The Sidewinders-S/T

Taking their name from the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn song, "Chestnut Mare,” the Sidewinders were neither country nor from the West.  However, the quintet were considered by many to possibly be the best live band in Boston during the dawn of the ‘70s. Their competition was fierce as the future mega-stars Aerosmith and the insurgent Modern Lovers were playing the same circuit.  In Boston, they opened for a variety of acts ranging from Big Star and the Grateful Dead to Del Shannon.They made the big time jump to New York and became quite the live sensation at Max’s Kansas City in Manhattan, where they became the house band and lead singer Andy Paley made it on the cover of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. They also have the historical distinction of being the second band to play at Max’s Kansas City after the Velvet Underground. Despite all the complications, they made it happen and continued the Boston tradition of making people want to hit the dance floor and linking Barry & the Remains and the Real Kids in the process. Their eponymous debut is also notable for being the first Lenny Kaye production.

Lester Bangs Seal of Approval

In a 1972 Creem review of their debut album, Lester Bangs called them, “Perhaps the “Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” surprise of the year.” However, Bangs considered the recording thin for its lack of bottom.  A recent Ugly Things interview has Lenny Kaye describing his production as “dry” and that he was exercising restraint from embellishments because he was wary of overproducing. Like the similar crisp production of MC5’s Back in the USA, Kaye’s sparse treatment gives the Sidewinders’ sound a distinctive streamlined minimalism that matches the music. Presented with this spacious production, these compact and competently played songs still stand out 50 years later as examples of proto-power-pop. Further, the album offered a more mainstream take on what the Velvet Underground (Loaded-era) and the Modern Lovers were doing around the time. In some quarters, the record received criticism for sounding too commercial due to its catchiness. What do you expect for an album on RCA?  A 1972 Billboard review got directly to the point: “Probably more closely geared to the Top 40 phenomenon, than underground.” With its clean production lines, it definitely would have passed the Motown test of jumping out from the dashboard AM radio.

  

Surprisingly, there are no traces of any singles being released by RCA. While not really representative of their propelling sound, “Moonshine” goes down smoothly and probably would’ve been tapped as their first 45. I do prefer the original version of “Rendezvous” over the Paley Brothers’ version that is more commonly heard. It’s one of the few times where a slower tempo works better for me. The dashing “O Miss Mary” has the feel of the Real Kids picking up the pace on “Sweet Jane,” with the song being carried along by its sweeping chorus. The foreshadowing of the Real Kids continues with the snappy “Got You Down.” The brisk song uncoils with guitars galore, including that “NYC subway sound” as coined by Jonathan Richman to describe the Velvet Underground. “Reputation” traces the lines through the Rolling Stones and "Jump into the Fire" by their RCA labelmate Nilsson. Surprisingly, Billy Squire would later join the band after this album was released and before he joined Piper. The talented Andy Paley went on to the pure pop act of the Paley Brothers before extensive songwriting, production and musical support work with Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman, April March and SpongeBob SquarePants. While not an exceptional album in its entirety, it does have its inspired and lasting moments. Overall, it’s remarkable this direct and tuneful album was released in the first place by RCA-especially considering how contrasting it was from the prevailing sounds & styles during rock ‘n’ roll’s mostly lost years of the early ‘70s.

Cashbox Feb. 19, 1972

Ko and The Knockouts-20 Years Later

This Detroit trio came and went like a flash of lightning. I still recall the excitement of hearing this blast out of the speakers for the first time.  At the time, they most reminded me of early Blondie. Hearing this 20 years later, Ko’s vocals recalled Lisa Marr of cub coupled with the rust belt resolve of Chrissie Hynde, while the band surges with the dynamic energy of the Embrooks.

This 2002 album released by SFTRI captures their early momentum of their brief short-lived heyday (2001-2003). They generated quite an initial stir as they quickly found their sound that has retained an enduring edge.  In fall 2003, I was fortunate to see them in Tucson at Solar Culture opening for Holly Golightly with Ko backed by an entirely different line-up than the musicians heard on this recording (Eddie from the Sights on guitar and Jeff Klein on drums, Jim Diamond on organ and some others from Rocket 455). While the show was good, there was a seemingly discontented mood of “I would rather be somewhere else” feeling in the air. Tucson is certainly a lovely place to be in November. Perhaps it was an off night like we all have.

Songs like “Cry No More” and “Go Getter” are instantly captivating with their dashing tempos and Ko’s harmonized vocals leading the way. “Set Me Free” breakouts like the incendiary freakbeat stormer “When the Night Falls” by the Eyes. Fittingly, a serrated cover of the (UK) Birds’ "You're on My Mind" follows.  They are able to slow things down with the smoldering “You Did It,” which displays their command of rhythm & blues and now emerges as a worthy candidate for sync licensing. Their inspired and charged-up cover of Nolan Stong’s "If I (Could Be With You Tonight)" is up there with the best of the Detroit Cobras as they make this Fortune Records group harmony classic entirely their own. This would have also fit perfectly on 2013’s Daddy Rockin' Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong and the Diablos. “I Wanna (See You Again)” is an indelible out-of-time pop song with a growling guitar expressing their inherent grittiness that was mislabeled as "Twistin Postman" (and never corrected on the 2007 Wicked Cool reissue).

They were quite the garage power trio and frequently took their propulsive rock ‘n’ roll sound out to the edges of glory, demonstrating that the roll is as important as the rock. Their memorable songs are still striking not only for their infectious hooks and catchy melodies, but also for their combination of straightforwardness with some deft lane changes within songs. All this should have made them contenders on the level somewhere between the subterranean Subsonics and the major label-era of the Muffs. Overall, they made their first foray into recording appear so easy to do. Their self-titled power-packed album added a new layer to the Motor City's monumental tradition of stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll. Consequently, has there ever been a Detroit group and/or singer more deserving of thunderous applause and opportunity for a second act? 

Eiichi Ohtaki-NIAGARA CONCERT '83

Eiichi Ohtaki (1948-2013) was a towering musical figure in Post-WW2 Japanese music.  One of his foremost strengths was his ability to ingeniously unify a multitude of musical and non-musical influences into a captivating and cohesive whole. Many of his musical achievements were seemingly impelled by his natural ease and resolve to manifest, express and share his own envisioned artistic world. In addition, his overall passion for music was second to none. Inspired by his surname which means “Big Waterfall,” he established his Niagara label to release his own music along with the music of counterparts like Taeko Onuki and Tatsuro Yamashita, who both would go on to renown in the Japanese mainstream during the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Collectively, their releases have gone on to be considered the core recordings of what is now known retroactively as City Pop. This music has been at its heights of popularity this decade as it has found a worldwide audience thanks to streaming.

Ohtaki himself has been called many things: Super Producer, the Japanese Phil Spector, and the Pioneer of City Pop. Unlike Phil Spector, the more you learn about Ohtaki, the better you like him as a person and artist. As a producer and composer, he deserves to be considered in the same visionary musical realms as Brian Wilson, Gregorio Paniagua (Spain), Sohail Rana (Pakistan) and Joe Meek. In fact, he's the most Beach Boys and ‘50s & ‘60s-influenced musician of the so-called City Pop musicians as some City Pop has a little too much Miami Vice Soundtrack-ish gleam on it for my ears. Some of Ohtaki’s notable productions include Celia Paul’s Yume De Aetara from 1977 and 1981’s Kaze Tachinu by Seiko Matsuda, which both shine with their ‘60s leaning production styles. Another aspect of Ohtaki’s immense talents was his ability to compose instantly catchy songs and create art on demand. In similar fashion to Roger Nichols in the United States, Ohtaki was commissioned to compose catchy commercial jingles (known as CM songs in Japan) for iconic Japanese products like the Sony Digital Handycam, Maxim Instant Coffee, Suntory Lemon, and Mitsuya Cider. Further, I can envision Haruki Murakami writing to this music as the Waseda University alumni seemingly share a similar pop culture aesthetic that encompasses a love for baseball, real & imagined travel and a deep knowledge of Western music, all which informs and inspires their respective art forms.

Tokyo City Pop in the record store wilds of Osaka

Arrivals & Departures One can jump into Ohtaki’s catalog at any point and discover if it’s not immersive, it is intriguing at the least.  Some of his ‘70s material could be pastiche-almost to the point of a Zappa-esque mishmash where he combines elements of doo wop and the Beatles in one song and generally works depending on one’s mood. He was indeed a musical omnivore as he incorporated, assembled and arranged elements of Okinawan folk music, Gershwin, exotica, Roy Wood’s Wizzard as well as Caribbean and New Orleans rhythms besides the aforementioned ‘50s & ‘60s pop influences. By the early 80s, he was able to transition from the idiosyncratic sound of his own private musical jukebox in his head, which can be a wonderful and whimsical place, and breakthrough to a more wide-open, boundless and universal sound. By evoking and expressing the feelings of departures, new experiences and returning home filled with newfound insights and inspiration, he found a memorable sound that had the most widespread appeal in Japan. His most highly-regarded and commercially successful release also happened to be his most fully-realized. A Long Vacation lives up to its hype as a Japanese masterwork and I consider it one of the best conceptual albums ever released. The album’s opening song “You Are a Natural Color/Kimiwa Tennenshoku” is even used as a departure song on the East Japan Railway (JR East). By connecting the Brill Building to City Pop with his own Wall of Sound, he suddenly became a Japanese hit maker in the process.

NIAGARA CONCERT '83 LIVE JAM 1983/7/24 Seibu Lions Stadium At the time of this concert, Ohtaki was riding the momentum of A Long Vacation (1981) and preparing for his subsequent successful 1984 follow-up Each Time. In this period between his two most popular releases, he also recorded two albums consisting entirely of orchestrated renditions of his compositions under the name the Niagara Fall Of Sound Orchestral. While these instrumental albums, Niagara Song Book & Niagara Song Book 2, are good as airplane boarding music, they are not great because their overall production comes across as a little too clinical, which is generally not typical of Ohtaki’s studio recordings. Things are rectified in the live setting as this album features both the Niagara Fall Of Sound Orchestral and Eiichi Ohtaki himself. Both musical acts were accompanied by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra for the concert. The live version of the Niagara Fall of Sound Orchestral transverses somewhere in the vicinity of the Hollyridge Strings, the Surf Symphony, the Beach Boys’ Stack-o-Tracks & The Smile Sessions and Song Cycle by Van Dyke Parks. “Water Color” in particular sounds like the Pet Sounds instrumental “Let’s Go Away for Awhile” converging with some soft-focus lounge pop found on a ‘60s film score. 

The cheerful “Like a Blue Sky” presents a lovely and sweeping melody perhaps inspired by “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “Navy Blue” by Diane Renay.  “In the Canary Islands” seemingly foreshadows Van Dyke Parks & Brian Wilson’s Orange Crate Art collaboration from 1995. These instrumental songs come across as alive and dimensional as the stellar recording captures the music moving through the open air of Seibu Lions Stadium on a joyous July night almost 40 years ago. 

Ohtaki then steps to the forefront to offer “Detective Story” from A Long Vacation which could be described as the Zombies’ “Leave Me Be” meets “Hurt So Bad” by Little Anthony and the Imperials suffused with Bacharachian inflections. “Just A Little Gentle'' channels “Cara Mia” by Jay and the Americans, while revealing Ohtaki’s knowledge that Brian Wilson based “Surfer Girl” on “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Another song from A Long Vacation, “Karen in Love” more than hints at “Where Have You Been All My Life” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded by Arthur Alexander and the Searchers. Next, “Funx4” starts off new wavey before becoming just playfully fun. The abundant and sweeping Spectorian melodies of “You Are a Natural Color/Kimiwa Tennenshoku” cascade down from the musical heavens as the concert reaches its pinnacle. Ohtaki’s signature number offers melodies that will keep swirling in your head for a week. As a consummate musician with excellent intonation, Ohtaki performs all of these songs with apparent ease on what would be his final live performance. The Niagara Fall of Sound Orchestral returns to properly close the musical evening on a lush note that was fortunately recorded for posterity. 

Ohtaki’s small musical enterprise has gone on to become an entire City Pop empire in Japan. By integrating some of the best aspects of Eastern and Western music, he settled on a sound all his own which was integral in the eventual rise of the City Pop movement. This sound would go on to inspire the High Llamas’ Sean O’ Hagan, Shibuya-kei along with contemporary Japanese groups & producers operating along similar wavelengths. These highly influential sounds are still continuing to ascend and radiate both in Japan and around the world.

Photo from Monari Wakita's Passing By single

The Volebeats-Lonesome Galaxy

Being that it has been 12 years since their standout self-titled double-album, it was hard to say if the Volebeats were still an active musical entity. There would be signs of life here and there like a live appearance at some place in Pontiac when Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary series premiered in 2019. Surprisingly, things began to stir again in early 2022. Still, it was unexpected and seemingly incongruent to hear they were signed to Ben Harper’s Mad Bunny Records. In a way, these unanticipated turns of events seemed characteristic as the Volebeats have always been consistently unpredictable.

For 35 years, they have been offering up their distinctive and melodic slant on Americana, while also transcending the genre. Along the way, they have amassed quite an extensive and enduring back catalog filled with a wide-ranging spectrum of sounds connected to a timeless past, which frequently strike the perfect tone. In other words, their recordings play like a magic transistor AM radio pulling in lost signals from CKLW-Windsor that are still swirling around in the atmosphere above the Great Lakes and the glacier-made flatlands.

“The Big 8”

The album is not just a continuation, which would have been just fine, but an exploration of some previously unexplored paths and new sonic regions. Their current landing spot overlooks a distinctive realm of twangy pop/rock/country/psych that could have only been made in the heartland under the Midwestern tinted skies. “Lonesome Galaxy” was originally slated to be a double-album (which would make two in a row), until Ben Harper became involved. Supposedly all the grade A material was gleaned and the sequencing was sorted out by the skateboarding acolyte of Robert Johnson.  Nonetheless, I would love to hear the material that didn’t make the cut.

Shopgirl at Spaceland

While being almost completely unknown by the general population and even in some of the most knowledgeable musical circles, the Volebeats occupy an unique position in that they are followed by a devoted contingent of listeners across the globe, with the largest concentrations of their audience naturally found in Spain. Still the band has almost always been alluringly somewhat removed as they seemingly exist and create in self-imposed obscurity somewhere between Hamtramck and Howell. You might be thinking, “Weren't they the band in Steve Martin’s Shopgirl playing at Spaceland?” I would respond that appearance did not really move the needle as it was fiction over the fact they did not really extensively tour in the first place. Certainly, they would have more crossover appeal if they were not so willfully obscure. Even in their native Detroit, live appearances are a rare thing.  Obligations and jobs probably prevent any extensive touring, which one can and should respect. I did see them play a short stack of songs at the Ghettoblaster CD release show in 1997 at the Magic Stick. Yet, this approach of no approach can stall out at times and even backfire. I could go on and on about their disproportionate lack of recognition until the cow/punks come home.

The biggest factor probably holding them back is probably their biggest asset in that they are not the dad rock of Wilco or the Old 97’s, but are more aligned to the Long Ryders, the Silos or their Canadian counterparts the Sadies in the loosely defined genres of what was once known as insurgent country or roots rock. These twangsters certainly deserve wider recognition and a larger listenership, but for now they continue to be a tried, true and timeless band for a small, but appreciative audience.

What Year Is This and Who Are They Playing for?

“Country-influenced R n' R, with Motown hooks and British Invasion harmonies” As the group has always been seemingly around, their own experiences stretch back decades through several interstitial layers and iterations of the Detroit scene, while their influences go back even further into the core and trace elements of 20th century music. Deep knowledge runs through their music as they draw their musical current from many tributaries. They have compiled an enduring stack of recordings over the years that are filled with memorable songs and some unexpected covers. The band is certainly versatile as several of them played on those three exceptional, but unsung Denise James releases and also bit of a wild card as who else is going to cover “See You Tonight” from the Gene Simmons solo album? The compelling results of their rendition lands somehere between the Byrds, George Harrison and the power-pop era of the Searchers.

“Lonesome Galaxy” does indeed go off in some unanticipated directions, but overall the group maintains their identifiable sound, while coming across more open, expansive and spacious than ever. In addition, they deliver these songs with the most dynamic tension since Solitude. The band has been a proverbial revolving door of musicians, but the two core/integral founding members, Jeff Oakes and Matthew Smith, crucially remain intact at the epicenter. In addition, Scott Michalski (drums) and Russell Ledford (bass) have been holding down the rhythm section for years. The frequent personnel shifts outside the core four gives each of their albums a distinctive overall feel and mood.  Keeping this theme, the advanced first single “Diamond Ring” didn’t do it for me, However, credit should be extended to their valiant attempt to try something different with their attemp to establish a looping groove in an experimental disco sense. The effort ends up sounding like reheated Dennis Coffey with perhaps a reference to “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by the Undisputed Truth. Mountain Top Pop With its layer of acoustic dust over a sparkle finish, “All I’m Asking” brings “Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing” and the Forever Changes sound of Love immediately to mind. This is the Volebeats’s first album to feature the guitar dualing of Matthew Smith and Peter Andrus. Andrus came up through Los Angeles’ late 80s/early ‘90s punked-up rock 'n' roll scene centered around Al’s Bar and labels like SFTRI. The two are free to branch out into West Coast Rustic Rural Rock like the aforementioned Buffalo Springfield, along with the Beau Brummels, Hardwater, Moby Grape, West and the California Bloodlines of John Stewart. The intertwined guitars and blended vocals makes this their most California-centric record of the Southern, Northern and the Central Valley varieties. 

“I Needed Someone” begins with the shuffling chords drenched in abundant reverb that immediately puts on a big smile on the face and we know it's going to be the most Outrageous Cherry-sounding song on the album. (There is usually one of these poptastic numbers on each Volebeats release.)  It just needs one more turning corner melody or bridge to be the perfect song on par with “Pale Frail Lovely One”  and “I Just Want Someone to Love (For the Summer).” Further clicks reveal the Matthew Smith-ish styled song was surprisingly written by Jeff Oakes. If you like the buoyant pop side of the Volebeats, be sure to check out Mosquito Spiral and their outstanding 2010 double-album which takes several harmonic turns towards the Turtles. 

Buckskin Beat

As much as I adore their pop-rock-country template, there are daring and enthralling moments where it has seemingly been removed. “Whisper to Me” and “Numbers'' are punctured with pinpoint notes against a splotched backdrop of guitar drone tones spilling over adventurous arrangements. These two songs are the Volebeats at their most psychedelic as it’s Kaleidoscope (the Claremont, CA ones featuring the talented Chris Darrow) that the band cites as a major inspiration for this record. This pair sounds somewhere along the fault lines on the verge of earthy raga tones and the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Back to the flattened lands, “Learning to Get it Wrong” features multi-instrumentalist and singer Matthew Smith on trumpet and comes across as Mo Tucker playing drums for Saturday Looks Good to Me.

Jeff Oakes' baritone vocals of ”The Third Time” brings forth a larger than life persona like Waylon Jennings or Lee Hazlewood narrating a wide-screen tall tale bolstered by a swelling showdown organ. It’s terrain where Orville Peck and Charley Crockett have been continuing the tradition in their own ways and gaining traction. The album ends with a flash of brilliance. The closer “Stranger” contains ambitious harmonies imbued with burnished guitar tones echoing early Bread, Seals & Crofts and even “Ventura Highway.” It’s a bonanza of bright and dark tones and highly evocative of the rustic canyon era right before the dream faded. Overall, Lonesome Galaxy presents the band skillfully and successfully playing the same, but different card.

Scaling the Summit

While Mad Bunny Records initially appeared to be a mismatch as compared to their seemingly perfectly paired ex-label Turquoise Mountain, I do hope these accomplished musicians receive the best support of their careers. It’s hard to say if their association with Ben Harper will raise their profile, get them on the stage at Stagecoach or introduce them to entirely different audiences that will appreciate what they are doing. Theoretically, they are certainly now in a better position to reach a wider audience. Moreover, the Volebeats are now free to just focus on making music between the shadows and sunshine for the long-term. This has always seemed to be their sole concern all along.

L to R: Pete Andrus, Scott Michalski, Mattthew Smith, Jeff Oakes, Russell Ledford

The Sunjet Serenaders Steelband – Steelband Spectacular - The Sound Of The Caribbean

While mostly dismissed by the steelpan purists, its evocative liquid sound, stellar production and broad repertoire sets this 1966 album apart when it comes to steelband albums. It is also notable for being one of the first steelband albums on an American major label.  It was produced by John Simon who at the time was a young upstart at Columbia Records and was making a name for himself by producing Top 40 pop hits and albums by the Cyrkle. The New York-based Trinidadian and Tobagonian American pannists involved are still somewhat of a mystery in the mostly murky world of mid-sixties steelpan music. According to iffy internet listings, the group derived by way of the Mellotones and West Indian Steelband. It can be confirmed that they were managed by Horace Morancie, a Trinidadian and Tobagonian American, who was a leading political figure and cultural ambassador in New York’s Caribbean-American diaspora communities.

Well-chosen song selection, sequencing, arrangements and production coincide to make for repeat listening, which is an exception in the world of steel pan recordings. The album features contemporary standards of the time such as “Summertime,” and “A Taste of Honey” which continue to stand out because of their endurance factor and major melodies. Even the West Side Story songs (“Tonight,” “Maria”) maintain their sway despite the recent release of a disappointing remake of the musical. While standards, movie themes and showtunes might have been their particular strong suite, they also ventured out to incorporate vibrant Latin sounds such as “Piel Canela” by Puerto Rican composer Bobby Capo and the Latin Jazz evergreen “Poinciana.” For the most part they are successful with renditions of classical pieces like Chopin’s “Polonaise” that takes a brief detour through a Cubop passage, however “Artist’s Life” by Strauss does come across slightly shallow and touristy.

Typically, steelpan recordings fail to capture the distinctive sonic ambience nature of each specific steelpan instrument resulting in either an overall mush or metallic pinging shrillness. Their mostly uptempo sound is marked by a propulsive percussion which could have been the influence of the ensemble frequently playing at numerous festivals and marching at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This polyrhythmic percussion also helps seal bottom-end sound leakage, while providing forward momentum. Belated credit should be given for John Simon putting the many pieces together. I would love for him to provide glass-bottom boat insight into this recording as he does not mention the record in his memoir Truth, Lies & Hearsay, nor is it listed in his website’s discography. He should be proud to be involved with this recording. Besides, he co-wrote one of the album’s original gems “Sun Dance” that radiates with melody and rhythmic energy along with flares of the slightly abstract variety. Not only should this recording be acknowledged for its distinction of being one of the first American major label steelpan recordings, but also recognized for being a brightly layered and extremely listenable album that is still floating around out there.

Yea-ming and the Rumours-So, Bird ...

Yea-Ming and the Rumours continue to refine their distinctive guitar-driven jangly and twangy sound, while also branching out in new directions on “So, Bird…” Their sophomore album presents both a continuation of the melodic and sincere folk-pop-rock of 2016’s I Will Make You Mine and also an adventurous breakthrough to new musical realms for the Bay Area group. 

“I Don’t Dare” unfolds as an invocation and a welcoming call to listen. With a click of the recorder, the intimate opening number allows them to subtly establish their presence and begin creating a better world of their own making. Despite the harsh realities, obligations and distractions, this koan expresses the need to be resolute and determined to hold on to life's vital aspects by paradoxically letting go. Accompanying the spare and unvarnished song is a güiro played by percussionist Sonia Hayden.  The Rumours further expand and refine their requisite twang and jangle sound on “Oh Sweet Mother.” They bring sunburst ‘60s pop into soft focus with an exquisite and hymnal melody supported by overlapping harmonies. This sublime lead single overflows with even more jangly guitars than we have ever heard before on a Rumours recording due to the contributions of Matt Bullimore of the Mantles. The gleaming guitars sparkle and will have you guessing if they were nicked from the mid-sixties top pop of the Turtles, the Seekers or We Five. Regardless, the lyrics could be heard to invoke a vast array of spiritual mother figures along with our own and the human need for protection, compassion and forgiveness. The remarkable single is perfectly complimented by a sweeping video, directed by Chris Anderson and Lily Chou of JetLagRocknRoll, where Yea-Ming comes across like a young Chrissie Hynde.

The strummy “Back To The Days of I Don’t Knows” conveys the drone of Velvet Underground to the point where the guitar tones sound like bagpipes in the distance. Not only does the song reflect the chugging brilliance of VU, but also the dissonance of We Five’s “You Let a Love Burn Out.” Chen’s matter-of-fact vocals command presence and convey yearning for a new phase in life and music. Meanwhile, the lyrics point out that the closer you get, the further away you are and that's what goes on.

Surprising turns into unexpected places has long been a forte of Chen’s songwriting. For instance, “Pour Some on You” goes on for a minute before changing direction like a Taiwanese Nine-turn bridge 九轉橋. The arrangement, counterpoint, and harmony interplay to become slightly evocative of “The Circle Game” by Joni Mitchell if played by Moe Tucker, Rose Melberg or Dear Nora. The lilting song encourages an elusive sense of wonder and beginners’ mind approach, not by retreating into cloying tweeness, but by trying to make good things happen and finding momentum. There is obviously far more to it than that, but it's a viable starting point.

Changing Directions

“Look Me in the Eyes” demonstrates Yea-Ming’s inherent ability in creating graceful music containing life’s messy emotions. The endearing vocal inflections and a perfect baroque solo played by Yea-Ming on a nylon string guitar reconcile the very human volatility expressed in the lyrics. Overall, this song is presented with an awareness that ornate details and subtle measures frequently make the difference and often leave the most lasting impressions.

Yea-Ming adeptly made the best of the covid lockdown situation and found her musical way forward by experimenting with a midi keyboard when she was unable to collaborate with her band. The midi-simulated group of cellos embellish “Look Me in the Eyes” and provide contrast and variety. She should be commended for daring something different with this song that bridges her characteristic form and style and signals the literal and figurative turning point on the record and in her artistic development.  Additionally, it’s a glimpse into the process of change.

Striking the perfect twangy tone with abundant echo and taking the sound further into crossover territory, “Heartache Ain’t Nothing To Me” kicks up some dust. This mountain topper has hit-bound written all over it and could go on to become a timeless countrypolitan classic like "It's a Heartache” by Bonnie Tyler, Juice Newton and Ronnie Spector. Eoin Galvin’s jaunty lap steel playing sparks this boundless number and especially shines on the solo. On a related note, it sure would be interesting to know if the quartet would ever consider covering “Queen of Hearts" or even "Angel of the Morning."

From Sea to Tree

“Sleeping in California” made its debut at the 2020 virtual CAAMFest Film Festival. With an emphasis on capturing the ripples, along with some slight splashes, the elegiac and stately ballad signifies continual growth. With its retreat into nature, it’s a courageous step, while also acknowledging the unceasing threat of the continually escalating wildfires. The lyrics could also be interpreted as a declaration of looking for home in the disputed and contested golden state, while still being open to the possibilities of California Redemption Value (CRV). Lastly, it encapsulates that brief moment in 2020 when Covid-19 brought on the small blessing of cleaner skies and things were indeed quieter and nature itself started the healing process towards some sort of equilibrium. 

Rolling Tides & Sea Breezes The lovely and layered “I Still Dream of You” is tinged with Bossa Nova, while also encompassing folk, Hawaiian, and tourchsong. The “After Hours” track lands somewhere in the otherworldy realm between Ranny Sinclair and 河名伸江 Nobue Kawana with Yea-Ming providing the banjo-esque plunks on a nylon-string guitar. This understated beauty is a sonic display of her prodigious talents, while also a soundtrack of making her own path and seeing where the sound will take her. “Takeda Lullaby'' closes out the album and had my son in the back of the car humming along on first exposure, while it stirred memories for me of observing an August bon festival in Oxnard, CA.

What the Water Gave Me

“So Bird…” is the sound of moving forward into a new day of a new era along the western edge of the continent. It also provides a sense of natural stillness and rhythm in a moving and jagged human world still seemingly out of any semblance of balance. It’s no wonder that the oceanic is a recurrent motif and prevailing theme as the lyrics frequently contemplate the pull, power and vastness of the Pacific. Further, the album does not evoke the fragile and murky mood of the in-between and indefinite atmosphere of 2021 or the swirling turmoil and the sadness which permeated much of 2020, but maintains connection to a timeless past while also transitioning in the midst of recent challenges.

Best of Both Worlds 

This fully-realized and varied album offers the Rumours’ immediately striking Pacific Coast Pop with departures into directions leading to expanses over swirling seas. Not only does the stellar album connect Yea-Ming's past and present along with individual and universal sentiments, but also captures and reflects the rhythms and routines of the everyday. By ending with a lullaby, it leaves things open-ended and yet to be completed. It’s hard to foretell what subsequent efforts and the future will bring. For now, these starlight sounds express the full hope of another sunrise.

Photo by Chris Anderson

Freezing Hands-It Was A Good Run

Ever since their wonderfully ramshackle and seemingly off-the-cuff debut album, Coma Cave ‘13, appeared out of the Southwest blue in 2014 like a holy grail custom press pop album, Tucson’s Freezing Hands have been going against the prevailing forces, while paying little attention to fleeting trends and flash in the pan scenes. Who else offered a Zombies-ish cover of the Impressions’ “You Must Believe Me”?  Moreover, I consider 2016’s Freezing Hands II one of the 10 best albums released last decade. (It was hard to keep up during 2010-2019, as there were stacks of remarkable releases-especially in comparsion to this already disqualified decade.) With the departure of so many musicians this decade, I have embraced the concept of a workhorse-like clockwork band, releasing captivating records and hopefully stepping up to stages in the Southwest-if Covid conditions continue to thankfully improve. Additionally, their immediately catchy songs like “See’s Candy Girl” and “Born in July” are seemingly in such short supply and acts that once were influenced by the ‘60s and ‘70s power pop have moved on to ‘80s slickness (e.g., Mystic Braves) or even the ‘90s (Harsh Mistress) in the form of vaporwave.

Don’t take the album title as face value, as it's not a posthumous parting shot. This streadfast quartet, with decades of experience in a variety of Tucson bands, are now operating in perfect working order. The opener “Too Good for Too Long'' surges out of the speakers with a hammering stripped-down Stooges piano riff, Clem Burke-like drum fills and keyboards that evokes the Cuts when they customized the Cars and Matthew Smith took the wheel of production from Reigning Sound’s Greg Cartwright. The incendiary “Don’t Ask Me (as I’m Walking Out the Door)” lands somewhere in churn and burn territory that was once the domain of the Dickies and the margins of Marked Men with its beseeching vocals and cycloning guitars. Faster, fuller, larger and louder are the operative words to differentiate the start of this album from previous mid-fi efforts. Still, have no fear as Rendon is not going  Andy Wallace on us with his production.

Consistent Track Record

Along with arguably having the best singing voice in Tucson, Spillers could be considered the punk poet laureate of the old pueblo, whose lyrics could be read under a tent at Tucson’s Festival of Books. In addition, I’ve always detected a bit of Bob Mould and Mike Watt when it comes to the artistic intensity and econo ethos in Spillers. “Pallet Gun” seems guided by the magnetic poetry school of Robert Pollard and aligns near the head space of Frank Black. “Broken and Unspoken” serves up the razzle dazzle while examining the human psyche. In other words, it’s like the Young Fresh Fellows going “Space Truckin”’ with its coiling swells of organ and sing-along chorus bursting down the straightaways. 

There is also a definite glam slam element that connects both ends of the ‘70s spanning the theatrical rock of Alice Cooper, the Tubes, through Bowie’s “Suffragette City” (esp. “Mobius Strip”) to the Dawn of the Dickies and circularing back only to later reappear at the door to ring in the Knockout Pills. Underneath the glitz of the stomping “Here With The Babies,” is a rushing undercurrent of wry social commentary that evokes The Beanery, the 1965 walk-in art installation by Edward Kienholz or a recent weekend night of my own when I went back to the crush of humanity at a Deke Dickerson show at Tempe's Yucca, only to encounter many peripheral aspects involving live music that I hadn’t missed one iota. The space invading (beyond the venue's Electric Bat Arcade) and the weight being thrown around made one miss nominal notions of social distancing that was practiced by some for the last two years.

Date Shake

The record lifts off with the glorious “Lovers of Humanity.”  It’s simply the perfect pop song of the year in full out Beach Boys glory. The wrecking crew pop comes complete with Matt Rendon employing Hal Blaine's signature pattern “Bum-ba-bum-BOOM!” first laid down in “Be My Baby.” The record soars like the Dukes of the Stratosphere getting “Near Wild Heaven” with its radiant melodies and harmonies galore and restores my faith in Freezing Hands, music and humanity. These Tucson Toros fans are not afraid to be ambitious and hit it out of Tucson Electric Park and the hits keep coming!

“Too Many Keys” expresses something we can relate to when some of us are now carrying as many figurative or literal keys as a janitor for our jobs. The song combines verses remenicient of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with a chorus blending seamlessly into a Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hit or should I mention 38 Special-hanging on loosely before the bright tones of a Wurlitzer Spinet piano played by Scott Landrum appears as the solo and fondly evokes Zumpano. In addition, card game references and a sideways glance to the Steve Miller Band coincide to reveal their ace-up-the-sleeve. 

Extending the Range

With its layered harmonies, masterclass arrangement and varied textures “Regurts” is a sonic declaration that Spillers has come a considerable distance from the hardcore of Los Federales (which has proven foundational in Spillers' musical development and continues to informs their sound). “Life All Your Own” features that faux fifties vocalizing inside an English music hall that stretches back to the long gone Tucson bands of 2004 yore like Galactic Federation of Love with both bands’ dedicated following of the Kinks. I’m somehow suspecting Spillers might be the biggest Kinks fan this side of Lance Loud. “Timing Belt” and “Eric Hubbard’s Long Game” are rambling, yet snappy as pearl buttons numbers that take the scenic route and could be a loose salute to the recently departed Mike Nesmith.

The striking lyrics contained within offer another dimension as they straddle the line between the straightforward and the oblique. Not only does Spillers demonstrate the keen power of observation, but he is able to transform the raw security footage of life into magnetic melodies and appealing songs in lighting rod fashion. The quotidian concerns and competing priorities of the work week enter in and provide the songs a work/life presence and immediacy. You might find yourself singing the aforementioned “Too Many Keys...” around the house while looking for your keys or a door badge as 8 am rapidly approaches and time seemingly skips forward.

Matt Rendon (drums) & Travis Spillers (guitar)

The Dynamic Duo

In similar fashion to his musical counterpart and fellow Freezing Hand Matt Rendon, who I once described as "The bard of barbed précis on the pitfalls on the scene," Spillers also dispenses veiled references on Tucson’s lively music scene by catching and releasing slice of life vignettes which intelligently lambast over and under the abundant hooks. Still, Spillers is never sanctimonious as he employs a self-effacing sense of humor along with realizing a pointed finger means there are three fingers pointing back. Furthermore, satire is just one of their many tricks as few can currently match their knack for fastening hooks and melodies, musical knowledge and overall range of songwriting approaches to express their musical visions.

Peak Performance

The unsung quartet has always seemingly and smartly been off to the side and wary of putting their time and efforts into any singular musical movement because they have been around long enough to know scenes fizzle out and eventually fade away or implode overnight. Fittingly, their straight-ahead, yet slanted sound does not coalesce into any ready-made categories or time periods. Overall, these pop prospectors are one of the leading bands currently turning out a distinctive and enduring sound and making their own way in the Intermountain West. Out in the haze the desert mirage is real, the purple mountain laurel is blooming and Freezing Hands have struck their tone and reached another sonic peak.