DEL DRAGONS
Trash &Tears
Having spent most of the Seventies with my head in the sandbox, I missed the
first wave of Stones-influenced bands and got stuck with Stone Temple Pilots.
Thankfully, the Del Dragons are 100 percent grunge-free, skipping a generation
to marry songs called “Crazy ‘Bout Tori” to those staggering, restrained Keith
Richards riffs. Pearl who? — Christopher
Gray
DIANA JONES
Imagine Me (New Shoes)
Diana Jones has a smooth, pleasing voice in the Carole King/Joni Mitchell
vein. With its shimmering strings, often lavish arrangements, and flawless
production, this CD has a feel that harkens back to the days when those ladies
were getting copious airplay. Yet the subject matter is very current, putting
Jones in a league with Catie Curtis and a cut above Ani DiFranco. — Joe Mitchell
SANDBLASTERS
Space Bar-B-Q (Music Harmless Music)
The Pulp Fiction soundtrack didn’t merely jolt a tidal wave of interest
in surf music, it also tied the genre in with B-movie schtick, tribal rhythms,
and twang — three things to which this Austin trio pledge their allegiance
over the course of their full-length CD debut. It’s not Man or Astro Man? just
yet, but rather a Mexican bullfight in the sand, and that’s still plenty
Tarantino for me.
— Raoul Hernandez
POI DOG PONDERING
Electrique Plummagram (Bar None)
Okay, I’ll admit it’s been a few years since I’ve been to the dance clubs, and
maybe that means I don’t know what’s up, but when I hear one of my favorite
bands being sucker MCs — remixing three songs from Pommegranite and
doing the rave thing on four new ones — I get confused. This isn’t Poi Dog,
it’s Eighties throwback synthesizer music. Yuck. — Louisa C. Brinsmade
“Bonus Tracks” reviews all local and Texas-related releases commercially
available: Send to “Bonus Tracks,” The Austin Chronicle, POB 49066, Austin, TX
78765
This article appears in August 2 • 1996 and August 2 • 1996 (Cover).