Anarchists or Archies?
Written: May 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Noisy, highly intelligent punk from soon-to-be math rockers
Cons: CAVEAT EMPTOR--production quality is a little suspect
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| TheAnimalChin's Full Review: Squirrel Bait * by Squirrel Bait |
In the immortal movie "Summer School," one of Freddy Shoop's students turns out to be a male stripper. When the Shoop truck finally confronts the young lad, Larry, threatening to tell his parents, Larry responds with a question. "What if you could be 18 again," he asks, "only you know then what you know now?" Such is Squirrel Bait, the noisy, highly intelligent punk band you'd wished you formed in high school.
Squirrel Bait's first release, dubbed by Robert Nedelkoff as "the most crucial record of 1985," is, indeed, a great album. Moreover, the record, made by five prep schoolers from Louisville, is surprisingly tight and focused, displaying a musical virtuosity unheard of in teen bands (especially when you compare it to Adolescents, Red Kross and Eater albums). Of course, all this goes against the words of Squirrel Bait, which bills itself as a entity created solely to reshape the world according to Situationist tenets. But then again, these guys also say their music is intended to make you do something crazy, "like eat a combination meal at Taco Bell."
I told you they were intelligent.
Nonetheless, Squirrel Bait has always been billed, in the press anyway, as Husker Du knockoffs, teenagers who wanted to sound as primitive as possible before they morphed into the dark geniuses heard on the Slint albums. But I would have to disagree. If you listen to this album close enough, you can definitely hear the seeds of math rock, which bloom so beautifully on "Spiderland." True, guitars squeal and wail, but rarely do they do so in unison. Almost always, each musician is pounding out a slightly different rhythm, which is noticeable if you listen really carefully (which, incidentally, may have been intentional, to sound slightly moronic initially, but considerably complex after a few listens). The drums, in particular, are indicative of this characteristic, as the drummers (Britt Wolford plays on a few tracks) rarely beat the standard 4/4 rhythm.
But the songs man, the songs! The songs are what I really want to talk about: immediately unique (and sad to say, somewhat dated), the songs are shining examples of what great music was produced in America in the eighties, contrary to popular thought. Tight, fast, never boring 4/4 sludge, Squirrel Bait delivers 8 songs in roughly 30 minutes (BTW: is there some sort of rule where teen bands can only put out 30 minute albums, not that I'm complaining...). My favorite is definitely "Sun God," with its slightly mythological imagery (see title), trite cliches ("let something go, if it comes back, it's a good thing") and defiant chorus ("take it away"). The other songs are also excellent, with their instantly memorable choruses ("when I fall," "writing the final chapter...never do the things I want to say," "show me your mysteries, show me what bothers you..." etc.) and fluid musicianship. This is one of those albums that makes you wish you saw the band live (in their hometown of Louisville, on some school night, as they make cracks about Anarchist philosophy and Calculus homework they still have to do).
If that isn't enough to convince you, the liner notes are also great, a juicy read to say the least. It is here that the band proudly displays the compliment (or comment?) from Grant Hart of Husker Du, stating that this album is the "best $400 he's ever heard." The notes also compare the record to, among other things, "I Ain't Marching Anymore" by Phil Ochs (and sung by Arlo Guthrie) and Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire".
Anarchists indeed.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
TheAnimalChin
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Member: Nathan Thompson
Location: Washington, D.C.
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 7 members
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