Published on Jan 7, 2000
Sometimes, as I do this job, I wonder whether it’s worth using
all the labels that people give music. Especially in the last ten
years or so, groups have been integrating so many different styles
into their music that it’s almost impossible to neatly categorize
anyone anymore. Even Metallica has performed with a symphony
orchestra… but we’ll have more to say about that tomorrow.
I’m further reminded of the futility of labels with the debut
release from the scoldees,
My Pathetic Life. They’re made out to be a pseudo-folk band,
but there’s more than enough pop sensibility behind these musicians
to suggest they could someday make a run for the charts. Anyway, so
long as the music is this good, who really cares what you call
it?
The band – vocalist Nancy Sirianni, vocalist/guitarist Jack
Hoffmann, vocalist/guitarist/percussionist John Collis and bassist
Ted Rydzewski – deftly walks the line between folk’s sensibility
and pop’s charm, but they do this so smoothly that it’s hard to
tell exactly when the switches happen.
The one song that clinches things for me on
My Pathetic Life is “All I Want,” a song that could easily
have come from the pen of one of the pop world’s hitmakers.
Sirianni makes her case in the song well, and by the end, you’re
thinking that our heroine really isn’t asking for too much, even
though much of what she wants is out of our grasps.
Likewise, the tracks “My Pathetic Life,” “Inside” and “My Bright
Life” all sound like they tell the tale of someone who discovers
the value of their life through the naked, honest expression of
their emotions. Now, I’m pretty sure that these three songs are not
meant to be connected, but the story they tell – and the way they
flow together effortlessly – makes it impossible for me to separate
them in my head… and in this case, I mean that as a high
compliment.
My Pathetic Life contains many songs that captivate and move
the listener in this way. “Kid Stuff” yearns for the return to the
simpleness of childhood, but not for the reasons that have been
expressed in so many other songs. In a similar vein, “Masks” shows
us how we can so deceive others – as well as ourselves – that when
we look in the mirror it’s not our true selves that we see.
Ka-pow.
While it took me some time to get into tracks like “Silly Girl”
and “One Stone,” the scoldees quickly calmed any doubts I had about
My Pathetic Life and convinced me that these tracks too were
worthy of any listener’s time and attention.
My Pathetic Life is not a disc you’ll presently find in your
local Wal-Mart… but if the scoldees are given the right breaks
(and I sincerely hope they are given a chance by someone in the
industry), that should quickly change. Remember the name: the
scoldees. That way, you’ll be able to say someday that you were
listening to them back when they were still an indie band.