Sound Bites
Sweet 75 breaks from Seattle sound
Sweet 75
(DGC)
After keeping a fairly low
profile for the three years since the death of Kurt Cobain, ex-Nirvana
bassist Krist Novoselic finally has formed a band and started recording
once again. However, unlike David Grohl's Foo Fighters, Novoselic's new
band, Sweet 75, makes a turn in a radically different direction from the
"Seattle sound."Joining Novoselic in Sweet
75 are ex-Swans drummer William Rieflin and vocalist Yva Las Vegas, a
Venezuelan blues singer who actually used to perform on the streets of
Seattle. Las Vegas has a fascinating voice, even sounding like a huskier
Natalie Merchant at points.Novoselic has even stopped
exclusively playing the bass, for his primary role here is as the
guitarist. He utilizes an electric 12-string guitar for the entire record,
which produces an extraordinarily unique sound. As the album progresses,
the guitar sound is still markedly different, yet still quite alluring and
intriguing. The sounds created by the 12-string range from melodic, to
edgy, to melancholy.The first single, "Lay Me
Down," has a somber vibe, but progresses to inspiring in the chorus. Other
songs, like "Red Dress," "Poor Kitty" and "Nothing," which is probably the
grungiest track on the record, possess an edgier feel. They sharply
contrast, though, with two songs actually performed in Spanish, reflecting
the heritage of Las Vegas: "La Vida," which sounds like a lounge-act
number, and "Cantos de Pilon," on which REM guitarist Peter Buck guests,
playing the mandolin. There's even a song inspired by country music,
entitled "Ode to Dolly," an interesting alternative-take and interpretation
of the country sound.Though the commercial sound
is very listenable, the lyrics do get slightly tiresome. Almost all of the
tracks address a proverbial "you," and most of these appear to be about
relationships of the love/hate variety. Still, this has all the makings of
a hit album.Those expecting Nirvana
part two will be disappointed, for they won't find it here. What they will
find is a fresh, new band that will probably be around for quite some time.
B--Clay Marshall /
Staff Writer24 Hours A Day
(Atlantic)
The formation of the Bottle
Rockets follows what has now become a familiar story in rock. Lead
vocalist and writer Brian Henneman formed the Rockets after being inspired
by the Ramones, and that's precisely why it makes perfect sense that the
band plays music with a twang rather than a thump. 24 Hours A Day, the
band's third album, finds the Rockets playing a more solid and tighter
version of the country-rock-pop thing the band has done in the past. As
part of the new breed of country rockers that have taken rock by storm --
or at least a windy afternoon in the desert -- the Rockets are following in
the boot heels of Uncle Tueplo, which later branched off into Wilco and Son
Volt, Old 97's and Whiskeytown as bands that took the anything-goes
attitude of punk rock and applied it to country.Compared to the other bands
in the family, the members of the Rockets would be the kind of kids who had
their minds on dessert five hours before dinner time. The tales of
working-class frustration and love gone wrong are spun over light and fun
rhythm-led songs. Even when topics get serious, the Rockets are more
intent on providing the listener with a good time. Henneman has a become a
noteworthy narrator, which is displayed on the lonely father tune of
"Waitin' On A Train," but the band is still best when it goes after
toe-tapping, line-dancing pop-rock songs like "When I Was Dumb" and
"Perfect Far Away." The latter is arguably the best thing the band has
written, with Henneman using his simple, blue-collar voice to the best of
his ability while the band plays a rough, roused and revenge-punctuated
melody.The album is fine in its
own right, but Jeff Tweedy's Wilco and Jay Farrar's Son Volt still lead the
pack. It's a good time, even without a consistent number of songs to keep
knocking around in your head. B- --Todd Martens / Music
Editor