Sunday, 23 August 2009
Rudyard’s 31st Anniversary with
Something Fierce * Spain Colored Orange
"Teenage Ruins” is a perfect song. Something Fierce take a great hook and beat the tar out of it—it’s as catchy as the Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks” but it’s a different kind of perfection, faster, louder, more frantic. Fifty listens (and counting) it’s still holding up. That’s “all-time great” in my book. Now let’s say, for sake of argument, that There Are No Answers subsequently faltered, failed to scale those lofty heights, never again took in that rarified air. Would it be a record worthy of seeking out? Yes. “Teenage Ruins” is that good. But Something Fierce wouldn’t pull that one-hit wonder crap on you. Time and time again they uncork songs I turn up as a matter of reflex. Guitar lines that are simple and infectious. Lead vocals that melt into backing vocals as they hold the vowel sounds at the end of the lines. I almost never understand the lyrics and I howl along anyway. (Isn’t that a symptom of Marked Men Syndrome?) There are nine excellent cuts here. It’s like a greatest hits record. The remaining three cuts, the relative stragglers, sound like Pete Shelley and company. That’s right, at its relative weakest, this disc reminds me of the Buzzcocks! There Are No Answers is the heart of my 2009 soundtrack." "Something Fierce has always been on a mission: say it fast, say it loud, make it fun and make it mean something. It’s that final ingredient that puts the band 10 steps above less mature locals: injecting an honest, relatable vulnerability into songs about solitude and bad attitudes...With There Are No Answers, Something Fierce continues to be refreshing in its sincerity." "Classic Marked Men thru the way of Buzzcocks '77 sound thats impossible not to shake yer ass to. Fuckin' A-grade stuff!" |
"We're not trying to make `acceptable' music," trumpet player Eric Jackson says. "If I said, `I think it would be totally cool if I banged a fork on a toilet,' Gilbert (Alfaro, the band's frontman) would say, `Cool, let's put some delay on it.' I've got a slide whistle. I've never been in a band before where I could play a slide whistle." It is this fearlessness that allows the band to do whatever sounds good, which is a wicked combination of pop, psychedelia, jazz and two voices: Jackson's trumpet blasts and Alfaro's sweet rasp. It all makes for a colorful painting that draws comparisons to Supertramp and ELO and draws fans of all ages. Alfaro and Jackson are joined by bassist Steven Burnett, drummer James Diederich, guitarist Randy Platt and synth/sample guy Justin Peak. This incarnation of the band has been together for less than year, but this week it released an impressive EP, "Hopelessly Incapable of Standing in the Wa"y. Standouts include "Momentary Drama", with its weird, carnival lead-in; "Will You Catch On", which Alfaro says is about the Houston music scene; and "Remember One Thing", a big, soulful ballad. "We all agree that the power of this band doesn't come through on the EP as much as it does live," Peak says. It's true; as good as the EP is, the band's live show is one of the best in Houston. The energy is big, the sound is big, the talent is unquestionable, the delivery is unpretentious. Jackson's trumpet is front and center like a showpiece and Alfaro is off to the side as if to say, `check out how great my band is.' The EP is being released through Chicago-based Lucid Records and run by ex-Braid guitarist, Chris Broach. "We played with Chris last November. He gave me a card with his number and told me to keep in touch," Alfaro says. Despite a bit of disbelief on the band's part, it did keep in touch with Broach and a solid partnership was born. The band is happy with the label and its distribution. "You can buy us at Target!" Burnett says, lifting his arms over his head in victory. Target's Web site, Alfaro corrects him. Alfaro is the "daddy" of the band, as Jackson refers to him. Alfaro cringes. "Gilbert's got a 10-year-old, so he's got that mentality," Jackson says. "I wouldn't say I keep everyone in line, but I am older than everyone else," Alfaro says. Whether he admits it or not, he is the proud papa of Spain Colored Orange, which started five years ago as a solo acoustic project. He made tapes of his songs for friends, who then wanted to join the band. When asked where the band name comes from, everyone teases Alfaro about having to answer that question for the rest of his life. He obliges politely. "When I was in first grade, the teacher laid out a huge map of the world and we walked around in circles and when she said, `Stop,' I was on Spain. My favorite color was orange, so I colored it orange. My grandmother has always had it hanging on the wall at her house. I was trying to come up with a name, and I looked at the map and said, `I can't believe you still have that Spain colored orange map on the wall.' and I really liked that phrase." The band feels confident that this EP release, which was celebrated earlier this month with hundreds of friends and fans, will be the ticket to some success. "We've got the distribution, we just need to have people hear it," Jackson says. "We all know that we're getting too old and we're not studio musicians, so this is sort of our last shot at really 110 percent doing something. It's time to do it right." -- Sara Cress, Houston Chronicle/29-95.com | November 24, 2005 |
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Last Update Saturday 1 August, 2009