Sound Bites
Yet another British band; Indie rockers Ditch Croaker
By Todd MartensStaff Writer
Supernatural Joy
(DGC)
According to every British
rock magazine, America has been under another so-called "British invasion"
for about two years now. However, British rock journalists are more worried
about keeping up on the latest publicity fight between the Gallagher
brothers of Oasis than keeping up on what is actually happening in the
world of rock `n' roll. According to the Brits, America was going to go
wild for Blur, Elastica, Pulp, Supergrass, Cast, the Manic Street
Preachers, Ash and the Bluetones. Well, thus far, this "British invasion"
has remained solely an "Oasis invasion." The other bands released their
albums, toured America and quietly went back to England like they hadn't
missed one sip of afternoon tea. And now, the British press is throwing at
us one more band we are supposed to go crazy over, 60Ft Dolls.The 60Ft Dolls is another
slightly above-average band that probably won't get airplay for much longer
than a fortnight. This five-song, 13-minute
EP speeds by like one of the cars on the motorway the band sings about on
"British Racing Green." This "live fast, die young" tune tells the tale of
a British auto driver who crashed, died and left a mess on the race track.
This is the best song on the EP and the sarcasm of the lyric When you
come around / I'll show you how fast it goes / the only way I'll ever fly /
the only real way to die is heightened by the overhanging imagery of a
waving green flag.Like every other band in
England today, this band's main influences definitely stem from the British
rock scene of 1977. "British Racing Green" opens with a typical Clash
guitar riff, settles into a fast-paced Sex Pistol rhythm and features a
lead vocalist who tries just a little too hard to spit out and distort the
lyrics."British Racing Green" and
"Yellow Candles" were produced by rock legend Jon Langford (founder and
leader of the art-punk band the Mekons), and therefore are not surprisingly
the best tracks on the EP. The production on these songs is not overly
sharp like that of Al Clay's (Del Amitri) production of "Happy Shopper."
But "Happy Shopper" also suffers from clich commentary on the British
middle and upper classes, which seems to be the rave these days in Brit
pop.The most interesting track
on the album is the simple and short "Rosalyn." This song is about nothing
more than a woman who has been left jaded by previous relationships and
finally smiled again, but features a psychedelic Blur-esque arrangement
without taking the effect too far. This puts the listener into a wondrous
dream-like state, but unfortunately it is probably too slow, too cute and
too short to gain much airplay on these shores. 60Ft Dolls have already
released a full-length album overseas and have received a fair amount of
critical acclaim after opening for the Sex Pistols at Finsbury Park in
June. However, 60Ft Dolls' American debut fails to separate the band from
any of its peers. Even with the help of Jon Langford, the band still comes
off sounding too similar to Ash, Manic Street Preachers, Supergrass or,
well, you get the picture. B-Ditch Croaker
Secrets of the Mule
(Reprise)
Ditch Croaker is the kind
of band you hear about and really want to like. This threesome hails from
New Jersey and has been working in true D.I.Y. fashion for the past couple
of years. The band established its own independent label, Fine Corinthian,
to self-release its early EPs, and cites as two main influences the
terrific garage rock of Minutemen and the low-fi pop artistry of
Sebadoh.Secrets of the Mule
is Ditch Croaker's first full-length album and the band is embarking on a
two-month continental tour to back it up. Ditch Croaker is one of those
rock bands you really hope makes it big. After all, you feel the guys
deserve it for going through all the trouble to do everything themselves,
and we all know the independent rock lifestyle is far from glamorous. It's
obvious that the band is truly in love with rock `n' roll and that's why it
is so disappointing when a band like Ditch Croaker is the given the chance
to make it big and releases and album like Secrets of the Mule.The album is not
terrible--just terribly average. Secrets of the Mule has a
garage-rock feel to it and the music isn't meant to be perfect, but that's
not the problem. The essence of garage rock is the perfection of
imperfection, but this music has all been heard before and is just way too
predictable. The album opens with
"Riverside Estrangement," which resembles Vitalogy-era Pearl Jam and
numerous other grunge-rock songs. "Widow's Weep" follows, and when the
charging bass line gives way to a worn-out alternative rock guitar riff,
the rest of the song is blatantly laid-out--even a huge Hootie fan could
time out the peaks and valleys. The rest of the album is more of the same.
Just another alternative rock band with nothing new to add to the
genre.Tim Newman writes and sings
the lyrics. His paradoxical writing takes shots at Catholic Cardinals,
longs to run from society and hide by a riverside, tells mournful tales
about a might-as-well-be-dead widow and has an evil conscience that is
hiding and waiting to explode. Instead of analyzing or approaching
alienation, loneliness and rage with a quirky view, Newman just sort of
tells it like it is. His lyrics are often wrapped in deceptive mazes that
when uncovered do not provide any sense of accomplishment or reveal
anything interesting. There's just a brief moment where you'll say, "Oh, so
that's what he meant" and then move on.Rich Costey produced the
album and his production values could be likened to those of a lazy Steve
Albini. Ditch Croaker has a sound similar to that of Better Than Ezra. Like
Better Than Ezra, Ditch Croaker's rock is a nice change of pace when
sandwiched between the Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden, but once the song
is swallowed, it's just digested and forgotten. C-