Published on May 24, 2000
Every once in a while, I listen to a disc that is the equivalent
of Chinese food. I listen to it, and it’s very satisfying — but
when I sit down to write about it, I find myself needing to listen
to it again.
That’s why I’ve been promising my friend at Capitol Records a
review of
Holy Dogs, the latest release from Stir, for the past three
days, and am only getting to it now. The moment I sat down in front
of the keyboard, I felt like I had missed something with the disc,
and wanted to give it another spin. Good thing for everybody
involved that this was such a pleasant disc to listen to.
What, you ask, is Stir like? Take the alternative leanings of a
group like Live, throw in the vocal harmonies of Yes and add a
pinch of Dave Matthews Band. Okay, so now your mouth is watering,
right? The band — vocalist/guitarist Andrew Schmidt,
bassist/vocalist Kevin Gagnepain and drummer/vocalist Brad Booker
— cook up just the right mixture of alternative groove and layered
sound to make you wonder if this really is a trio pulling such rich
musical textures off.
From the opening track “Superstation,” it’s almost impossible
not to be hooked by these guys. There’s an underlying funk through
most of the tunes on
Holy Dogs that is strong enough to let you know that it’s
there, but never becomes overpowering in the music. Stir seem to
know not only how to create an appropriate mixture of musical
influences, but also how to keep it balanced for an entire
album.
Don’t be surprised if you keep finding yourself going back to
such tracks as “New Beginning” (which better be topping alternative
rock stations’ lists of most popular tracks, if there’s any justice
in this world), “Spaceman,” “Help” or even the infectious “Velvet
Elvis.” Be surprised if these tunes don’t get you tapping your foot
or humming their melodies after listening to them.
Granted, the formula starts to wear a little thin near the end,
especially on tracks like “Moon” and “Clear,” but the title track
that closes the disc nicely wraps things up for Stir.
The only real negative I’ve found with
Holy Dogs is that it doesn’t seem to have the magnetic
staying power that so many other bands who have reached some
marginal success have with some of their songs. Yes, tracks like
“New Beginning” and “Superstation” stick with you — but all too
often, I found myself questioning how tracks like “Help” or
“Grounded” went, even if I had just finished listening to the album
for a fourth time. Unfortunately, there really isn’t any magical
cure for this; only time and experience will benefit Stir in this
regard.
Still,
Holy Dogs is a disc that you can pop in and enjoy from start
to finish, without having any feelings of guilt afterwards. But if
you find yourself having cravings like you want to listen to the
disc again — that’s perfectly normal.