Joy Division
Permanent
Qwest/Warner Bros.
Various
A Means to an End
Virgin
In the mid seventies, the Sex Pistols sparked a vicious punk rock machine that turned all eyes to Britain. It was at this time that vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Steven Morris felt it opportune to form Warsaw. After a few months, they discovered a London-based band called Warsaw Pakt, and Warsaw changed their name to Joy Division.
But while most other Sex Pistols inspired bands were spewing their angst outward, Joy Division made pensive, dark music that focused on the often stifled emotions of and sadness and dread within everyone.
While Joy Division went on to release a four song EP entitled An Ideal For Living, and the full-length album Unknown Pleasures, they also released a few hard-to- find singles, contibuted to a Factory Records sampler, and recorded a few songs during two live BBC sessions with John Peel.
On March 18, 1980 Joy Division had finished their second album, Closer, and were waiting to launch a US tour when Ian Curtis hung himself at his home near Manchester.
Although the band called Joy Division died with Ian Curtis, the releases of outtakes, live tracks and other compilations has continued up until the recent Qwest/Warner release of Permanent and Virgin's A Means to an End.
Permanent features fifeteen of Joy Divisions most relevant, memorable songs. While most people are probably familiar with "Love Will Tear Us Apart," every song on this compilation captures the encompassing melancholy of Ian Curtis. Wether it comes from the wailing "Dead Souls" (covered by Nine Inch Nails on the Crow soundtrack) or the more sparse "Atmosphere", Joy Division captures a serious side of music that we sometimes forget about. Permanent is the perfect reminder.
A Means to an End provides us with Joy Division interpretations from such diverse musicians as Low, Face to Face, Versus and Moby. While most tribute albums are usually a waste, the artists on A Means to an End have somehow transformed the sounds and style of Joy Division without changing the mood.
Girls Against Boys' beefy version of "She's Lost Control" explemplifies the most successfully aggressive alteration, reminding you how much Joy Division could rock. On the other extreme, Low chooses to strip down "Transmission" to the barest essentials, painting a delicate soundscape that only Low could paint.
Those of you who are not familiar with Joy Division would find this compilation a extremely palatable introduction. The bands are hip, the songs are well-produced. Those of you who are Joy Division die-hards shouldn't be nervous, for throughout Means to an End, the bands never lose touch with the music Joy Division. If Joy Division was formed in 1995 instead of 1977, their songs would probably sound a lot like this.
Acetone
I Guess I Would
Vernon Yard
Los Angeles based Acetone have done something very weird. You might not think they are very cool for doing it. Let me explain...
1993 saw the release of the trio's debut eponymous EP. With guitarist Mark Lightcap and bassist Richie Lee sharing vocals, and writing credits going to different combinations of those two and drummer Steve Hadley, the EP was refreshingly eclectic. Some Neil Young guitar work, some New York indie-rock and some slight psychedelia provided for four rocking tunes.
With the full-lengthed Cindy , Acetone continued to mix 90s songwriting with vintage sounds and vintage vibe.
And then there is I Guess I Would. Wouldn't you know it, those rockers have gone and covered a bunch of country tunes! What gives?
The seven song album includes "Juanita", originally by the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons, "Border Lord" by Kris Kristofferson and a bunch of other tunes by some of country's most respected. Not one original. Not one "rocker".
Sucks to be you because, with perfect country sounds and perfect country performance, I Guess I Would still rocks the way old country can really rock.
Go and buy this, you won't have to lose your indie-rock cred. See, Acetone is so rock and roll that they don't even care about what anyone thinks. When you are busy rockin' away to this record and one of your lame ass friends walks in and starts talking about how country music and Garth Brooks are not where it's at, you tell him something. You tell him that Acetone don't give one floating water-fart bubble about him or any of his Fugazi records. Send him packing and rock on!
Acetone opens for Oasis at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Sunday, October 22. P.S. if you are "too cool" to buy I Guess I Would, Acetone will soon release more original rockers on the sophomore If You Only Knew.
Engine 88
Clean Your Room
Caroline
Formed in late 1992, the Bay Area band then named Engine, formed from the end of Sordid Humor and Smoking Section. Capricorn Records recently released Sordid Humor's posthumous Light Music for Dying People. You may have heard the single, "Barbarossa", which featured Counting Crows vocalist and Bay Area resident Adam Duritz on the back up vocals. Apparently, Smoking Section was some nine funk band that folded after a short existence. All I can say is Engine 88 is wayyy more rockin than the band members' history would indicate.
Actually, I can say more. Clean Your Room is a collection of catchy, faster-paced rock songs that is diverse enough to even hold your Grandma's attention. In the day of the one-dimensional (Green Day) and the fast-but-boring (Seaweed) pop-rock bands, Engine 88 is showing 'em where it's at.
Engine 88 plays with Jawbox and Jawbreaker at St. AndrewÕs Hall in Detroit on Sunday, October 15.
Brute
Nine High a Pallet
Capricorn
Brute's Nine High a Pallet sounds nothing like the band's name might imply. With their clear and mostly mellow music, I can just see a bunch of neo-hippies at a Brute show, stoned and swaying side to side.
From Athens, Georgia, Brute consists of vocalist and song writer Vic Chestnut, backed by the members of Widespread Panic. Their songs are simple, but their sound is full, with melodic, clean guitars (except for a few upPbeat songs where the guitars get a little raunchier), piano and organs, sometimes harmonica and, of course, the maracas! Nothing particularly new, but then again, the band had no lofty musical intentions when they made the album; bassist Dave Schools says, "We just got together, played a whole bunch of songs, and had a whole lot of fun doing it."
And, as a whole, Nine High a Pallet definitely has a happy vibe to it. With Chestnut's high, Southern voice, the lyrics are sometimes humorous, sometimes meaningless - nothing too depressing, like: "Good morning Mr. Hard On/you've been so strange here lately," or "Mama ordered us some catalogue jeans/ she made the cuffs on the sewing machine."
Each song can be repetitious, but also hypnotizing. And, track to track, Brute'll keep you interested as they go calm and Southern ... tp up-beat and bluesical ... to their funky version of "Blight" they generously snuck on for you at the end of the album.
I'm not about to put on my Berks and hitchhike to see Brute (if they ever play around here) but I don't mind listening to them in the comfort of my own home. MR