Good as Never

Chelsea on Fire's latest release; plus Martin Simpson's Cool guitar work

by John O'Neill

With live performances full of intensity, energy, and raw power, Chelsea on Fire have created quite a stir on the Boston scene in the past three years. Led by singer/guitarist Josie Packard's banshee wailing and ripping guitar, Chelsea follow in the footsteps of other heavy-sounding, female-fronted, Boston-based bands like Malachite and Chainsuck. With the release of their sophomore effort, Once Is Never (Curve of the Earth), Chelsea on Fire (besides turning in one of the best local albums of the year) show that, while they share the anger and angst that define many of their contemporaries, they are a lot more than a one-trick pony.

Once Is Never is a vastly different and far superior album than their 1996 self-titled debut. "All we really knew the first time out were the arrangements, we'd only been playing the songs a few months," Packard relates over the phone while on break from moving a sofa. "The second time we knew our instruments, so we could work on the sonics a lot longer. We wanted to improve upon [our first CD], so this is the consequence of taking your time. It's in color, too!"

Although the debut CD hinted at the band's powerful delivery and strong songwriting skills, it ultimately suffered from flat production and a repetitive formula. Once Is Never finds Chelsea mining the same slash-and-burn, full-steam-ahead terrain that marked the earlier release, only this time a more polished and accessible sound prevails; the band tone down their attack to discover vocal harmonies and even sneak some pop-flavored aspects into the mix. "We're still developing and our sound's still evolving," explains Packard. "As long as someone doesn't say, `Oh, they used to rock so hard'!"

No chance of that happening. Once Is Never may have rounded-off a few of the rough edges, but it's still essentially a heavy body of work. Packard's Joplin-esque vocal contortions bellow with outrage and anger against grungy power chords and the hard-hitting rhythm section of drummer Adam Simha and bassist Amy frame the songs with a beefy low end.

Although songwriting is a collaborative effort on all 12 tracks, it's Packard's tortured, nebulous lyrics and torrid intensity that really define their sound. Numbers like "You're Mine" and "7:11" are relatively straightforward, albeit somewhat twisted takes on relationships, while others like "Wig" and "5th X" are wide open for interpretation. "Some people will know what you're talking about, and some will bob their heads anyway," says Packard when asked to elaborate on her lyrics. "The whole point is to turn people on to [the music], and you may lose people if you're too direct. If people get it, it's icing on the cake. Hopefully, it generates conversation."

As for the intensity? "I've got a big appetite. It's something that needs to be filled up and [music] is one of those things. I don't know how not to be intense." Then with a laugh Packard adds, "Maybe when I'm asleep!"

Catch the buzz of Chelsea on Fire on December 6, when they play the Espresso Bar with Rawhead Rex, Swing Arm, and Stained.

Acoustic troubadour

The Plantation Club offers an early Christmas present that should appeal to anyone remotely interested in world-class talent, when England's greatest acoustic guitarist Martin Simpson comes calling on December 10 for a 9:30 p.m. show.

Simpson has spent the past 18 years recording and touring both as a solo artist and with musicians as diverse as Richard Thompson, June Tabor, Steve Miller, and Chinese flutist Wu Man. He's recognized as one of the world's premiere guitarists (gathering critical praise from sources as diverse as Guitar Player, Folk Roots magazine, and College Music Journal) as well as an outstanding songwriter in his own right.

Simpson's latest release, Cool & Unusual (Red House), is an all-instrumental album that borders on absolute perfection and the most pleasant surprise delivered to the Phoenix this year. Taking command of his love for traditional English, Scottish, and American folk music and seamlessly blending them with Afro-American, African, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern influences, Simpson creates an atmosphere that is Zen-like as conflicting complexities are boiled down to basic simplicity. "Darling Corey" (like many of the songs on the CD, a traditional title) melts from swampy-folk to raga intensity. And Irish folk tune "James Connolly" is given slide-guitar treatment and backed with a hauntingly bagpipe-esque cello for a bayou-meets-Highlands feel.

Simpson, who's helped along by a stellar cast of guests, plays with such understated beauty and feeling that vocals would be totally unnecessary. Through 15 titles and 58 minutes, Martin Simpson says it all more eloquently than any vocalist could.