Published on Jul 29, 2004
It is sad that a band like Garbage (with no offense to the
band’s talented members and the quality music that they make) has
gained such acclaim and popularity for its ‘unique and seminal’
brand of rock music, when much before Garbage was even formed, a
band named Curve had introduced to the world the same sound, and
failed to catch substantial attention of critics and the public
alike, despite its musical superiority to Garbage. As a matter of
fact, during the time
Cuckoo was released, Butch Vig from Garbage had just
finished producing one of the finest grunge albums of the nineties
(Smashing Pumpkins’
Siamese Dreams), after having basked under the spotlight for
the gargantuan success of his earlier collaboration — with
Nirvana, to produce one the most influential albums of all time (
Nevermind): Garbage was nowhere in sight.
In the early nineties, grunge was big. “Electronica-rock,” which
is “the” music of the present times, was still in the nascent
stage. Such was the time, when the Halliday / Garcia duo of Curve
released
Cuckoo. With the underground music-scene teeming with grunge
bands, an electronica-rock album like
Cuckoo was out of place, and ahead of the times. What is
even more unique about this band and this album is the strong
female presence, in the form of Toni Halliday. With her beautiful
vocals — angry yet forgiving — in the midst of loud layered
distortion and winning the battle over the synthesized melodic
cacophony, Toni and her band-mate Dean Garcia can be said as the
harbingers of the “feminist-industrial” sound, which is now the
style of music for a number of female-led rock bands.
Leave alone the argument of whether Curve was ahead of its time
or not, as an album,
Cuckoo excels. Not in accordance with its hard-hitting first
single “Missing Link,” which is probably the only actual hard rock
song of the album, the rest of
Cuckoo is sophisticated, melodious and layered. With live
drums used sparingly (to be precise, on just three songs), the
album is full of interesting drum-scapes, supported by
conspicuously groovy bass-lines. The layered guitars have a lush
“shoegazer” effect, which suit perfectly to Toni Halliday’s smooth
and melodic vocals, and her laidback gothic style.
The lyrics are quite smart in a lot of places. In the rather
industrial “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” Toni wraps up
the whole song in one line: “We won’t be happy till we kill each
other.” Or, in “Turkey Crossing,” the words, “All my traits are
charming / I know you know that / they live beyond their means /
you might consider that a failure / I am finished with you, please
be finished with me” are sung bluntly, giving an added lyrical
effect to the textured guitar work of the song. Of course there is
an appreciable “feminine” presence in the lyrics: “My mind was
bigger than the world, my choice was being born a girl…I
understand when your patience deserts you…I think I’ve loved
but I am not sure / can someone tell me what I’m here for?”
captures Toni in a woebegone and somber tone, as she ends
Cuckoo with the touching and sensitive title song.
For its brilliant production (the album is primarily produced by
the industrial guru, Flood, who has worked with the likes of Nine
Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins and U2, assisted by
Alan Moulder), its smart lyrics, and its mesmerizing singing
performance,
Cuckoo is definitely one of the best albums of the nineties.
Add to all this, its seminal sound, and you get what is called a
“must buy.”