 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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