Published on Jun 29, 1997
Sometimes reviewing music is like eating at a smorgasbord: you
tend to stay away from items you don’t think will be appetizing,
but when you get the nerve up to try it, you’re mildly surprised at
the product.
This could be said for the major label debut from alternative
rock band Yum-Yum,
Dan Loves Patti – though it also proves another old saying:
Too much of a good thing can be bad for you.
The band is led by guitarist/vocalist Chris Holmes, whose vocals
rarely rise above a pleading whisper. His subtle style of singing,
combined with a basic but pleasant guitar work creates a form of
alternative not heard in a long time. Pretty, but powerful. (Insert
your wine tasting joke here.)
When Holmes does put a little more into his singing, the mood of
the music seems to take on a more urgent tone. Unfortunately,
Holmes saves his pipes until the second half of the album – what a
shame.
Songs like the title track, “I’m Not Telling,” “Apiary” and
“Sister” all convey what alternative music was meant to be – and
was – in the first place. The only problem is that the sound
tends to stale quickly, and
Dan Loves Patti tends to fall short because of this. There
are no stylistic shifts on the album, tending to stagnate the music
and cause Yum-Yum to lose some of their impetus.
What Holmes and crew need to do in future works is to inject a
little more variety into their music – change the tempo here, move
the guitars up in the mix there. This isn’t a cake they’re making –
everything doesn’t have to be even.
It may be hard to take a band named Yum-Yum seriously – song
titles like “Doot-Doot” make it a little more difficult. But
Dan Loves Patti proves this is a band that will need to be
taken seriously in the near future. With a little more
experimentation and growth as artists, Yum-Yum could be a shining
star in the fading alternative scene.