Rekkid Reviews
Soul Coughing "El Oso"
WEA/Warner Brothers
A little dictionary told me that "El Oso," means the bear.
Darker, and nastier than the last two Soul Coughing albums you get the
impression from "El Oso" that unless you can feed it some honey, it's
going to maul you to death. Missing from this album are all those funky
base walks and poppy riffs from "Irresistible Bliss," but in their place
you've got a lot of funky-ass, jiggle-your-booty,
I-can't-stop-my-pelvis-from-gyrating, back-beats. I heard a rumor that
these boys listen to a lot of Jungle and Dance, and if it's true, it
definitely shows in this album.
For a Soul Coughing fan, I say steal somebody's lunch money, count
your penny's, or sell your baseball cards to buy this album, for everyone
else you may want to hold back a bit. It's a great album, but it's
something that will take you a little while to get used to. Soul Coughing
is not you're typical top 40 band and they don't sound like it: there are
no guitar solos, they use a stand up bass rather than an electric bass,
and there are no spice-girlish sing-a-longs. The music itself isn't all
that easy to pin down. They sound something like funked-up acid-jazz with
spoken word lyrics and a lot of funky dance beats and samples, or like a
car accident between Miles Davis, Allen Ginsberg, and the Beastie Boys.
The bottom line is what they do is funky, it gets under your skin and once
you get a hook in your mind you'll be grooving to it all day. They get an
A+ in the "good music to drive to category" and a two-thumps-up in the
"bass lines to make your car jump" category. As of the "El Oso"
release
Soul Coughing has embarked on a major North American tour, so if you get
the chance to see them live, jump on it, and then decide for yourself if
you want to be the only kid in your town who doesn't know what they're
about.-Kevin Peckham
Mudhoney "Tomorrow Hit Today"
WEA/Warner Brothers
With a new producer on this album the big fear was that they would
be over-produced, artistically crushed, and sent through the giant
processing plant of big label production that spits out bands like Blink
182 and Green Day. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Their new producer
coaxed them out of their basement where they usually record and they went
hi-tech, but with out loosing their raw, lo-fi, live sound. And that's
what we love about Mudhoney. They are dirty, dirty boys, playing nasty
loud music and they are play it better now than ever before. That's not
to say they aren't past their peak creatively, because I think they know
that and I have a hunch that this will be their last effort. And a
glamorous one it is. It has a similar sound and feel to "Every Good Boy
Deserves Fudge" their best selling album that came out back in 1992 and
that makes you wonder what they've been doing all this time in between.
Well, they haven't been touring for one thing but that is all about to
change as they embark on a major North American tour. This might be our
last chance to catch Mudhoney live, which, of course, is the only way to
catch them. You won't find me at home when Mudhoney comes to town that's
for sure. Also, in the rumor bin, Sub-Pop may have plans to release a
"Best of Mudhoney: The SupPop years." That will be a must have. But so
is this album, "Tomorrow Hit Today." It's rock and roll with true rock
and roll "fuck everybody" flavor. If Led Zepplin grew up in the 70's
this is the music they'd be writing. But they're weren't, Mudhoney was,
and this is the album that should be remembered. I guarantee one of these
songs is going to end up in the soundtrack of a trendy snowboard flick, so
if you want to be ahead of the game just buy the whole thing now.-Kevin Peckham
Hole "Celebrity Skin"
Uni/Geffen/DGC Records
I wasn't sure what to expect from Hole with this album. With all the conspiracy
surrounding Courtney Love's song writing abilities, that is, whether or not she has any, a
new post-Cobain album was an interesting concept. Since it was, however, produced by Billy
Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, I had some what high hopes.
The album starts out with the first single and title track, Celebrity Skin. I'm pretty fond of this song, and it is a fair indication of what is to follow. While grunge has apparently passed away like so many genres before it, this album still rocks the angst ridden lyrics and lo-fi distorted guitar sound of 1994, leading me to believe that Seattle isn't as cutting edge as I might have thought. The album isn't all that different, soundwise, from 94's Live Through This. I think that more than anything else, this album proves Courtney Love as a musician, as well as an entertainer, and is certainly worth a listen from any hipster youth, even those who have given up on angst rock.-Brooke Geery
Gravediggaz "The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel"
BMG/ Gee Street
Attention Wu wearers and fanatics of intelligent verse: In a hive adjacent to that from which the Wu-Tang killa bees swarm, Queen RZA and his army of Gravediggaz are churning out some grade A plus honey. Through a buzz of intense beats, stingingly forceful rhymes, and the refreshingly unique, metaphorical style of the truly "Poetic Grym Reaper," "The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel" offers salvation from the monotonous and anaphylactic shock-less world that hip hop today has become. Give it the 1-2. -Rachel Cotton
Converge "Petitioning the Empty Sky"
Equal Vision Records
Converge is metal at its best. One of the most versatile bands I have ever
experienced, they spew a brilliant mix of hard and soft, combining anger, rage, pain, and
sensitivity in perfect ratios. With a piercingly sharp sound that evokes intense emotion
in the listener, these boys from Boston will seduce any true fan of metal and slap
upside-the-head and then seduce anyone who thinks it's all about the Ozz Fest. Prepare to
fall victim to the arsenic-laced sparkling cider and Strawberries of Converge.-Rachel
Cotton
Next Month: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
©1998 Yo Beat Magazine