Jersey Beat Music Fanzine
Jersey Beat Music Fanzine - Celebrating 25 Years of Rock and Roll!

FROM THE EDITORS DESK:
A folkie manque, boy geniuses, and the return of the drone

Reviews by Jim Testa

 


TIM FITE – Fair Ain’t Fair (Anti-/ Epitaph)

Like Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Tim Fite is a character embodying both the comedy and pathos of the human condition, the creation of Jersey-bred (now Brooklyn-based) musician/rapper Tim Sullivan. Last year’s Over The Counter Culture was a hip-hop flavored rant against consumerism and mass media that Anti- released as a free digital download. Fair Ain’t Fair finds Tim still using the sampling techniques of hip hop, but returning his musical focus to the baroque hybrid of Appalachian folk and early 20th Century music-hall tropes that characterized his first release, 2006’s Gone Ain’t Gone. This Tim Fite is an odd fellow, dressed in baggy seersucker suits and suspenders, throwing out colloquialisms like “there’s folly in the pork fat,” weaving samples plucked from obscure bargain basement LP’s into multi-tracked vocal harmonies and loops created with acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, pump organ, and cheesy analog synths. At times, Fite will paint comic self-portraits with broad strokes, yet he’s also capable of painful self-evaluation, sometimes couched in metaphor and sometimes almost shockingly frank (“if I wanted loving, I’d love myself.”) Fair Ain’t Fair plucks melodies, beats, and motifs from traditional blues, folk, and even sea chanty’s; but no matter how old his sources, Tim Fite always makes it sound new.


BOY GENIUS – Anchorage (myspace.com/boygeniuses)

Singer/guitarist Jason Korenkiewicz might not have much of a future on American Idol – I really can’t imagine him crooning pop ballads or belting out show tunes - but his casual, comforting vocals should earn him a devoted following in the indie underground. There’s no trace of hipster swagger on this Brooklyn combo’s debut full length, which continues very much in the low key but highly engaging style of last year’s “Eureka” EP; Boy Genius doesn’t want to make you dance (or break the furniture,) just perk you up with an ingratiating, filling warmth. Critics love to compare the group to 80’s college rock and you can understand why; upbeat tunes like “Talk About Love” or “Lake & Michigan” have the bouncy energy and jaunty rough edges of timeless indie-pop bands like Big Dipper and early R.E.M. (In raving about the “Eureka” EP, I even compared Boy Genius to the swelling, propulsive, pastoral groove of the Feelies, high praise indeed!) Fillips of trumpet, head-bobbing bass lines, subtle organ fills, and cozy harmonies enhance the band’s bright, exuberant melodies. Highly recommended.

Bubble/Gum - The Free Love LP (myspace.com/bubblegum)

Ah, the drone. From the Velvet Underground to the British shoegazer movement to Sonic Youth, it's an indispensable rock 'n' roll tradition. And NJ's Bubble/Gum knows how to do the drone. On this vinyl-only 7-song EP, Bubble/Gum uses hypnotic, repetitive drones in a variety of ways. The album starts out with "Free Love," an acoustic murmur at first, just voice, guitars and harmonica, which builds with the addition of electric instrumentation, and finally erupts with orchestral trumpet. "Hearts Forever" begins with a simple, mesmerizing melody and Feelies-esque drums, beautifully augmented with xylophone. Galloping rock guitars and distorted vocals enter the mix on the short, electric "I Wanna," which gives way to a sensual blend of keyboards and electric guitar on "Birds Of Prey," "Rough Seas," and "Builds," augmented with some of the electronica and distortion that infused the band's first release, the Bright Colors (Are The Future) CD. The LP comes to a lovely, languid, and yes, totally droning epiphany with the 8 minute-plus "Good Luck. " This is a record you're going to want to listen to in the dark, headphones on, ready to dream.



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