gullbuy music review

February 2, 1999

Televison Personalities

title

Don't Cry Baby...It's Only a Movie

label

Damaged Goods

format
CD

7 of the 10 songs are covers. My favorite songs on this are the 3 originals ("don't cry it's only a movie", "jennifer, julie, and josaphine", & "my very first nervous breakdown") and the cover of "t.v. on in bed".

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Los Cincos

title

Circa 1995

label

Sympathy For The Record Industry

format
CD

6 song record. 4 of these songs have also just been released on a double 7inch, but one of the songs not on that set is my favorite song on the CD. Los Cincos (from San Diego) have put out lots of stuff, including an LP as "One Eyed Richard & The Goddamn Liars" in 1993 on the Mollycoddle label, and a collaboration LP with April March last year. They generally are like a more real, harder Brian Jonestown Massacre, playing 60's styled mod music filtered through hardcore sensabilities.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Gay Dad

title

To Earth With Love

label

London Records

format
CD5

"I've seen this on more 'going to be big this year' lists then any other band. the singles not bad....its a pop thing". - Delia, on the Rough Trade 15/1/99 update. In this week's issue of Time Out in London, they write about this single, raving about the A-side, and saying that the 2 B-sides show a fondness for shoegazing. There's a "CD2" version of this release which features a longer version of the A-side and 2 other B-sides, but I haven't heard it, or heard any estimations of its worth.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

The Mondo Crescendo

title

A Boy And His Itch B-W No Reason Why

label

Train Bridge Recordings

format
7inch

They have a great looking site, and 2 more singles beside this one (1 on Dial Records, and 1 on BBPTC). Mike Landucci of BlackBean & Placenta Tape Club has said that he would send us a copy of the 7inch he's putting out by The Mondo Crescendo, who hail from Hollywood, L.A. They play pop with female vocals and some bite.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Dressy Bessy

title

Sunny

label

One Hundred GM Audio

format
7inch

This is the label which used to be known as "100 Guitar Mania". Dressy Bessy is John Hill (guitarist of Apples In Stereo), his (vocalist) girlfriend Tammy Ealom, and 2 others. Dressy Bessy sound like Jenny Mae's old band Vibralux, which put out great singles and appearances on compilation EPs (like "Cowtown EP Vol.2" & "Corporate Groupings" in 1994). That is to say, they sound a bit like early Blondie.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Kleenex Girl Wonder

title

Gay Gigolo

label

One Hundred GM Audio

format
7inch

This 5 song EP follows up the second Kleenex Girl Wonder CD. Everything on this EP is written and played by Graham Smith. To me nothing they do will ever top the "Long Live The Pelican Express" 7inch that came out in 11/96. This EP is pretty good though. Every release on this label seems to be pretty carefully chosen, and of good quality. Initially KGW suffered a lot of comparisons to Guided By Voices, but on this release they sound more like an Elephant 6 band. The unfortunately titled "The Art Of Heroin" is my favorite song.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Bella Vista

title

The Orange! Label'Midway' &' Dead Fish' b-w 'My Boy And His Motorbike'

label

format
7inch

The B-side is a cover of a song by The Carousel, who are fronted by Elizabeth Price and have out a CD on Vinyl Japan. We have a split 7inch with Bella Vista on it, released on the Newton MA label "Turn Up The Treble". Bella Vista is pop band from DC.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Micromars

title

Our Modulation

label

Motorway

format
7inch

4 song EP from Christer Jensen (Micromars), who lives in Trondheim Norway. He plays a Stereolab styled male vocal pop. The first song on the EP put me off to the record at first, though it might be your favorite. That song has a distorted Spare Snare style vocal .

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Crawling With Tarts

title

'Cotton Flys' & 'Ground Sifting Wind' b-w 'Lavender Bobby' & 'The Small House On Top Of A Larger One'

label

ASP

format
7inch

The first songs on both sides are great pop with a twist. I've loved this band for awhile and can't imagine an easier introduction to CWT's sound than this single, with its immediate "A-sides" starting off each side, and more experimental second songs closing out each side.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Rrope

title

Mahagony

label

Silly Bird Records

format
CD

Rrope's 2nd CD, w/7 songs. We also have their first 10 song CD on Smilex Records. Rrope sound like Pere Ubu mixed w/ Thinking Fellers, sung by Pig Pen McKernan. Michael of Crawling With Tarts plays drums in Rrope. rock / 2x7inch Rrope / "A-E" b-w "Oompah" & "Mike's Turn" b-w "The One You Want" 2 Star Recording / "Mike's Turn" was manually pressed and effected in the middle of the song by reducing the grooves in the center of the single to make it almost unplayable, so the stylus is forced to jump a almost non-existant groove in order to play, making it an interactive listening experience, as you may have to help the stylus across the grooves, and the record will never sound the same way twice. The beginning and the end of the song are pressed well., so you don't need to fear playing this song over the air. "A through E" is a great song as well, and entirely structured, though not by conventional standards.

---Carl, February 2, 1999

Cineplex

title

Posologia

label

Caipirinha

format
CD

This one goes out to Ivanna , who just returned from her stay in Argentina. Cineplex is from Buenos Aires Argentina.They're differenent: sometimes fully electronic, sometimes even a guitar band with vocal; way out of character with Caipirinha's other releases, but quite good, and really trying something new, with an "organic" feel. Imagine Brazil's Caetano Veloso writing like he did in 1967 is a 1999 post-techno world.

---Carl, February 2, 1999