Published on May 14, 1999
There are many people who feel that rock music, for the most
part, has grown quite stale. Even alternative rock, once hailed as
the font of creativity in the early ’90s, isn’t taking nearly half
the chances it once did. Even I, the eternal optimist (stop
laughing, already!!!), haven’t found that much to smile
about in the world of alternative rock, though there have been
exceptions.
Fleming & John are a duet who go completely against the
grain of rock today. They didn’t need a fancy studio to record in;
they used their living room. They dared to throw in instruments
that some of us have only heard stories about; with the exception
of “Good Vibrations”, when was the last time you heard someone use
a theremin? (How many of you have even
heard of the theremin?)
It takes guts to record an album like their latest release,
The Way We Are, and throw it to the wolves for mass
consumption these days. We should be thankful that Fleming
McWilliams and John Mark Painter – with a little help from a few
friends, including Ben Folds – had those kind of guts, ’cause this
album is amazing.
McWilliams’s vocal style is a cross between Lisa Loeb’s
schoolgirl-ish charms, Alanis Morissette’s snarl and Tori Amos’s
octave range. At first, listening to McWilliams may be a shock to
the system, but one quickly grows accustomed to her vocal style. On
tracks like “Sssh!”, “The Pearl” and “Ugly Girl”, her talent shines
forth brightly. Even on a silly little ditty about our obsession
with the remote control and how our lives revolve around it
(“That’s All I Know”), McWilliams transcends the subject matter and
pours her emotions into the track.
Acting as her musical foil is John Mark Painter, an accomplished
musician in his own right (you may remember him from
Swamp Ophelia by the Indigo Girls). But more than just a
guitar and production wizard, Painter works instruments like
vibraphone, balalaika, theremin, oud… good grief, is there
anything this guy
doesn’t know how to play?!? Thing is, he knows all these
instruments well, so the end result sounds like an expert on each
instrument who had spent their life learning them.
Musically,
The Way We Are runs the course from soft ballad (“Don’t Let
It Fade Away,” “Comfortable”) to a twisted tango (“Devil’s Food”)
to all-out alternative mayhem (“Ugly Girl”, “Sssh!”, “Sadder Day”),
and all the while, the stylistic shifts sound completely
natural.
Fleming & John even go so far as to point out to the
listener there’s a hidden track – oddly enough, it’s called “The
Hidden Track”. Nice touch. (For the record, it’s a “lounge lizard”
version of “I’m So Small”.)
Musically speaking,
The Way We Are has everything going for it. Too bad most
consumers and radio stations won’t have the balls to touch this
one. And that, kids, is a God-Damn Shame; this is the type of album
that can make listening to music a religious experience. Two strong
songs – “The Pearl” and “Ugly Girl” – have already been pegged as
singles; if only radio would have the courage to program this
one.
I’m challenging all stations out there – and I know there are a
few of you reading these pages, you don’t fool me. Pick any of
these tracks – “Sssh!”, “Ugly Girl,” “The Pearl” or “Comfortable” –
and put it on medium rotation. Then, watch the phones light up,
demanding more.
The Way We Are is an album that isn’t afraid to take chances
in a cookie-cutter music industry. Fleming & John might never
gain superstardom because of this, but at least they’ve kept their
musical integrity – and, to some of us, that’s even more important
than huge sales. Of course, if they catch on like I hope they do,
brisk sales wouldn’t hurt, either.