The Columbia Chronicle Online 10/11/99: The Sound Corner

The Sound Corner

Something To Write Home About
The Get Up Kids
(Vagrant records/Heroes & Villains)

What a mess their personal lives must be. Judging by the lyrics from The Get Up Kids’ entire catalog, their relationships aren’t going very well. Somehow they manage to wake up in the morning and record some music, which is quite lucky for us.

Something To Write Home About is a simple, guilty pleasure. It’s less indie than the Kid’s previous discs. They’ve turned up the vocals and cleaned up the guitars. This sounds like a major label record.

The change has had positive and negative effects on the band’s sound, however. They’ve ventured from emo-punk to straightforward poppy emo-candy. Consequently, they have lost a lot of indie-cred, but should gain a legion of fans.

The biggest flaw with Something To Write Home About is the unfortunate fact that the two best songs on the album, “Red Letter Day” and “I’m a Loner Dottie, a Rebel” have been previously released. It’s a minor complaint, however. The album is enjoyable, spirited proof that indie rock can comb its hair, get dressed up and try to get a date to the big dance. - Michael O'Brien, Assistant Editor

Retrospective
Red House Painters
(4AD)

His voice is a gift. It sits in the corner of a dark lonely room, filled with memories and pain. Mark Kozelek doesn’t really actually sing. He just lets out. None of his lyrics are there because they rhyme or sound nifty. They have to be there. Every song is a process of moving on, giving up or dealing with someone.

Red House Painters are a special band. They make intensely personal music that shows an incredible knowledge and awe of the human condition.

Retrospective is a two-disc collection of greatest hits, demos and out takes. It’s a wonderful introduction to the Red House Painters world. It’s also a special treat for old fans. The demos are stark, emotional takes of old favorites. The stripped down version of “Mistress” is a notable highlight. Kozelk’s painful, melodic yelp at the end of the song is one of his finest moments.

Trust me on this one. You’ll get 27 songs for 15 bucks, and if you have a soul, you’ll fall in love with Red House Painters. - Michael O'Brien, Assistant Editor

Something About Airplanes
Death Cab For Cutie
(Elsinor/Barsuk Records)

The Pacific Northwest is home to an incredible amount of outstanding, innovative bands. Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, 764-Hero, Sleater-Kinney, Unwound, Damien Jurado and Sunny Day Real Estate head the impressive list. Death Cab For Cutie is the latest entry.

Lead singer Benjamin Gibbard’s voice has all the good parts of Built To Spill’s Doug Martsch in it, and none of the annoying qualities. In fact, comparisons to Built To Spill are extremely valid, however, nothing on this disc sounds the least bit derivative— it’s exactly the opposite. It’s the first classic indie-rock record of the year.

Something About Airplanes has a dark, claustrophobic feel, but manages to avoid sounding tedious. Death Cab segues smoothly from the pop thrills of “President Of What” into the darker “Champagne From A Paper Cup,” a song which ends the Built To Spill comparisons. It shows an emotional depth that Built To Spill has never been able to capture.

Something About Airplanes was recorded and produced on an analog eight track, and as usual something about that sound is just so right. It doesn’t bash you over the head like 16 track stereo recordings do.

Death Cab For Cutie has earned a solid spot alongside their Pacific Northwest contemporaries. Modest Mouse recently signed with Epic, the home of Pearl Jam and Oasis. The signing of Modest Mouse could be the beginning of another major label blitz on the state of Washington. If so, Death Cab For Cutie has an excellent chance of making a name for themselves. - Michael O'Brien, Assistant Editor

Tonight the Stars Revolt!
Powerman 5000
(Dreamworks)

There ain’t no revolution going on here - hell, there’s nothing even original about this record. But with “Tonight the Stars Revolt!,” California’s Powerman 5000 has created in its sophomore LP what Trent Reznor couldn’t produce in five years’ time: a loud concept record that’s not a dizzying bore to listen to.

Like plenty of industrial bands (think Deftones playing with Korn, throw in some cheesy superhero lyrics, and you get the picture) PM5K suffers from the same one-beat-itis that produces a decent opening number, and 10 songs more that sound either like remixes or the same song with different lyrics. But if the band had to put a sound on heavy rotation, it picked a good one: “Revolt” can drag at times, but it never slows down or gets lost in its mess. Most importantly, the token third single/slow track is nowhere to be found here.

When it comes to hardcore, “Revolt” is no “Pretty Hate Machine” or “Psalm 69,” but it comes through with good, loud ambience that, once absorbed, translates into fun, if not pristine, headphone music. - Billy O'Keefe, Viewpoints/New Media Editor