trip for hours of escape and a devoted love letter to the golden age of pop radio and bedroom turntables.( theforeignfilms. com).
– Jeff Elbel
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THE DAMNED Evil Spirits
( Search And Destroy / Spinefarm)
The Damned return with the worthy Evil Spirits, the punk rock progenitors’ first album in ten years. The album launches with the headlong gallop of“ Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow,” as Captain Sensible’ s echoey surf-pop guitar licks and slashing power chords rush alongside singer Dave Vanian’ s portentous, gothic baritone and a message of purposeful determination. The charging energy recalls the band’ s cover of Love’ s“ Alone Again Or” from 1986’ s Anything. The band gets topical on the stomper“ We’ re So Nice,” which twists the Beatles’“ Day Tripper” riff into a demented shape and features a majestic‘ 60s psych-pop choir. Vanian snarls the song’ s cheeky but withering appraisal of imperialism and interventionist policies by major Western powers.“ Look Left” makes further criticism of prevailing social attitudes. The band’ s humor is also evident throughout the album, and at the forefront of songs like the Devo-ish“ Procrastination.”“ My time is precious, I need to hoard it,” sings Vanian. Sensible’ s guitars slash and sting during title cut“ Evil Spirits” while Pinch and returning bassist Paul Gray spar in frenetic rhythm in a hyper-caffeinated reinvention of the Who’ s“ I Can See for Miles.” Oxymoron’ s keyboards fill the relentless and desperate“ Shadow Evocation” with orchestral flair, while Vanian sings as a character trying vainly to outrun the pace of time. Gray’ s bass lends“ Sonar Deceit” a bounce and swing akin to the Jam’ s“ A Town Called Malice,” and Sensible’ s lyric spins a crooked fantasy hinged upon man’ s tampering with the balance of nature. Pinch plays a punishing Motörhead beat against the 12-string jangle of“ The Daily Liar.” During the song’ s rapturous instrumental section, Sensible’ s stinging solo, Oxymoron’ s whirling organ, and Gray’ s rambling bass all duel in a space-jam freakout a la Steppenwolf’ s“ Magic Carpet Ride” or a particularly snarky retelling of the Monkees’“ Pleasant Valley Sunday.” David Bowie producer Tony Visconti helps steer songs like drummer Pinch’ s spiky“ Devil in Disguise” in the direction of the band’ s early glam and punk peaks. Ultimately, it sounds like Evil Spirits was
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wicked fun to create, making this an album that fans of 1977’ s Damned Damned Damned or 1979’ s Machine Gun Etiquette should find easy to love.
– Jeff Elbel
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ELVIS PRESLEY The Searcher
( RCA / Legacy)
This release comes in different formats including an 18-track vinyl album of studio hits, live recordings, and alternate versions featured in the HBO documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher that premiered in April. A deluxe three-CD box includes 55 Presley recordings on two discs, and an additional set of soundtrack compositions and hand-picked tracks by fan and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, whose carefully curated selections reveal Presley’ s own influences. Vintage cuts including Arthur“ Big Boy” Cruddup’ s rollicking“ That’ s All Right” and Bill Monroe’ s bluegrass“ Blue Moon of Kentucky” reveal the roots behind Elvis’ chart-scaling versions. Other tracks like Howlin’ Wolf’ s“ Smokestack Lightning” trace the King of Rock and Roll’ s foundation to the blues. The set is revealing but not definitive; Big Mama Thornton’ s“ Hound Dog” is notably absent from the source tracks, although Elvis’ version is present. In any case, this isn’ t meant to be a greatest hits collection. Elvis standards including“ Heartbreak Hotel” raise goosebumps, but the goal is to describe Presley’ s journey, discovering rich musical terrain while adapting and innovating to find his own voice. Undeniably, the music Presley found rippled through decades of music. The Orlons’ sparkling“ Heartbreak Hotel” takes the song from Memphis to Motown. Presley’ s take on polka“ Wooden Heart”( the“ Blue Christmas” B-side is sung in English and German) echoes later in a roots-based interpretation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers recorded circa 1994’ s Wildflowers. The documentary and this collection give witness to Presley as a restless artist who has lost something, wondering whether he can find it in a song.
– Jeff Elbel
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JEFF BECK Still on The Run: The Jeff Beck Story
( Eagle Rock DVD)
Guitars and cars; the two things that best sum up the life of legendary British blues / rock guitarist Jeff Beck. From the Yardbirds, to the Jeff Beck Group( featuring Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood), to his power trio Beck, Bogart and Appice, to his instrumental solo albums, Beck possesses a massive musical vocabulary. His unique style and complex technique is untouchable. Armed with his fine-tuned Fender
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32 illinoisentertainer. com july 2018 |