Published on Jul 31, 1998
It never fails… every time I’m ready to declare alternative
rock dead, some group comes along to prove to me there are signs of
life in the stagnating genre.
This time around, it was the duo of Carrie and Libby Johnson,
better known as 22 Brides, who gave me reason to see new blood in
the alternative rock world. Their third album,
Demolition Day, reminds me a lot of the Indigo Girls, only
with more of an edge musically and lyrically. For such a short
album, a lot of enjoyment is packed into it – and that makes all
the difference.
Often, the lyrics sing about relationships and the pain that can
be caused as a result of them. The title track is one moving
example of the heroine in the song trying to break out of a
relationship that is headed towards (if it’s not already in)
trouble (“Getting out of here is the hard part now / You haven’t
learned a thing”). What provides the added punch needed to the song
is the musicianship of Libby and Carrie (who often trade leads
throughout the album); they know that a good lyric means nothing
without a good song to make the message hit home.
Similar to the title track, “Another Distant Light” looks in at
a woman who dreams of leaving a dead-end relationship, but doesn’t
seem to have the resolve to do so just yet. Lyrics: “He moves into
the distance / Each time I start to turn / He moves and so I listen
/ To learn what I might learn”. The aspect of feeling trapped is
summed up in the line, “I don’t know how to be free / So silently I
shrug”. Ka-pow.
But for the messages of hopelessness conveyed in
Demolition Day, there are moments where the rays of daylight
shine brightly. Tracks like “So It Goes” offer the hopes of passing
on life’s lessons learned from a parent to a child, even as they
look towards a new chapter in their lives (“Old words beyond us /
Water under the bridge”).
The surprising thing about 22 Brides is that despite the often
dark tone to the lyrics, the sisters Johnson, through their vocal
delivery and often upbeat tone they set in their music, are able to
help the listener feel better after going through the album. How
they are able to do this I am not certain, but whatever magic
they’re creating, it works well.
The eleven songs on this disc are surprisingly short; four
tracks clock in at under three minutes each. However, 22 Brides
seem to know how long it takes to get their message across, and
they don’t want to pad it out with any extraneous material. That
being said, I would have preferred the disc to be longer; something
this good shouldn’t end so quickly.
It’s too rock-oriented to call folk, yet it’s too folky to
classify as rock. Instead,
Demolition Day creates its own unique musical category for
22 Brides: just good music.