Published on Aug 27, 2001
Brit-rock isn’t dead, it’s just moved to California.
I overstate but little. Butterfly Jones, the new project from
Michael Gurley and Phil Leavitt from seminal modern rock band dada,
sounds so much like the mid-sixties Rolling Stones I expect one of
them to get arrested for smoking hash with Marianne Faithful. Along
with a plethora of guest musicians including members of Venice,
Soul Coughing and Mary’s Danish, as well as a world champion
surfer, these Jones boys have turned out an album of catchy,
insightful, melodic, and delightful pop-rock on their first
release,
Napalm Springs.
Pop is one of the hardest genres to do well, because so many
people do it badly. (N’Sync, take notes here, if your handlers will
let you have pen and paper.) Butterfly Jones has an effortless
groove reminiscent of the Beatles or Barenaked Ladies; it doesn’t
sound hard for them to do what they do. Despite complex, rich
lyrics and harmonies, they still sound like they’re a bunch of guys
in a garage having fun. Musically, they’re tight and competent you
can tell Gurley and Leavitt have been playing together for more
than ten years. While there’s some experimentation on the CD – a
moog here, variant percussion here, and a couple of sweet string
sections – this is mostly about songwriting, harmony, and a couple
of guys with a guitar and a drum set.
The production is minimalist, which in this case is perfect – no
weird effects or distortion save what was played on a guitar
effects pedal. The sound is crisp and well mixed, and the songs are
brought to the forefront, which is as it should be. And oh, the
songs. These are some good songs. “Suicide Bridge”, “Anywhere But
Now”, “Alright” and “Are We In Love Again” are four of the best pop
songs I’ve ever heard. Occasional wandering into outright Brit-pop
homage work relatively well, though “Sunshine And Ecstasy” (Michael
Gurley describes this track as “The Who and the Association meet at
a Las Vegas rave”, and that’s more apt than anything I could come
up with) works better than “When People Are Mean”. “Sophie” is an
acquired taste; while it’s a gorgeous ballad, there’s a slight edge
to it that borders on mawkishness. The best track by far, however,
is “The Systematic Dumbing Down Of Terry Constance Jones”, a
bitterly funny about a bright little girl who grew up very, very
badly. It makes you laugh. Then it makes you think. Then it makes
you cry. Then it makes you laugh again.
If there’s a complaint about
Napalm Springs, it’s that it might be a track or two too
long. The CD loses a little steam around “It’s Cool Dude”, and
never quite picks back up. Had it been my decision, I would have
ended the CD at “Terry Constance Jones”; anything after it was
anticlimactic, anyway.
Napalm Springs is very likely to end up on this year’s Top
Ten list; smart, well-performed pop is as rare as an honest
politician. Run, don’t walk, and grab this one today.