7 and 7 Is

The hip police have informed me that The Angels (formerly Charlie’s Angels)
are needed to protect the Palace, but I’m thinking much bigger guns are
warranted. While “Biographer” twinkles a little Galaxie 500, its A-side
partner, “Fitted for the Kids,” makes it plain that “lo-fi” is often a synonym
for “dem-os.” And what’s that noise on the recording besides tambourines and
hiss? Cicadas? The
B-side of this clear-vinyl 45 on At a Glance Records,
“This-n-That,” is more sleepy dross from this local band; barely more than a
strum and some voices in the background. Sounding just as half-baked is
“Symphony of Treble” b/w “Kasuality” (Touch & Go) from New York’s Blonde
Redhead. Toko Yasuda’s high whine, needling guitars, and a bottom-heavy,
syncopated drum beat make the B-side slightly more interesting, but the overall
effect is, again, one of studio timekillers. One wishes the vocals weren’t
quite as buried on The Hamicks’ fun, edgy, red-vinyl single “The Hamicks Go Dot
to Dot” (Big Jerk Records), because Bob Taylor’s urgent, Iggy-goes-Joe-Jackson
vocals on the B-side, “Dot to Dot,” are so frantic. Still, this doesn’t keep
the skinny tieisms of “X-Ray Eyes” from dulling the herky-jerk spasms of this
unsteady Austin quintet. The locals in Mineral, who’ve recently had their Crank
debut picked up for distribution by Epitaph, are far more controlled in their
minor-chord-to-major-guitar-explosion sound judging from their Renaissance
painting that doubles as a single, “February (March version)” b/w “M.D.”
(Caulfield Records). That, however, doesn’t make the vocals sound any more on
key nor the instruments any better tuned. You say the time is right for a
Palace revolution? I say most of these grunts ain’t ready for battle. — Raoul Hernandez

This article appears in February 7 • 1997 and February 7 • 1997 (Cover).