http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre000/e085/e08511jp4o1.jpg
It was 1999. The lead singer guy from the Presidents of the United States of America was a bankable star producer. Unsigned alt-rock bands were searching for a new sound, something somewhere in between the Rentals, Imperial Teen, Odelay, and "electronica." And so we got this band, whose "Electrolux" enjoyed a little bit of alt-rock radio play and then basically disappeared.
The album isn't bad at all! There's some definite filler, but also some really memorable stuff, with a kind of weird sound that manages to be both tinny and muffled all at once. There's some wince-worthy 90s-isms - record-scratching, telephone filters on voices, irrelevant po-faced movie dialogue - but then you hit the jams and it's all forgiven. The bizarre chorus of "Wilderbeest," the sweet melodic hooks of "Daisydunes.com" (yes, .com in the song title!), and the anthemic opening buzz of "68":
Climbs 'ternally t'ward the sun
Thirsty quencher but never none
Climbs 'ternally t'ward the su-u-un
I've always been fond of it. I've never talked to anybody else who's ever heard the damn thing. ILM, indulge me!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 13 October 2007 04:24 (seventeen years ago)
six months pass...
two months pass...
Oh for pete's sake, SOMEBODY else must remember this band...!
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 17 July 2008 18:07 (seventeen years ago)
four months pass...
Listening to this once again. There are definitely some duds in there but certain songs just strike me as sweeter and sweeter with age. It's not like a must-have or anything, but there's some good material here. "All Of Her Chords" is my latest discovery.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 24 November 2008 04:09 (sixteen years ago)
I saw that the P-Usa are doing that "one single a month" deal next year.
Presumably, with less success than the Wedding Present managed. (12 top 20 hits)
.. but with more success than Paul Weller's (one single issued, then they dropped it) (although it still charted)
― Mark G, Monday, 24 November 2008 09:40 (sixteen years ago)
nine years pass...
Strangely, the album is on Spotify (they're "Bicycle the Band,") re-dated to 2017, but with a totally different tracklist:
1. 68
2. Electrolux
3. Daisydunes
4. All Of Her Chords
5. Clean
6. High Plains Drifter
7. That Cat
8. Record Store
9. Wilderbeast
10. Oh Jesus I'm Dying
versus the original:
1. 68
2. Daiysdunes.com
3. All Of Her Chords
4. That Cat
5. Electrolux
6. View of the Valley
7. Bionic
8. High Plains Drifter
9. Pop Song
10. Clean
11. Wilderbeast
12. Oh Jesus I'm Dying
13. Fingerpainting
14. Earthquake
Probably a tighter and more sensible little debut record, but what an odd thing to step in and meddle with. I guess they felt silly about having ".com" in a song title. :(
― |Restore| |Restart| |Quit| (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 4 October 2018 17:25 (six years ago)