Recording review - 45 Grave, Pick Your Poison (2012)

Resurrected death rockers get an eclectic reincarnation

Classic deathrockers 45 Grave are back, disinterred by original member Dinah Cancer. Actually, she reformed the band in 2004, after a long hiatus. Cancer resurrected 45 Grave to "keep the spirit of 45 Grave alive, introduce its magic to new fans." The current lineup, including the legendary Frank Agnew (The Adolescents), has finally recorded the band's first new album in decades. While Pick Your Poison features some of the Gothic flavor of their original work, the songs are an eclectic mix of styles. It's a fun album, with some interesting twists and turns, but it's hard to recognize this project as a logical progression from their earlier sound.

Pick Your Poison has chameleon vibe, bouncing from classic hard rock to funk metal, with a side trip to retro psychedelia. 45 Grave surfs through these changes with strong musical chops and solid production. The one constant from the band's roots, Cancer brings plenty of personality and attitude to the songs. The band makes their evolution clear from the beginning on the title track. Pick Your Poison starts with a steady high hat and bass intro that sets up a post punk groove. There's a taste of funk on the bass line, but Cancer's vocal injects some attitude into the backbone. Her voice is a little rough with a wicked sneer creeping in.

You are like a toxin in me
Pick your poison today
You are like a venom in me
Name your poison

The dark themed lyrics feel familiar, but the polished arrangement and subtle turnaround bridge are new masks for 45 Grave.

The next song is back in the band's classic sound. The original Night of the Demons was the title track for a 2009 horror movie remake. This rerecording is slightly slower, but the sinuous bass and guitar riffs are wicked as ever. The doom-filled verses crunch like classic AC-DC. Cancer rasps and screams her way through the tune, emulating John Lydon's swooping vocal delivery.

The high energy peak is Akira. This reworking of Akira Raideen (Only The Good Die Young) distills the song down to tightly focused funk. Skipping the slow intro, Brandden Blackwell's bass sets a heavy groove and Agnew's guitar jams off the signature riff. Cancer adjusts her vocal to match the new feel. Her voice is still expressive, but it's less over the top. Where the original deconstructed into a wild experimental flail, the new version kicks into short breakdown before a metallic solo jam. Blackwell shifts into a looser melodic style while Agnew shreds. This kind of focus and attention to detail is indicative of 45 Grave's new sound.

Even in the grab bag of musical genres represented on Pick Your Poison, a couple of tracks stand out as complete outliers. Desert Dream is a moody, piano-driven psychedelic instrumental. The slide guitar and pensive moments suggest a lot of time unwinding to Pink Floyd in the headphones. It's a solid piece of music, with a carefully developed beauty, but is it 45 Grave? In stark contrast, Johnny offers another extreme. It's a cowpunk foot stomper. It's a little easier to see the through line from the band's normal haunts, but it will still leave listeners scratching their heads.

This lineup of 45 Grave has good chemistry. It's certainly worthy of Cancer's efforts. Toss out the farthest outlying extremes and Pick Your Poison holds together fairly well. All the same, if they want to continue this eclectic direction, it might be time for a name change...even if the band continues to perform the old back catalog.

CD review - Jonathan Segel, All Attractions (2012)

Genre bending sounds support well written songs

Multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel was an essential member of one of my favorite bands, Camper Van Beethoven. His violin and other string instrument contributions gave the band's psychedelic folk pop an exotic flavor. From song to song, the band would surprise me by jumping from Eastern European gypsy music to goofy ska to trippy acid-soaked jams. While David Lowery was the voice of Camper Van Beethoven, Segel often seemed to provide the musical will for the band.

Because of this history (or maybe in spite of the past), I tried to set aside my expectations when I first started listening to Segel's new solo album, All Attractions. I knew this wouldn't be CVB and I didn't want to be disappointed. Within a handful of seconds, though, I fell in love with this album.

The opening song, (Ever and) Always, starts with a lazy, fiddle infused jam that builds a pregnant sense of expectancy. Each time the lightly psychedelic vamp circles back, new musical elements ripple through. It has the same nascent possibility created by a good Grateful Dead jam.

About five minutes into the song, though, the open ended wave function collapses the music into a solid, rocking song. This transformation disperses any sense of self indulgent Dead-style meandering. The changes are tight, with a Dramarama power pop feel. If the beginning seemed to ask a question, the second section asserts a clear answer:

So now I'm wandering through this world of forms
To find a blanket, keep you safe and warm
I'm asking every line, every shape, every point
Until I find the right thing for you
Because always is now and will be always to come
For every moment, under the sun
The water, the air, and the earth and the clouds
Are always telling me so
Because I'll always be there
Because I'll always be right beside you

With that reassurance, I slid into the rest of the album.

The second track, Hey You (I Know You Know Me) summons a mournful folky CVB sound that begs for David Lowery's voice. Track by track, All Attractions reveals Segel's driving influence on Camper Van Beethoven or maybe CVB's lingering effect on him.

Psychedelia, indie rock, power pop, and folky sounds pervade the whole genre bending project. Another favorite track, What Goes Around builds a cryptic narrative on top of a Tom Waits style rhythm:

You are the detective searching for clues
Trying to find out who killed you.
But you are the killer, leaving no clue
To evade the detective who is searching for you

Like a strange dream, the driving flow is inescapable. It's a twisted logic world as the song veers along some hidden track. "What goes around, comes around" is the circling mantra, as children's voices take on a disturbing flavor. The track comes to an end and the dream fades into the more resigned blues feel of The Dark Touch.

All Attractions evokes the magic of the early CVB albums with higher production values. Segel puts more of an emphasis on his guitar than his other instruments, but the album never sinks into predictability. Give a listen at Segel's Bandcamp page and also check out the companion instrumental album, Apricot Jam.