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Sugar
“Besides”
Rykodisc
Grade: A
For Sugar fans, “Besides” may be
the band’s swan song. Lead singer/
guitarist Bob Mould has suffered an
ongoing hearing problem from years
of touring. Mould has said that it was
becoming difficult for him to tune
accurately, and that he was consider
ing other avenues, such as acoustic
work.
Sugar fans needn’t mourn. “Be
sides” is not a slopped-together pack
age of songs that didn’t make the last
two albums, “Copper Blue” and “File
Under Easy Listening.”
The best part of Sugar is how each
of the songs immediately catches your
ear. The first song, “Needle Hits E” is
a great example of Mould’s talents. He
has a gift for integrating corrosive
guitars and great harmonies into songs
that usually last about three minutes.
The lyrics on “Besides” are more
optimistic than Sugar’s last two releas
es. Still, Mould’s lyrics can be as dark
as anything in Nine Inch Nails’ arse
nal.
Bassist David Barbe and drummer
Malcolm Travis have always proved
they’re more than just Mould’s sup
port crew. Travis’ drumming is tight
and crisp throughout “Besides.”
Though Barbe may not have a stun
ning bass solo on the album, each note
he plays perfectly complements Mould
and Travis.
Fans of Mould’s last great group,
Hiisker Dii, will enjoy “Where Dia
monds are Halos.” And Sugar fans
should dig new versions of “If I Can’t
Change Your Mind” and “The Slim.”
“Besides” clocks in at under 70
minutes — almost 30 minutes more
than “Copper Blue,” but none of the
songs drag.
If you’re really craving a Sugar
overdose, try to hunt down die limited
edition of this release. The first 27,000
copies contain a live compact disc of
Sugar playing First Avenue in Minne
apolis.
—Sean McCarthy
from the Wu-Tang Clan and Moby,
the Blues Explosion’s already raw and
driving sounds are twisted into com
pletely different creations.
The alternate versions of these songs
vary from disorderly remixes and ed
its, as is done by U.N.K.L.E. on
“Bellbottoms,” to complete
reworkings, as revealed in “Greyhound
Part 2,” in which GZA has added a
previously nonexistent rap by Killah
Priest.
Although reworking songs with
musicians from different genres is
something that has been done and
done well before (i.e. Trent Reznor’s
remix of Megadeath’s “Symphony of
Destruction”), putting rap and techno
artists in the same studio with
“Bellbottoms,” “Flavor” and “Soul
Typecast” may have threatened the
quality of the songs.
In many cases, that is exactly what
happened. But after listening to the
Beastie Boys and Beck tear into and
tear up “Flavor” in “Flavor Part 1” and
“Flavor Part 2,” it is somewhat hard to
argue with the idea.
The Blues Explosion is, after all,
one of rock music’s most piecemeal
bands, throwing elements of punk rockf
rhythm and blues, soul and rap into the
same bag and pulling out songs that
actually sound like a solid entity.
Adding a little here and taking a
little there may hurt the overall effect
of some of these patchwork creations.
But at the same time, doing so only
furthers the fantastic concepts Spencer
and company started three years and
three albums ago.
—Jeff Randall
mousetrap
“the dead air sound system”
Grass Records
Grade: B
On its third full-length release,
Omaha’s mousetrap serves up more of
the dark, soul-inspired rock that made
its previous albums so equally appeal
ing and unsettling.
Listening to guitarist and vocalist
Patrick Buchanan screech full-bore
over the tawdry details of relationships
gone horribly wrong occasionally feels
less like a song than an excerpt from a
psychiatrist’s session with a socio
path. But when backed by the rock
solid rhythm section, consisting of
bassist/vocalist Craig Crawford and
drummer Duncan Black, Buchanan’s
rants sound hauntingly poetic, in a
twisted sort of way.
The opening track, “Signal to
Noise,” is a tale of lust for “a dextrine
vision of love at the end of the bar” to
whom he promises “one night only”
and “no exit.” The desperate vocals
here are matched only by the ever
present throb of the music.
“Angels of the Interstate,” one of
the album’s best tracks, follows with
the words of a tormented soul whose
only contact with his mate is through
the U.S. Postal Service.
But the album’s best track comes
later with “Sweet Dreams Baby,” a
song that pounds itself into the listener
with unrelenting force from beginning
to end, with Black’s monstrously pow
erful drumming style as the center
piece.
The most distinguishable difference
between this album and the band’s
previous efforts is an overall sound
that better reproduces the raw desper
ation of mousetrap’s live shows.
“the dead air sound system” is an
album not to be overlooked by the
choosy music enthusiast. It may not
always be pretty, and it may not always
be comfortable, but imagine how bor
ing the world would be if everything
was that perfect.
* —Jeff Randall
Catherine Wheel
“Happy Days”
Mercury Records
Grade: B
Besides having one of the most
ironic album titles in recent memory,
Catherine Wheel’s “Happy Days” is
an exercise in both loathing and beau
tiful music.
Whether this loathing is directed
inward or outward, guitarist/vocalist
Rob Dickinson expresses it with an
utterly charming attitude that runs
alongside the airy guitars that have
defined Catherine Wheel’s sound.
Catherine Wheel has never been a
cheery band, but now the somewhat
passive sorrow of its previous albums
has been replaced with raw despera
tion and rage, accompanied by the
occasional distortion guitar burst or
scream. This new edge provides a
sense of anticipation that had been
lacking on both “Chrome” and “Fer
ment” and makes for a better album
both lyrically and musically.
On “Waydown,” the album’s first
single, Dickinson’s voice alternates
between sadistic laughs, whispers and
screams that pull the listener into the
song and refuse to let go until he is
finished.
“Judy Staring at the Sun” features
guest vocals by Belly’s T anya Donelly,
whose light vocals add an element of
hope to an otherwise hopeless tale and
serve as a beautiful counter to
Dickinson’s somber vocal tone.
One of the album’s most beautiful
songs has one of its most blunt titles.
“Eat My Dust You Insensitive Fuck” is
a melodic and echo-filled tune that
could easily be compared to Catherine
Wheel’s earlier sound.
Through it all, “Happy Days” man
ages to maintain the subtle beauty that
has made Catherine Wheel a v.*lcome
alternative to the grunge and punk
revolutions that have dominated rock
in recent years, and it is well worth a
listen.
—Jeff Randall
u rj Pkwnn
“Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...”
RCA
Grade: A
The Wu-Tang Clan has been mak
ing a ruckus ever since its first single in
the summer of 1993. On Raekwon’s
solo album, “Only Built 4 Cuban
Linx...”, the Wu shows for the fourth
time why it’s at the top of the game.
Not only has the Wu-Tang spawned
a classic album, but each of the mem
bers are in turn advancing powerful
solo careers.
Method Man was the first to drop a
solo and just released a remix of his
third single. OF Dirty Bastard has
dropped two singles from his album,
too. Unfortunately, ODB is the main
Wu figure missing from Raekwon’s
album.
“Linx” fronts Raekwon the Chef
and features Ghost Face Killer on most
tracks. The two make a terrific team
with complementing vocal styles.
That accounts for half of the Wu’s
success. The variety of MCs, all with
skills, make this a versatile and dan
gerous group.
On the production side, the Rza is
on point and proves to be one of the
hottest producers this side of DJ Pre
mier.
“Glaciers of Ice” is the first single.
It has multi- layered sounds comple
menting Rae, Ghost and Master Killa.
Rae starts the flow so smooth you
don’t even know it’s started.
The fat second single, “Ice Cream”
co-stars Method Man over a scant
track.
Some of the best cuts are posse jams
like “Guillotine,” with the Genius and
Inspectah Deck, and “Wu-Gambinos”
starring Rae, Ghost, Master Killa and
Meth. Even the Rza himself steps out
from behind the boards to take a turn
on the mic.
Other simple but effective tracks
back the songs “Knuckleheadz” and
“Knowledge God,” and a beautiful
Black Ivory sample comes to light in
“Criminology.”
Every track on “Linx” is top notch.
Not even the skits are annoying. With
success like this, the Wu-Tang Clan
continues to dominate hip-hop.
—Greg Schick
The Starkweathers
“The Starkweathers - 5-Song EP”
Faye Records
Grade: B+
Celebrate Starkweather! Nebras
kans owe a debt of gratitude to Lin
coln’s favorite son. The guy single
handedly put this town on the map —
with just a little help from his girl
friend.
Fora fewbriefdays in January 1958
— and again at the time of his execu
tion in June of ’59 — the eyes of the
nation turned to the heartland in way
they never had before.
Since then, there’s been a TV mini
series, an album by the Boss and, as if
that weren’t enough, a country-fried,
alternative rockabilly/bluegrass band
from Kansas City—the Starkweathers.
With songs like “Bum the Flag”
and “Greektown in Flames,” the
Starkweathers may be just a little too
combustible for mainstream country
stations. The band certainly retains the
more primitive elements of red
neckedness that made this part of the
country great, the put-up-or-shut-up
grit and grin.
What they lack, thankfully, is the
my-country-right-or-wrong patina that
has grown, like some deadly fungus,
over a once vital musical idiom.
The Starkweathers know their roots
in social revolution and protest. More
importantly, they knows where their
future lies — in the rough and tumble
of human troubles. County music as
camptown revival. Bluegrass meets
rhythm and blues.
If this all sounds a little overblown,
well, it may be. The Starkweathers
have a ways to go, and they may not be
up to the hike. It’s a rocky road ahead
for the band and its music.
But it has something going for it:
help from the folks at its new label, Sub
Pop. If anyone can help The
Starkweathers find its own rough edg
es, that label will.
And, as to whether the band’s live
show cuts the mustard, well...
Lincoln will have a chance to wel
come the spirit of Starkweather back
into its bosom when his namesake
plays at Knickerbockers Aug. 25.
-Mark Baldridge
m u s I c
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
“Experimental Remixes”
Matador Records
Grade: C+
This collection of remixed tunes by
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,
courtesy of some of rap’s and techno’s
brightest stars, reveals why alternate
mixes can bring out the best and the
worst in songs.
With the talents of musicians such
as Mike Diamond and Mario Caldato,
Jr. of the Beastie Boys, Beck, GZA