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PLAYBACK
Meow Meow, "Snow Gas Bones"
Devil in the Woods
Since real originality is unattainable for most
artists these days, interest in their work has to be sustained
by their success or failure at varying the tried-and-true rock ’n’ roll formulas
in creative ways. Los Angeles foursome Meow Meow have twiddled all
the right knobs with their debut album, Snow Gas Bones, which manages
to take the squealing, squalling electric guitar distortion of bands
like the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine and blend it
with, on the one hand, the slow-tempo moodiness and emerging angst
of mid-period Pink Floyd and, on the other hand, the sweet harmonies
and catchy melodies of the Beach Boys and even the Beatles. Hard
to imagine, you say? But Snow Gas Bones surprises like that for most
of its 48-minute length. These guys aren’t just tossing it
off.
Christopher O’Brien, Kirk Hellie (these two are both credited
on the sleeve with “vocals, guitars, keys, bass, etc.”),
Michael Orendy (bass, keys, vocals), and Norm Block (drums) convincingly
demonstrate that they’ve been working on these multi-layered
compositions for quite awhile, and that there was serious concentration
on getting the right balance between the heavily processed guitar
static and the buoyant pop melodies and smooth harmonies. Check out “Sick
Fixation,” which is vaguely reminiscent of the Dave Clark Five
and other classic ’60s bands in its melodic thrust, but thoroughly
modern (or at least thoroughly early ’90s) in its surging guitar
and dense production. What a great song! It’s the kind of tune
you want to crank up loud on your car stereo. “The Killing
Kind,” despite its bursts of piercing atonality, features a
sweet vocal by O’Brien, inventive percussion, and background
harmonies that recall the Beatles “You Won’t See Me.” As
each song like this goes by, you become more and more convinced that
this is a genuinely cool band, one with intelligence and the patience
to concoct something fresh in the studio.
The epic “Amourosis” is a seven-minute stunner that’s
like a collaboration between John Lennon and Pink Floyd, crazy as
that must sound. There’s an “I’m Losing You” vibe
in the melody and vocal, but some deep minor-key disconnection and
frenzied outbursts on guitar and synth that are undoubtedly a little
prog-rocky. “Finis” is pretty classic melancholy stuff—and
just plain pretty, by the way. The arrangement is a marvel; love
that ghost in the machine haunting the track, and the shiver-inducing
ambient harmonies. Things get rockin’ again with “All
I Ever Got,” which deserves to be played on the radio, damn
it, and “Disaffected,” which conveys that exact state
by distorting the hell out of everything on the track, including
the vocal. It’s almost My Bloody friggin’ Valentine!
After seeming to peak a few different times,
the album soars to even greater heights with the closing trio of “Amplified Breathing
Apparatus,” “Known to Man,” and “Wear You
Down.” These are oddly sweet, contemplative, gorgeous tunes
on which falsetto vocals (on the first two) and some acoustic guitar
add rich surprises to an already surprising album, creating a memorable
finish. Snow Gas Bones is a success on almost every level, and deserves
to gain some attention for these thoughtful Californians. After enduring
a fair number of dogs in the CD pile so far this year, it’s
nice to report that this recording is truly the cat’s Meow
Meow… - Kevin Renick
http://www.playbackstl.com/Current/PBP/snowgasbones.htm |
