Published on Aug 29, 1998
After well over a decade of reviewing music in many of its
different forms, I know an album is in trouble when I can’t
remember much about it immediately after the disc stops playing.
The album might have had some entertaining music on it, but when I
have difficulty remembering a lot about it, that sets off the
warning bells in my head.
The reason that I mention this now is because I found myself
listening to
Bang Out Of Order, the debut release from Bond. I had been
sent it to listen to some months ago, and just now found myself
getting to it in the “In” pile at Pierce Archives Central (where
our money is on McGwire, but our hopes are with Sosa). After
listening to the disc, I sat back, and asked myself, “What did I
just listen to?” I popped it in again, spent the 48 minutes plowing
through the 11 songs on it, and… the same result. Uh-oh.
Led by Steve Eusebe, Bond combines a fresher-sounding
alternative beat with well-placed samples in the music. Guitarist
Jimmy Hogarth, bassist/drummer Scott Shields and keyboardist Martin
Slattery round out the group – already setting themselves apart
with such a wild combination of people and instruments they
play.
The lead-off track “Starbucked” I first heard on the
Zero Effect soundtrack a few months back, and the song was
more than enough to stir up my curiosity about this band. Mixed
with double entendres and a vocal sneer from Eusebe, “Starbucked”
seemed to offer a lot of promise about this young band.
And, indeed, there are several cuts on
Bang Out Of Order demonstrates uncanny ability that this
band has. Tracks like “Nothing Fits (Fictitious Circle)”, “Anne
Grenade” and “I’m A Bastard” all are quite enjoyable, even if the
music itself isn’t incredibly deep. (Then again, nothing says that
everything I listen to has to be as deep as reading Sartre in the
john.)
The problem with
Bang Out Of Order comes into play around the halfway point
of the album. Many of the tracks tend to blend together, no matter
how many times you listen to the disc. Songs like “Headspace
Invader” seem to flow right into My Best Mate,” even if you pay
real close attention to the tracks. Once the music stops, any line
between the songs is immediately erased.
In addition, some of the weaker material is stuffed close to the
end of the album. “Dum Dum Blonde” is not a great work of art,
especially when placed next to some of the great tracks on the
album.
So is “forgettable” necessarily bad? No, not really – just the
fact that you can tap your foot and hum along to some of the better
tracks on
Bang Out Of Order is reason enough to say that Bond has some
promise. But in the end, when your friends ask you about an album,
it would be nice to have a better answer than, “Uh…”.
Bang Out Of Order doesn’t leave a strong impression in the
listener’s mind – and that is the major weakness with Bond.
I have no doubt that with time Bond will be writing material
that you’ll be talking about for weeks on end. It’s just that
Bang Out Of Order won’t even sustain the conversation for
one minute – possibly a sign of an inexperienced band. Here’s
hoping that they raise the bar next time.