|
Having never been a huge proponent of continuity, I peed my pants
upon witnessing The Constantines incontinence. People who
get what Gomez is doing are going to be into this. Elements
from soul, blues, indie jazz and brit-pop are smashed together
in a sandwich you'd never concoct yourself, but if they're offering...
The denim-clad vocals aren't exactly a perfect fit at first, there
seems to be some conflict with the crisp jazz guitar tones and
the drone. You see, they're likely to grab hold of a diminished
chord and harangue the hell out of it like some Wedding Present
meets Joe Cocker deal. This doesn't leave much room for
melody, and the singer ends up with a three-note crawlspace where
he finds Ian Curtis. But after a few washes, it's all perfectly
comfortable. Artsy lyrics like, "Collect the body of Isadora
Duncan/forget your rock culture stuck in tow/let my limbs hang
crucified from Naja Schonbeg bow," give a continental air.
Yes, there's a Mellencamp/Springsteen connection,
they go as far as to inject a line from Rod The Fraud Stewart's
"Young Hearts" into their own device. But just as quickly,
they attack a high-ended wall of sound that brings Unrest
to mind. Then they'll suddenly break off a brief soul bridge like
The Temps "Papa Was A Rolling Stone." And speaking
of Rolling Stones, check the blues of "Some Party"
and "Justice," replete with soulful backup ladies. They'll
even throw in some Replacements alterna-punk for good measure.
These boys is going to do whatever they'se going to, damn convention.
-Ewan Wadharmi
Track List:
1. Arizona
2. Long Distance Four
3. Some Party
4. Young Offenders
5. Justice
6. Seven a.m.
7. No Ecstasy
8. Hyacinth Blues
9. St. You
10. The Mcknight Life
11. Steal This Sound
12. To The Lullabies
13. Little Instrument
Check out
more reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
The
Constantines
