Got it `Covered'

Here's the skinny on Thinner; plus Black Rose Garden call it quits

by John O'Neill

The thing about reviewing bands and the music they make is that as the "critic" you're forced to measure things against other like-things and try to judge fairly based on merit. And because we reviewer-types like to pretend we not only possess great insight but also the definitive answers to any music question -- and that it really isn't based entirely on personal taste or hype -- it's a pretty inexact science. One man's Genesis is another man's, well, Genesis. Often, it can be a genuine labor to be fair to something you wouldn't normally even consider listening to, never mind finding something good to say about it. Then, every so often, along come a band like Thinner who are so refreshing that all you can do is smile, tap your foot, and gush over how wonderful music is.

With the release of their self-titled debut, Thinner have been able to take 20 years of pop, post-punk, and rock and seamlessly blend them into a package that snaps a straight line from the Ramones to the Foo Fighters. More remarkably, the music not only incorporates 20 years of influence, it sounds as though it could have been recorded at any time during said period. "Covered" could be an outtake from a Plimsouls session, "Wind It Out" strongly recalls Hootenanny-era Replacements at their drunkest, and "I Try" could qualify as a song from the Valley Girl soundtrack by some long-forgotten California pop-punk act or just as easily fit on a Goo Goo Dolls release. Even a shameless cock-rocker like "She Don't Care" is played with such obvious glee that you can't not like it. But while comparisons are inevitable (reviewers do that a lot to makes them sound more qualified), it's actually a case of strong songwriting that gives these songs an untimely freshness. Great pop songs are indelible; and through music that is energetic, brash, occasionally ragged, and above all tuneful, Thinner have just given us eight solid examples of what great pop songs are. All the more incredible when you consider the CD started as a whim.

Thinner were formed in 1995, but bassist Neil Lucey and guitarist Dan Rugburn have been longtime scene veterans, playing much of the '90s in Boston-based Popskull. "We'd been [playing in bands] for such a long time and didn't have anything to show for it," relates Lucey over beers recently. "We did a CD to have something for our kids." Drummer Craig Wilson was later recruited to round out the trio.

Although they came together to record only a few songs, the project slowly snowballed into something much bigger. Producer Dave Minehan (former Neighborhoods frontman) acted as the catalyst for this experiment in progress. "He lived up the street," Rugburn says of Minehan, "and we'd get together . . . and stuff. He pulled us into the studio. We originally didn't even want to gig, but it [seemed] a shame to let it go 'cause it was so much fun."

These guys have spent a lot of years on the club circuit, but their passion for playing remains strong. "We do it 'cause it's therapy, loud music is like a drug," says Rugburn. "We all feel the same about that."

"People ask if we're getting too old for this shit," adds Lucey, "but it's actually easier to be more aggressive. When we were younger it was a different kind of tension."

Thinner plan to return to the studio to record with Minehan again in the near future, and though they are well-schooled in the building blocks of great songwriting, they're also aware of the decline of the guitar-driven sound on which they were raised. "We've always had the philosophy that it's our music," says Rugburn. "We don't care if it doesn't sell. We just turn up to 10 and go."

You can catch Thinner at Ralph's on January 10.

Local buzz

Black Rose Garden, one of the more popular local outfits of the '90s, have apparently called it quits. "For all intents and purposes, we are no longer a band," says Dave Robinson who has signed on as bass player with Huck full-time. "Everyone in [BRG] is sad, but it was time." A six-song EP will be released posthumously on Headstrong Records. Meanwhile, Huck have just put the finishing touches on their second CD titled Honeywagon, which is slated for a February release on Boston's Orcaphat Records. Advance copies are out, and the CD is nothing short of fabulous. The first single, "More Pop," is also receiving favorable airplay from college radio nationwide. Keep an ear to the ground for Huck in '98, kiddies.

Halobox have replaced guitarist Jay Reslock with Cast Iron Hike's Chris Popecki, who reunites with former Hiker Pete DeGraaf. Halobox have a single slated for a springtime release on Life Records.