The Arts and Entertainment Supplement to the Daily Nexus, for April 27th through May 3rd, 1995 Inside: An interview with Louise from [sleeper], page 4A. Plus: Lots of highly recommended music, and more. 2 A Thursday, April 27,1995 Daily Nexus Music Reviews of Jessamine, Saucer Attack, : The Final Frontier jSje Electric Company I’m trying to spread the word: Spacy to a whole album at one sitting, but of the music is nice! Sure, you can’t dance to it, 10 songs on A Pert Cyclic Omen, with all you can’t sing along, you generally can’t of the song titles anagrams of the album even tap your foot to it All you can do for title, about half are worth the effort On the most part is turn off the lights, light the best, Laner incorporates such sounds candles in your bedroom and breathe to as urban street noise and low murmuring, it, but hey, what’s wrong with that? chimes and whooshing sounds you might I’m not talking new age here — this imagine air makes as it skims over the genre of music can be very quiet but it can wings of airplanes. also be noisy, indeed. It has roots in in­ Medicine’s trademark screech and dustrial music, dance music and even danceable beat are prominent on songs rock. Even Love and Rockets has taken a like “Polymeric Accent,” but “Cyclic Pee stab at it on its last album. What space/ Matron” and “Elm Crypt Océanie” have ambient does best is fulfill the cliche of more of an icebergs-in-motion quality wide open landscapes of sound. This is found in bands like Bark Psychosrs and music that has weight and color and di­ Labradford. The final song, “I Can Cop mension. It is the soundtrack for journeys My Tercel,” retains its appeal with the in­ inside your head, indeed. German bands clusion of a whisper that cannot quite be may have started the movement 20 years understood. Noises move in and out of ago, but it is the work of Brits and Yanks the foreground, simulating the stomach that is attracting all of the attention now. rumbles of hungry and cranky machines. Electric Company is the encephalitic Flying Saucer Attack is two kids from child of Brad Laner, who spends most of Bristol and a computer. Their newest al­ his time rubbing metallic objects against bum, Further, differs from previous ef­ one another in the band Medicine. Laner forts in its accessibility. While the songs is trying hard to jump on the lucrative am­ are structured more like “real” songs, i.e. bient bandwagon here, and generally suc­ fairly intelligible vocals, acoustic guitar ceeds. I’ll admit that no matter how much carrying the melody, etc., the tunes are I like music like this, it’s not easy to listen somehow less accessible than before! Further requires a little more effort to lis­ Stereolab, on some of the songs, and ten to than Distance, the singles compila­ there are organs and synths and goofy tion, perhaps because the singles were de­ electronic noises, but Jessamine does not signed as complete entities in their own exhibit the joyous pop attitude of that right With Further, one must listen to the band. The organ is used to create an un­ whole album in order to comprehend the easy edge, and the guitars rock out at big picture. times. The drums are big, fet, ’60s power- These two have always incorporated trio drums. Secondary buzzes and hums water sounds, usually of the tide, in their are encouraged, and the overall sound is music. The new album features rain­ heavy and “five.” There is no worry that storms that, including the prominent gui­ Jessamine is only a studio band, manipu­ tar lines, create the atmosphere of sitting lated by levers and pedals, soulless and by a campfire with people who definitely anonymous. were never boy or girl scouts. Jessamine is tough: Jessamine is the un­ What is missing from Further is some assuming bookworm who would rather of the organic and mystical feels provided kick your ass than crack a smile. “Inevi­ by the near-tribal drumming on Flying tably” begins with an electric growl as a Saucer Attack’s first, self-titled album. precursor to the noise to come, then fea­ The excitement and tension has been re­ tures layers of sweet male and female voc­ placed by loneliness and longing. This als on top. “Cellophane” sounds like re­ mellowing out may not please those who gret —a fellow named Sonic Boom from have heard the band’s earlier material, Spectrum is probably fretting that he but at least there are other new bands to didn’t write it first. There are 10 songs on turn to, such as Crescent and Bardo the CD and not a bad one in the bunch. Pond, for people who miss the freshness Jessamine is an excellent album to try if of early Ikying Saucer Attack. you are interested in feisty, not ambient, Finally, Jessamine’s self-titled debut is somewhat psychedelic music. an enigma that cannot be easily categor­ ized. There are languid female vocals, a la —Rena Tom ter animation, a coral reef Various Artists tive CD-Plus disc* that cyberculture in its quests full of tropical fish, as­ HeadTravel Moonshine has just put into new technologies. sorted flowers, and a Moonshine out. HeadTravel is a two-in- haunting snowy owl, Moonshine is a well- one kinda jobby that is swooping down at you The other day, I had a known dance music label both a multimedia disc on and into a black hole. friend say to me, “Dude, that has nearly cornered CD-ROM and a seven- Combined with the music, one day computers are go­ the market on dance music track audio CD that can be it’s impressive. And the ing to take over the compilations. This latest listened to on any CD video footage continues world!” Considering the release is something I did player. with shots of past Bay rate at which computers not expect to get from The music on the disc Area underground parties, are developing, it is a Moonshine, but on the alone makes it a worth­ which brought back many pretty scary thought. But other hand, I’m not sur­ while buy to me, ranging fond memories and had right now, I think I can prised at all. The dance from the electrofunk me thinking of the next safely embrace new tech­ music being made these bounce of Deluxe’s "Elux- time I could make a trip up nologies without feeling I days is almost entirely tria” to the ambient wan­ north. This is definitely have sold out the entire computer generated and derings of A New Con­ something anyone inter­ human race to world dom­ therefore already directly sciousness’ “Environ­ ested in dance music, ination by supercompu­ linked to new technolo­ ment” But the music is multimedia or computer ters. At least for now, I can gies —I guess it was only a only half the fun. The CD- graphics should check be comfortable in telling matter of time before the ROM contains digitized out you about a new interac- house culture joined the video footage: 3-D compu- —Matt Turner You Talkin' To M e? TALK RADIO « 990 KOSB-AM LEYKIS in the afternoon SANTA BARBARA Daily Nexus Thursday, April 27,1995 3A Associated Students Morphine PROGRAM BOARD Yes Rykodisc presents The smooth, white ball Tonight at 8 pm! frees itself from my cue and glides swiftly across a maroon-surfaced table. It sends the tight triangle of pool balls into a flurry. Two stripes in the comer pockets and a solid in the BELLY left side. Smoke from a nearby sizzling cigar blurs my vision as it drifts quietly under an illuminat­ ing light from above. A jaded man strolls over to the jukebox accompanied byagorgeous, thin woman draped in blue silk. His glistening gold chain lifts from its dark bed of hair as he bends down to make a which came from their al­ man’s music adds com­ musical selection. Mor­ bum Cure for Pain, com­ plexity and glamour to the phine’s Yes begins to seep plimented the strange sleazy, low-class world from surrounding speak­ scenes of incest and failed from which he gains inspi­ ers. Perfect. suicide attempts dispersed ration. He turns water into Mark Sandman leads throughout the film. I wine. “Hotel rock ’n’ roll / me into a sleepy sway with could not stop listening to his deep voice and two- the discotheque electric this brilliant album that super sex.” Sandman string slide bass. Backed presented such a foreign seems to choose words by the sensual baritone sax sound. W/COLD WATER FLAT of Dana Colley and the that will flow unnoticed That was until Yes came alongside his echoing AT THE CORWIN PAVIUON gentle drumming of Billy along. Morphine main­ bass. Conway, Sandman creates tains the general feel of the a mellow mood unlike Morphine unselfishly previous two recordings absorbs all of your pain anything I have heard. The but is a bit more experi­ and Sorrow and continues absence of guitar gives me mental. Sandman reads unaffected on its way. the secure feeling that I his lyrics in “The Jury” Feed your addiction and GUEST LECTURE: can unwind and relax — backed by loose bass and fall into the warm, thera­ uninterrupted. A more sax that struggles to find a peutic arms of Morphine’s precise name for the band home.