Taking stock

The latest look at local releases

by John O'Neill

Nineteen ninety-eight is off to a flying start here at headquarters. We've already had Thinner weigh in with an outstanding pop-punk debut, and Little Big Wheel make a case for themselves as a major force with their CD Home. Huck also have an absolute killer on tap, but we'll wait for the official release to review it, because whether we're in the liner notes' thank-you section goes further than you think in determining what makes a CD good!

What follows is a local roundup, because you sent it to us and all your hard work deserves our attention, even if we hate it.

Winterboy Volcano (self-release)

12-song CD

This is the second full release from Winterboy and his first since his inexplicable win as the 1995 Best New Artist in the Worcester Phoenix Best Music Poll.

Not a whole lot has changed artistically; he still bangs out singer/songwriter material with his acoustic guitar and some sparse accompaniments (cello, electric guitar). To his credit, the guy can certainly write some lovely melodies. His subdued guitar work washes over the listener in an almost sublimely restrained folk style.

Tragically, however, he writes lyrics for his music and, even more unfortunately, chooses to also sing them. Overwrought, pretentious and, occasionally, flat-out crummy are a starting point to describe Winterboy's foray into prose. Sample: "Once there was a hummingbird who's wings beat very slow/So he never got much of anywhere you know/But still he was lucky 'cause he was very, very bright/Stayed up studying quantum physics every night." Ugh. Granted, lyrics aren't always meant to be taken literally, but even given the weight of open interpretation, the songs still come off as abstruse in the worst case, but more often, they leave you wincing. Nice guy, bad CD.

Random Road Mother (self-release)

Six-song tape

From the beer-slicked floors of the Allston bar scene come Random Road Mother (they appear at Sir Morgan's Cove this Saturday). Wearing their punk-rock banality proudly 0on their sleeve, RRM crank out six infantile odes that range from the simple pleasures of drinking, taking drugs, and dating chicks with Tourette's syndrome to less-than-social commentaries on Mad Cow Disease, jail time, cross-dressing hookers, and plain ol' losing. Complex? RRM are about as deep as a Mr. Turtle pool, and that's exactly what makes these morons a great listen. In a world ripe with artistic pretension and extravagance, sometimes you need a good old-fashioned ass-kicking to set things straight. Pass the tequila and don't bother with a glass.

Woodgrain Theory Sounds of Perception (self-release)

Eight-song CD

As Third Eye, these guys put out a pretty good demo tape last year that sounded a lot like Spacemen 3-playing-Physical Graffiti-meets-Soundgarden-on-Quaaludes. With the national success of Stupor Group Third Eye Blind, the Worcester band decided to change their name to Woodgrain Theory, went back into the studio, and came out with . . . this.

Sounds of Perception finds the formula that made the demo so tripped-out and enjoyable slightly altered for a sound that is more direct and up-front. And though the production is a lot cleaner and fuller, the choice to head in a heavier direction is a bit of a disappointment.

Still, this is some heady stuff going on here and these fellas are mining some interesting ground, so much so that Sounds requires several listens just to get a handle on it. The music ping-pongs from Seattle-influenced growlers to Calico Wall-type drug drone, often in the same song as the rhythm section lays down a repetitive low end for vocalist Steven Gaffney to sing over, like Vedder on the brown acid, while the guitar veers from menacing to mystical. And when the whole thing is over, you're left to ask, "What Hath God Wrought?"

Fearless Leaders Land of 1,000 Hotrods (self-release)

Five-song tape

Four originals and one well-interpreted obscuro-cover that cover (in order) the topics 1) girls 2) girls 3) cars, hot dogs, cheap gas, and girls 4) alcohol overindulgence and potential sex with girls 5) poseurs. All and all, nearly 15 minutes of the relatively mindless, though well-written stuff that made early rock and roll so great.

Although there is a BIG rockabilly revival going strong in Boston, too many of the bands place emphasis on style over substance (they all look real authentic) or play the music with such reverential fervor they never add their own stamp to the genre. The Fearless Leaders demonstrate the same spirit as their Boston contemporaries. With one foot planted firmly in the past, the music is done with tongue firmly in cheek. Which, when you boil it down, is what rock is really about, having fun for yourself and hopefully spreading it around a bit.