Published on Apr 11, 1998
Imitation, it is said, is often the most sincere form of
flattery. If this is the case, then Jason Teach and Foam must
really be fans of Live. Their debut album Big Windshield Little
Mirror contains some solid rock, but if you weren’t reading the CD
case, you’d swear you were listening to Live, pre-Throwing
Copper.
But I stop far short of calling this quartet a rip-off of Ed
Kowalczyk and crew, as some may be inclined to do upon first
listen. While Foam sounds a lot like Live, down to the groove of
the music, they do have their own unique voice as well – the
problem being that they haven’t been given a fair chance to develop
it yet.
Rounded out by lead guitarist Scott Fisher, bassist Keith Palmer
and drummer Joel Weedy (who, for some strange reason, isn’t in the
album’s credits that I can find), Foam plow through eleven songs
that do get me interested in the alternative rock scene again,
though it takes a little time to build up initial
interest.
“Venus” says it all on Big Windshield Little Mirror; the groove
these four musicians lay down is incredibly powerful without
resorting to distortion up the yin-yang. It may not be an original
sound, but it works on this number.
But the biggest bone of contention with this album is, frankly,
it’s confusing. I’ve now listened to it several times, and I’m torn
between liking it and writing it off as a “first-effort”. Songs
like “Head Not Love,” “I Can Hardly Wait” and “Memories” are almost
constantly pleasing to the ears, while others like “Rollercoaster”
and “Ladybug” almost smack a little of R.E.M.’s pretentiousness of
late. Still others like “If” just fail to get off the
ground.
Maybe the difficulty I have with deciding whether this album is
good or not is the fact that Foam had to live up to some high
expectations. They were signed to a recording contract without ever
having played outside of their home state, and now are expected to
deliver the Great White Hope for the alternative world. Sorry,
kids, ain’t gonna happen – that’s far too much to ask of any band
recording their first album together (much less a young group like
this – Teach is only 24… boy, do I feel old).
Fact is, these guys are still very much learning the ropes, and
haven’t had the chance to fully develop their own style and sound
yet. Oh, there are shards of evidence that this sound is coming
together, such as on “Memories” and “Hands Of You,” but all the
pieces just aren’t in place yet – this is nothing unusual. They
need a little more time to slam through sets in clubs, as well as
some time on the road to earn their stripes (and scars). Only then,
I think, will Foam truly come into its own and have a unique style
and sound of their own.
So, after all my ramblings, I guess the final verdict on Big
Windshield Little Mirror is: You decide. It’s a pleasant enough
album to listen to, but like many first efforts I listen to, it
smacks of what should be and could have been.