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Growing Pains: At the Drive-In Explores, Barenaked Ladies Lose Edge
A* the Drive-In
Relationship of Command
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Sock bands generally age just like
people do. They get older, their joints
stiffen up, it gets a little harder for them
to get up the stairs. After a while they’re
no longer that guy who runs around the
party with a lamp shade on his head, but
the guy who stands in the comer sipping
imported beer and talking movies.
But aging’s only natural, and isn’t
necessarily a bad thing. Just look at
bands like Superchunk, Yo La Tengo
and Fugazi - bands that have only
grown more solid as they mature.
Such is the case with At the Drive-In.
The El Paso, Texas, quintet’s fifth
release, Relationship of Command, is a
more mature record than previous
albums, but by no means signals that the
band is on its way out.
At the Drive-In has always played up
the diversity of its influences, from punk
to reggae, techno to world music. These
seemingly incongruous sounds make for
an odd mix - anthem-like, triumphant
music somewhere between punk and
indie rock, delivered with as much force
and energy as humanly possible (ATDI
is one of the best live rock bands
around). But on Relationship, the boys
discover new ways of exploring their
influences, realizing a darker, more seri
ous sound.
The surging energy is still there, but
more directed and restrained. Mid
tempo rockers abound, as opposed to
the “omigod-how-do-they-do-that?”
explosive songbursts of 1999’s Vaya and
1998’s In/Casino/Out.
Vocalist Cedric stretches the emotion
and Intensity of his feral roar to new lev
els. The band makes use of more effects,
piano, electronic percussion and key
boards.
Relationship is definitely the band’s
most polished release yet. Iggy Pop even
contributes, although I’m not sure in
what capacity, and the liner notes don’t
say on which tracks.
A few tracks, such as “Pattern Against
User” and “Sleepwalk Capsules” harken
back to the oddly pop-like, bombastic
anthems of In/Casino/Out.
But At the Drive-In has somehow fig
ured out how to slow the tempo, show
some restraint and still channel enough
raw energy through their instruments to
power a small city.
“One Armed Scissor” and “Invalid
Litter Dept.” are great exercises in
dynamics and tone. It seems as if the
band wants to know just how high it can
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push the energy level before yanking the
plug.
But unfortunately Relationship doesn’t
keep the energy flowing. The middle of
the record gets somewhat monotonous
and starts to sag. Redundant riffing
slows the momentum.
Even if a few songs lag behind the
others, you could still spend hours trying
to figure out Cedric’s morbidly cryptic
lyrics. “X marks the spot/On your cal
endar days/A beard half-eaten/Smiled,
crawling with legs,” he shouts on
“Rolodex Propaganda.”
Relationship’s elusive lyrics, the weird
est of any At the Drive-In record, are
just one more sign of a band stretching
itself. The kids from El Paso are growing
up and coming into their own.
By Brian Bedsworth
Barenaked Ladies
Maroon
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The Barenaked Ladies have changed
hats, so to speak, and would have us
believe that the members have grown
up on their new album, Maroon.
Unfortunately, the edgier, more mature
sound toward which they move shows
more of a continuing assimilation into
commercial American pop than actual
musical development.
Before Rock Spectacle catapulted the
band from the Canadian wilderness to
American arenas, its music was at least
unique, though sometimes silly, and
often fun and poignant.
“Pinch Me,” the new album’s first sin
gle, smacks less of that past originality
than Train’s 1999 banal hit “Meet
Virginia.” Lyrically, the song represents
the most substantial of the album’s
growth from 1998’s Stunt, but it is one of
very few examples.
Trying to mix more serious themes
with the quirkiness of old-school BNL
comes off sounding either uncomfort
able or shallow, rather than balanced
between depth and humor as is seem
ingly sought.
“Tonight Is the Night I Fell Asleep at
the Wheel,” written from the perspec
tive of a dead narrator, embodies the
worst of the awkward combination. The
narrator speaks of dying in his car as
others “stand around with their mouths
open wide/I heard some idiot ask if
someone’s inside/With the Jaws of Life
they tried and they tried.”
The song’s accordion and banjo riffs
remind one of Kermit the Frpg’s “The
Rainbow Connection" and evoke even
less sympathy. Instead of sounding iron
DIVERSIONS
ic, the song leaves the listener with the
sense that BNL has a difficult time tak
ing itself seriously in its new role as a
dynamic band with a keen pop sensibil
ity.
The pseudo-gravity of the album gen
erates several pieces (such as “Off the
Hook,” “Helicopters,” “Conventioners”)
that sound eerily similar to Mike and the
Mechanics and cover themes ranging
from bombings to love.
However, a distinct aversion to lyrics
that are too deep for radio belies the
image of maturity. Hence, they lack the
authenticity and impact of pre- Stunt
songs like “Brian Wilson” and “Break
Your Heart.”
The album’s lighter songs, likewise,
yield much of the band’s trademark
zaniness to slick cuteness. They offer
their share of catchy hooks, but at the
expense of muzzling the band’s sub
stantial musical ability.
The band sacrifices creativity for
“mature,” conventional pop on Maroon
as only adults can do. BNL’s new look,
hqwever, is about as effective as the
emperor’s new clothes.
By Warren Wilson
Los Amigos Invisibles
Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey
Into Space
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Picture, if you can, John Travolta
dancing away in “Fiebre de Sabado
Noche.” That’s a start.
A mix of disco and Latin music
makes up the majority of the songs on
Los Amigos Invisibles’ album, Arepa
3000: A Venezuelan Journey Into Space, to
be released in October,
The band is composed of six
Venezuelan men with their hormones in
overdrive.
That said, it should be obvious the
CD is not for the timid, but I’ll state for
the record that all those dirty Spanish
words you learned in middle school will
come in handy if you try to translate the
lyrics.
The mix of Latin music with disco
beats is original enough to catch your
attention, but there is simply not enough
variety within the songs themselves to
make the album qualify as anything
worth merit.
This self-proclaimed “dance band”
got its start hosting underground club
nights in Venezuela.
It uses all live instruments to produce
a techno sound without the use of
groove boxes or the like.
Figuring in this background, it is
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obvious that the group intends to get
you out on the dance floor.
Initially, the band meets its goal as
the first few songs are able to get your
feet tapping.
However, as the CD plays on, the
Latin disco theme gets worn out. The
later songs get monotonous and lack the
same make-you-want-to-dance quality
that the first few songs possess.
To put it blundy, the songs get boring.
They lack originality and make you
want to grab any other CD for some
variety.
Yet the album does contain gems
such as “La Vecina.”
The song has an infectious beat and
catchy lyrics, even if they are in Spanish.
It is for this reason I can say the band
has some promise for future works.
At worst, the album is an unnecessary
return to the age of disco with a group of
Rico Suave wannabes.
At best, it’s an original twist on a tired
music genre, which allows the album to
pass as decent background music.
By Aimee Wilson
Joan Osborne
Righteous Love
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God bless Joan Osborne. Although
many Joplin-esque blueswomen turned
their sad tales and hot moments into
mainstream-accessible music, few have
taken huge artistic risks as successful,
albeit polarizing, as Osborne’s second
album, Righteous Love.
Relish became a popular and critical
powerhouse in 1995, largely because of
Osborne’s wild-haired mixture of sexu
al tension, individualistic religious
integrity and listener-friendly blues licks.
It’s what made the record a revelation
- Osborne’s debut finally provided pop
ular music the perfect balance between
the Staple Singers and Madonna.
But, surprisingly, the dynamo energy
of Relish is absent on Righteous Love, and
will probably turn off some fans at first
listen. Five years after Osborne stressed
her powerful pipes, her refined, sultry
vocals on Righteous Love sound bored by
comparison.
None of the songs on the album kick
into full gear as fully as they did on
Relish. On a few occasions, God forbid,
Osborne’s vocals at first sound frighten
ingly similar to Bette Midler (shudder).
Instead of getting steamrolled on the
first listen, Righteous Love is an album that
displays its magic slowly.
Having expanded her vocal horizons
away from all-out belting, Osborne
jl§ hbi * 1 tnKBSMBtI.m-
Joan Osborne takes anew musical approach on Righteous Love, adding
Indian influences to her mix of God, sex and the blues.
embraced Indian classical and qawwali
styles. Osborne has discarded any
“blues shouter” cliches in favor of a
sleek, vampy style ultimately no less
evocative (or provocative) than’ her
work on Relish.
This immersion into Indian music
has affected Osborne’s well-document
ed spirituality as well.
Thematically, Righteous Love is a logi
cal progression from the Relish-era.
Whereas Relish featured songs of broken
women and sexual freedom - stressing
the fact that the two need not be syn
onymous - Righteous Love focuses pri
marily on love’s ability to transform,
completely fusing spiritual and sexual
love in the process.
For this reason, Righteous Love's tracks
could be considered hymns or songs for
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eager guys to put on before a midnight
tryst. Osborne’s subject on “My Love Is
Alive” could be God, or a man walking
down the street, for all the listener
knows.
On “Grand Illusion,” the album’s
most moving track, Osborne sings as if
enlightened. The song celebrates the
destruction of self-absorption before
self-awareness kicks in, buoyed through
out with a bubbly, ’Bos synth-blues
hybrid.
This album could be considered
Osborne’s sophomore slump or second
debut album, depending on the listen
er’s sensibilities and patience. But spend
a little time with the album and you’ll be
handsomely rewarded.
By Russ Lane
9