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Page 4 DTH Omnibus Thursday March 19, 1992 MUSIC Byrne's lack of focus shows in bland effort David Byrne Uh-Oh Sire Records avirl Rump's larpcr rplpac 0 Uh-Oh, is an album that will 1 continue his recent trend of J perplexing, confusing and ultimatelydisappointinghis fans. It's not that Uh-Oh is a terrible record; it's just that we've come to expect so much more from the former mastermind behind Talking Heads. While Uh-Oh is brighter and poppier (calling to mind the sound of late-'80s Talking Heads) than Byrne's last solo outing, the Latin-Caribbean experiment Rei Momo, the new al bum finds Byrne still clinging to his newly discovered passion for South American beats. For the most part, it just doesn't work. The majority of the songs on the album are conga and horn-driven (Angel Fernandez's trumpet is prob ably the best thing I can say about Uh Oh), with Byrne's subtle guitar-playing thrown in for good measure. Un My Sisters Machine no ripoff of Seattle sound My Sister's Machine Diva Caroline Records 12 PI ot long ago, when someone mentioned the "Seattle I Sound," a menagerie of dif 1 ferent guitar-based rock would come to mind. As bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden have become more popular, the Seattle Sound has be come stereotyped. With their first album, Diva, Seattle quartet My Sister's Machine perfectly captures this sound. But instead of sounding as PYEWACKET JaredLevy derneath the playful salsa pop, are of course, the biting, sarcastic and hu morous lyrics one would expect to hear from David Byrne. But where Byrne's songs were once unpredict able, and often haunting with Talk ing Heads, there are few surprising twists to Uh-Oh. Most of the songs seem calculated and (I never thought I would say this about David Byrne) boring. On one of the better songs of the album, "Now I'm Your Mom," Byrne sings about a man who has decided to part with his penis and begin leading the life of a woman, and "Twistin' in the Wind" deals with the dirty poli tics of Washington, D.C. Another of the high points of Uh-Oh is "Tiny Town," on which Byrne cynically sings in the chorus, The whole world is a tiny townFull of tiny ideas." But these high points seem few and far between, and there seems to be a certain element missing from Uh-Oh. Byrne just can't seem to cap ture the intensity and the feeling of Mike Long if they have ripped off their peers, My Sister's Machine comes across as a fresh and energetic band, thanks to their quirky lyrics and their attention to driving rhythms. My Sister's Machine is made up of: Nick Pollock, vocals; Owen Wright, guitar; Chris Ivanovich, bass; and Chris Godhe, drums. The majority of the music on Diva was written by Wright and Pollock and most of the lyrics were written by Pollock. My Sister's Machine sounds as if they sat around studying the music of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden A complete repertoire of seaf(xd, pasta & vegetarian specialties Catering Sen ice Late Night Menu Espresso Drinks Elegant Desserts urgency that he once exhibited with his former band mates on such ground breaking albums as 1980's Remain in Light, and 1988's Naked. The music is simply bland in too many spots on Uh-Oh, and Byrne seems to be sing ing almost indifferently throughout most of the album. The problem with David Byrne is that he seems to have branched him self out in too many directions; from writing musical scores for various movies, to producing other bands, to working with too many different mu sical influences in his own music (Af rican, Latin, and Caribbean). Byrne seems to have lost his focus in the shuffle, and it is hard to take him seriously anymore as a pop artist. What has gone wrong with one of the most clever and influential musi cal artists of the past fifteen years, the man who practically brought about and defined the New Wave move ment of the late '70s and early '80s? Byrne, in "Girls On My Mind," sings: "I'm the star of my own movie Honey, I'm the leading manYou might ask yourself who is that guy?" Byrne might be asking himself that right now. Let's hope he figures it out soon. Because it'll be a shame if he doesn't. and then extracted the best elements of these two bands. Their music is a hard-driving combination of guitars and drums, which when paired with Pollock's deep vocals, forms a ca cophony from which there is no es cape. For those of you who don't feel like reaching for the "thesaurus, let's just say that they play kooky hard rock. The first video off the album is "I'm Sorry," a song that is obviously meant to convey the band's stereo typed sound to unfamiliar listeners. "I'm Sorry" is a good song, but there are some far better ones on this al bum. Diva opens with "Hands and Feet," a hard-rocking song, which contains the strange chorus, "I'll come walk ing through the trees for you." I'm not sure what that means, but it's a cool GRAND CANYON 7:C3 9:45 nightly " 1304.15SaL&SunMaL ARTICLE 99 730 945 nightly m W5M0 mm David Byrne, thinking 'God, I hops Jared gives me a good review' song. The bass line from "Hands and Feet" flows immediately into "Pain," another good rocker. The next song is "I Hate You" an angry punkish'song which is poignant, truthful and funny all at once. (I'll discuss the lyrics in a moment.) The last three songs on the album are the highlights. "Sunday" opens with a monster riff and dissolves into a bass driven song with sweeping gui tars filling the background. "Monster Box" continues this audio assault, with wa-wa guitar shoved into every con ceivable part of the song. The album's finale (and longest song) is "Diva." The title track is a roller coaster ride through tempo changes, guitar solos and strong vocals. Accenting this great music are even better lyrics. Maybe it's just me, but Nick Pollock seems to have a grip on everything going on in the world. In "Pain," he sings: "Life is a funny thingIf I threaten yours, it makes you want to fightLove is a beaut iful thing It makes you understand what you're living for." Pollock demonstrates his knowl- Burlington, N.OHoliday Inn I 85 &Rt. 49 (Exit 145) SAT.,MARCH21,1992 10:00 am til 5:00 pm Admission $2.00 All Kind, of Music id, rn. ak. Video, T-shirtsI laamt Cacouna fecocop Collector 1 I edge of modern love in "I Hate You" with these words; "1 hate youI wish it wasn't so I fuckin' hate youI love youI know what I said but now I love you. That s every relationship 1 ve ever had! He makes a subtle war demonstra tion in "Love at High Speed" with "What if all of your weapons shot lover To me, the most poignant song is "Monster Box" (don't ask me), which concerns women using sex to ma nipulate men. Pollock sings: "I know a monsterIt's a wicked disease Man is the victimIt's a pain he can never easeIt isn't beautiful anymore Sex isn't love this way." This guy definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Diva by My Sister's Machine is one of the most satisfying debut albums I've ever heard. My only complaint is that at 38 minutes, it's a bit short. I realize that a lot of bands have been slapping filler onto their albums to fit that 77-minute CD, but Diva isn't enough of a good thing. Don't be scared off by the weird name. If you like guitar driven rock with intelligent lyrics, then this al bum is for you. And if you think it's embarrassing to walk into a store and ask for condoms, try asking for My Sister's Machine. forgot It wait for a bargain Bin biy ; taje It from a friend bay It , - . bay twt copies
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 19, 1992, edition 1
14
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