AARON ATCHLEY
Edge of Time (Austin Records)
This record blows worse than a leaky gasket. I can’t think of a single
good thing to say about it except that, 37 excruciating minutes after it
starts, it ends. Of course, if you get off on sensitive-guy, singer-songwriter
pabulum with all the artistic content of a cereal box, you’ll stain the sheets
over this one. Happy whacking! – Chris Gray
SMASHMOUTH
Bands with tough-guy names have the added pressure of living up to their
unruly monikers. This self-titled cassette from Austin’s Smashmouth backs up
its ruffian image with a fist full of funk/metal resonance a la Mighty
Mighty Bosstones and whiskey-induced Bullet Boyish metal rants that are not
only creative, but raucous enough to bloody any headbanger’s lip. – Chris Marsh
TONY DE LA ROSA
Es Mi Derecho (Rounder)
This is a time of great importance in the Tejano world – many of conjunto’s pioneers are getting up in years, and now is the crucial
time to listen to them, while they’re still well in their prime and can still
crank it out. De La Rosa, of Sarita, TX, still squeezes that box as well as in
previous decades, and even adds a modern alto saxophone touch that would seem
to be borrowed from Norte�o music, conjunto’s Mexican cousin. This
collection of mostly love songs (with a corrido about a 1990 murder in
Laredo) is just as essential as any of De La Rosa’s vintage recordings, so grab
it now.
– Lee Nichols
JOE MITCHELL
The End of Slack
This is a fruitless exercise in
let’s-plug-our-guitars-into-the-four-track-and-call-it-lo-fi. The
I’ve-been-there-man songwriter pose also falls flat because the lyrics ring as
false as the
catchphrase-employing title. – Greg Beets
“Bonus Tracks” reviews all local and Texas-based
releases commercially
available. Send to: “Bonus Tracks,”
The Austin Chronicle, PO
Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.
This article appears in September 1 • 1995 and September 1 • 1995 (Cover).