THE MERCURY PROGRAM
All the Suits Begin to Fall
(Tiger Style)
***

Now the home of former Up Records band 764-HERO, Tiger Style Records has made a name for itself with its impressive roster of uniquely talented artists, Tristeza and Ida among them. On the label's second release, Gainesville, Florida's the Mercury Program proves that expansive, theatrically instrumental post-rock doesn't always have to hit listeners over the head with explosive waves of sound. All the Suits Begin to Fall glistens with pretty yet propulsive songs whose strength is derived from subtlety. Even the song titles reflect the band's well-spoken argument that loud is not always better: "The Secret to Quiet," "There Are Thousands Sleeping in Peace," "A Delicate Answer," etc. The only drawback to this EP is its short, 30-minute running time. But having to break out of one's hypnotic trance to keep re-pushing the play button is only a minor complaint. KATHLEEN WILSON


FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

Spanking the View of the Krutch

(Self-Release)
**1/2

Spanking the View of the Krutch is a good debut EP, and I'm certain it will make a lot of indie people happy. Firstname Lastname is the singer/songwriter moniker of Seattle's Troy Nelson, a talented man who has rendered a meticulous work that is slow to charm. I respect that it's so slick and well conceived, being that it's a self-release by one individual (abetted by a co-producer, Shane Stoneback). But after five spins, I'm still unmoved, finding very little here that is sexy or transporting, or exciting, or pissed off, or even sad. "Springloader," the opening song, sets the EP's tone--it's simple, folk-based pop, founded in thick acoustic guitar and layered by vocals that are strong without being embellished or overwrought. Nelson does all the guitars, vocals, and drumming on the record, which might be a lot of what's stymieing his effort--the drumming is solid, but unadventurous. The call-and-response vocal (one clean, one distorted) on the second track, "Running Man," is smart. It's a reasonable form with which to levy the possible self-criticism in the lyrics: "He smokes, he drinks, it's hard for him to think/He's the Running Man of our day...." But the lyrics go soft. They are muddled and ambiguous. There are bright moments on this EP, like the beginning of "Vision I Had (Who Cares)," in which the presence of a fuzzy guitar is roughly scraped out over a bass line. I start expecting the song to take off, but it's a tease, overall. The song breaks down into a more subdued section with sweet tremolo noise, but it never builds into any real peaks. I turn it up: It's pretty cool. I turn it down: It's pretty standard. This is the work of a driven, talented guy with a promising future. Maybe you should buy the debut now, just in case. JEFF DeROCHE


TIGHT BROS FROM WAY BACK WHEN

Lend You a Hand
(Kill Rock Stars)
***

Imagine, if you will, an early incarnation of Aerosmith fronted by Brian Johnson. Or, perhaps, 1987-era Guns N' Roses, minus the misogyny and with additional punk attitude. Add plain old inventiveness and a delightful sense of fun, and you get the Tight Bros from Way Back When's Lend You a Hand. Since 1999's Runnin' Thru My Bones, the Tight Bros have tightened things up considerably, improving as songwriters and adding enough variety to keep you listening. There's the fast and furious opener, "Make It a Habit," with vocalist Jared Warren screeching above the mix fit to shatter wineglasses. "Bring Your Thunder" and "Gimme the Key" strike a bluesier note--there's reason to compare the Tight Bros with Aerosmith as opposed to, say, Megadeth--but these guys are hardly musical anachronisms. The way "Show Me" thrashes along, you'd expect some hardcore bitterness lurking at its core; instead, you get sweet romance. (Yes, I know it's a cover, but the band picked that and not "Girls, Girls, Girls," right?) And the high-octane, furiously paced title track is all about... hey, helping people out! This is exactly what I wanted during my hair-metal days: bands that rocked out without being assholes about it. Kudos to the Tight Bros from Way Back When for bringing hard rock up to date. GENEVIEVE WILLIAMS


BASEMENT JAXX

Rooty

(XL/Astralwerks)
***

Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton, a.k.a. Basement Jaxx, are at it again. Since flipping the script on dance music with instinctive instrumentation and pitch-perfect production on 1999's Remedy, the Jaxx seem to have just about every producer, DJ, critic, and fan eating out of their hands. With Rooty, it appears that the oft-praised duo is doing double duty on the indemnity tip, this time pushing boundaries even further to protect their crown. This is both good and bad. As with Basement Jaxx's previous efforts, the record's high marks go to its production. But in the quest for pop substance, Jaxx falls a bit short. Musically, Rooty has a lot of great ideas going for it--bass lines pushed to almost blistering levels and hooks that come out of nowhere, hitting the listener head-on. Tracks like "Romeo," "Breakaway," "SFM," "Broken Dreams," and "Get Me Off" are testaments to the producers' pop prowess. But there are spots where the lyrics and vocal performances don't do justice to these wicked beats. The lyrics are often mediocre, and a bit of a letdown on songs like "Jus 1 Kiss" and "Get Me Off." Still, anyone in their right mind will continue giving these cats mad props for their ambition to continue reinventing dance music--and for the simple fact that they're trying to make it palatable for the masses. FRANK NIETO


SPENCER DAVIS GROUP
Gimme Some Lovin'

(Sundazed)
***

I'm A Man
Sundazed
****

FINALLY--like it won't hard enough for me to find a ace MONO copy of I'm A Man--Sundazed done one-and-zeroed (that's digitized) the first two U.S. SDG LPs... AND they loaded 'em fulla bonus cuts! Now, if you don't know SDG (uh... if you've listened to "oldies" radio EVER, you've heard "Gimme Some Lovin'"), the SDG was among the first wave of limeys playin' the U.S. R&B... and boy, did they strut some solid R&B, soulful Chicago blues, and an obvious lerve of Ray Charles so very well. And these fellas could write the shit outta a pop A-side. If they'd never done nuthin' 'sides write "I'm A Man," that alone woulda been enough... well, of course I'd-a fuckin' hated to miss out on Winwood's B-3 workouts! MIKE NIPPER


WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND

Part One

(Sundazed)
****

Volume 2
(Sundazed)
****

A Child's Guide To Good & Evil (a.k.a. Volume 3)
(Sundazed)
****

This band is relatively unknown--or, rather, unheard by the tickets who listen to the radio for guidance. They came from the Los Angle-ese, and are pop art in name only--NOT pop art via the Creation or the Who, but more like the name sounded cool, like Andy Warhol and his Velvet Undergrounds. However, what these cats WAS was clever arrangers/songwriters... even though they were basically a garage band commandeered by a very unmusical L.A. hipster so he could nail teenage girls. Right... not pop art, and relatively untouched by "the '60s" HEAVY wankery, they took care of bidness when it came to fuzzed-out garage or poppy Byrds-ish folk rock, often laced with satirical silliness or a bit of hip sike-er-delic nonsense. As for the rundown of the LPs: Part One is solid rockin' with a dash of goofy. (THIS, considering what the WCPAEB's Harris brothers' classical composer father, Roy Harris, said upon hearing his sons' LP: "It's like bringing you up for 17 years and realizing you're members of the Hitler Youth." Nice.) Volume 2 is a bit more expansive--experimental, even--and in spots a bit more overtly critical of the contemporary situation. Of course it's still equally as rockin' as Part One. Lastly, A Child's Guide. This may just be the best of the trio. I swear, bits of this reminded me of Billy Nichols singing about humping little lasses. If only the Loog (Andrew Loog Oldham) had produced it... anyway, its pop sweetness is thoughtfully filtered through a freak's non sequitur haze. With a batch of LPs this cool, the WCPAEB might just be the next cult band waiting to happen. MIKE NIPPER


SPYS4DARWIN

Microfish
(Pied Viper)
*

This is the kind of decade-late metal/industrial-infused pap that The Stranger generally chooses to ignore completely. Which is why I'm angry right now, listening to Spys4Darwin, a Seattle band that doesn't sound like it's from Seattle at all. Sure, The End plays this stuff, and it's the city's number-one station, but that's just because the University of Washington has a big Greek system, right? Otherwise, the listeners must all be 12-year-olds, or people driving through the city in cars, tuned into bands that don't actually "come" from anywhere. I sometimes imagine that all records like this are made by one angry person in a room somewhere, working a magic DAT machine, making bad trickle-down remixes of Ministry B-sides that I've never heard, and tracks stolen from a dumpster outside of Soundgarden's practice space during the mid-'90s. I log on to Spys4Darwin's website and learn who the band is composed of: it's Alice in Chains' rhythm section, along with the former guitar player for Queensryche... I'm sick. Of course, the band is playing Endfest. And the scariest part? The record is selling. JEFF DeROCHE


TRICKY

Blowback

(Hollywood)
**1/2

No matter how hard he tries, Tricky can't make a great CD without Martina. When his songwriting and sound production is matched with the preternatural beauty of Martina's voice, as was the case with his first two CDs, Maxinquaye and Pre-Millennium Tension, his art is nearly god. His third CD, Angels with Dirty Faces, which only had small contributions from Martina, was weak; his fourth, Juxtapose, which had no contributions from Martina, was even weaker. Now he has a new CD, Blowback, and though it's better than the last CD, it is nowhere near the perfection of the first two. There are certain truths everyone must face, and Tricky's truth is Martina. Without her he just has a jumble of good ideas, and lacks the means to perfect them. Blowback is filled with great notions, particularly those involving reggae sounds and performers, but nothing rises up to the stars. Songs either fall apart during the launch or never move at all--as with "Girls," which features the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Yes, they used to call him Tricky Kid, and he once lived the life we wish we did, but without Martina he is far from being a superstar. When will Tricky accept the truth? CHARLES MUDEDE