Once again we bring you the interactive CD review. Click on the underlined links for more info. Lyrics are in purple.
GO! Come on...
Dune,TX jumps right into the fuzz rock on the first song of their new cd, called Goldenarm, released last month on leader Chris Sacco's own Tasty Melon imprint. Along for the ride again are Rusty Guess on bass and Tim Hermann on drums. Get down.
Dune,TX - Tim Hermann (drums), Chris Sacco (vocals & guitar), and Rusty Guess (bass).
Right away the sonic improvements over the previous release Machowagon are apparent to anyone who really listened to the last effort from Houston's answer to garage rock.
The Kids is a real tribute to all things brit rock from early mod to Travis and all them others I'm not real familiar with. London's calling. The kids are alright you know they rock all night, yeah they do. It's true.
I miss the rawness of the vocals on Machowagon but the Beach Boys style layered vocals Sacco has been searching for all this time are finally realized here.
The Sick and Tired riff is my favorite, Rusty's too. The transition from the verse to chorus is perfect and the paranoid lyrics are hilarious! Hidden cameras in trees and a monkey on my back. Then comes the theramin. A strange device first seen used(by me anyway) by Led Zeppelin in the movie The Song Remains The Same, this device spews forth streaks and sweeps of noise which Sacco melds into a nice little break in the action. Great minimal, but effective, chord changes twist into a tasty lead. And the doodoos on the break are remeniscent of Jimi's Crosstown Traffic.
Are Ya The Girl - The love song (even though it's a punk song with classic octaves and ringing harmonics) with no mention of a bitch or a whore! But a flashback of their first show at Emos with the School Of Fish. 3 years without...superfastslowmo...
Okay, we're back to the raw Dune, TX with Rip It Out (another love song if you know what I mean.) The song starts with the soon to be famous Dune TX/Big Muff fuzz. Rip it out one more time, show it to me. Fast/slow/fast. Nice little arpeggio on the slow part followed by a rockin' segue a la Skynyrd style. You put us here. It's so clear. Great garage punk breaks and leads. Then the icing on the cake a real 'la la la' verse! Show it to me. Once again, it's the octave chords I've grown to love coming from Sacco. The layered vocals are perfect for this song, something I know Chris has been searching for on the previous releases. Kudos to Steve Ames, producer of King's X, ZZ Top, Galactic Cowboys, and more. This one really brings together the lyrics and music. Yeah! And more wah than yo grandma!
I'm sure you've heard the story before, but I'm the one with the Golden Arm. It amazes me that someone like Sacco in the punk/garage/pop genre can dish out the guitar rock with out coming within a million years of wanking lead gutair. Go to Vegas and bet the farm. This song shouldn't be buried as far down the track list either, the production by Ames and Sacco is perfect. No doubt Sacco had this one ready to go. Excellent break, the tones he gets ride the finest line between sweet and nasty and the bass rides perfectly under the fat guitar. Pick'em up and let'em fly, watch the people, watch their eyes.
Speaking of fat guitar is that one on Mos Eisley? A bunch of freaks cold beer would go nicely, this place (Houston?) gives me the creeps. Something about the Texas water/blood/air that makes bands from here in any genre sound good to me. To The Moon continues the space theme.
Bring on the hand claps! Your story's weaker and your love is cheaper and The Hush Hush Club keeps it down. The way his voice crack's on this reminds me of The Cars.
All About You - You know Goo Goo? Foo Fighters? Beach Boys? This song swings and circles back with a true country Bonanza style lead guitar! That saved this song for me. I'll listen every time just for that.
This Mess we're in called love. Sacco's choice of chord progressions and chorus never seem to fail. The horoscope doesn't lie.
The hidden track I Am The Greatest is reminiscent of Texas' own Butthole Surfers' latest Weird Revolution. A hidden track that should not be hidden. It's my favorite. Machine rock, the fuzz, the vocals, the industrial beginning and the psychidelic break, bring reflections of The 13th Floor Elevators at their heaviest. You need it after This Mess. I was the greatest… and so is Golden Arm.
