Published on Feb 4, 2005
The mid/late eighties, and especially the early nineties defined
“American alternative music,” more importantly “American
alternative music, not influenced by the Brits!” Those good old
days saw a spurt of quality “college radio” acts bustling with
creativity — like 10,000 Maniacs, Throwing Muses, Sonic Youth, L7,
and The Pixies to name a few — that set the stage for the
post-punk American indie music scene, which sadly is defunct
today.
Thanks to the British invasion, the American alternative music
scene has lost its identity — not to mention its originality,
despite being replete with top-notch acts — completely, and it is
indeed saddening, the fact that that there remains absolutely no
difference between the American alternative music scene and the
British alternative music scene, now that everyone has started
sounding like the British. In the past decade, American indie bands
gained acclaim and fame for their individuality, but are now
getting praised for imitating the Brits; what a shame!
It is discomforting but true, the fact that the true American
“college radio” music scene today is “alternative” to the
prevailing alternative music scene; in bands that find it hard to
clinch a record deal, simply because their music doesn’t have the
“Brit” feel. The Coy is such a band.
Ideally, The Coy should be called a “college radio” band, but
with the prevailing college radio scene, they can be called
“nineties college radio revivalists.” The Coy consists of the
married couple Jennifer and Robert Hart: Jennifer sings, and Robert
plays the guitars. And, there are guest musicians — including a
rapper named APN, featured on “City” — that play other
instruments, making the music complete.
There was an interesting fact, or rather similarity between most
American “college radio” bands of yesteryears: they had strong
female lead singers, and the most innovative guitarists; The Coy is
very similar in nature to those bands.
Jennifer is an amazing singer. Her high and low notes include
neither maddeningly furious screams nor cloying feminine coaxes.
She is as impactful as ex-10,000 Maniacs front-woman Natalie
Merchant, and as captivating as Margo Timmins of the Cowboy
Junkies.
Robert’s guitars are inescapable, and are all over the album.
Much like Jennifer’s vocals, Robert’s guitars provide a strong
identity to the group’s sound. His music has the energy and the
unassuming weirdness of the sound that characterized “college
radio,” back in the yore.
Together, the Hart duo create a world of imaginations, mostly
dark, and of common human feelings, written in mostly intelligent
and sometimes poetic words, with references to water (drowning and
downpour) common to a few numbers.
In this otherwise creative effort, the production stumbles in
places, and the sound is at times weakened by the lacking recording
quality. Yet, the album turns out a winner. This is just to show
that an abundantly talented band can still churn out a quality
record, irrespective of the financial limitations that hinder the
making of it. The Coy is a band to look out for in the future, and
the Harts will hopefully bring back some identity into the American
“college music” scene, which has been so badly enslaved by the
British.
[
For more info on The Coy and their music, please visit
www.thecoy.com]