The Stiff Sheet… July 1995
Archived
Terrell
Angry Southern Gentlemen
Virgin/Pointblank
Four years ago, my friend Mark introduced me to Terrell’s first LP On “The Wings of Dirty Angels.” Ever since then, no matter what cool stuff I do, he always says “Yea, but who hipped you to Terrell?” Well, he was right, that is one of my all time favorite records. So it was with great vain glory and fervor that I called him last week to say “Guess what I’m listening to? … NEW TERRELL!” Angry Southern Gentleman is already one of the best albums of the year, and only confirms my theory that the best talents in the music industry are hidden away on the back burner. Terrell is easily one of the best singer/songwriters out there. The album is full of great stories, told over music that makes you feel like you just walked into the coolest, smokiest bar in New Orleans. Of the dozen outstanding tracks on this CD, best picks would have to be “Dreamed I Was The Devil,” “Let’s Go For A Ride”, and “Piece of Time”. Too many cool songs to list here though, as the whole record 
makes you harder than Georgia asphalt. Now me and Mark are finally even.
X
Unclogged
Infidelity Records
This is probably the best live acoustic album I’ve ever heard. It destroys any “Unplugged” album that may pop to mind. Probably because MTV wasn’t involved. More credit though, is due to another fact, that “Unclogged” is full of good starting material. All of the songs and I mean all of them are well written. “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” and “True Love” from the LP More Fun in the New World, are standouts along with “White Girl” and “See How We Are”. There are also two new songs. “Lying In the Road” and “The Stage” both are good, however, “Lying in the Road” is beyond good.
The acoustic renditions of these X classics strip the songs to the bare bone to reveal the stuff that makes them great in the first place. Diversity, melody and substance. X proves once again to be truly one of the most gifted bands of our time.
Primus
Tales From The Punchbowl
Interscope/Atlantic
Les Claypool and the boys do it again. Big time. Five stars. Blah blah. Rant and Rave. It’s not just the beaver song. Primus shows why they are batting cleanup in the music lineup of the 90’s. And they are batting 1000. What a cool fucking album.
Gwen Mars
Magnosheen
Hollywood Records
Some people are just meant to be in bands. So goes the singer of Gwen Mars, Mike Thrasher. This is a strong rock band bordering on pop psychedelia. Very good guitar parts interestingly laid-over patented muscular rhythms. His voice moves from Mark Lanegan to Alice Cooper to someone impossible to compare to. That is probably what Mike would like to hear, rather than the standard comparisons. The album is full of some catchy, some trippy tunes, all of which hit home at some point or other. This is a really good first attempt from a band that met six months ago. The demo tape and the album are almost the same with few exceptions. A definite ‘must-see live.’ Magnosheen will go on standard rotation in the Maxx cave.
Fig Dish
That’s What Love Song Often Do
A&M Records
Melt in your mouth, not in your hand pop/rock that fails to disappoint. Too cool to overexplain. If you don’t like this album, go get Journey‘s greatest hits, or Barry Manilow, your choice.
Dancing French Liberals of ‘48
Powerline
Broken Rekids/Revenge Records
Ex Seattle faves “The Gits” whose lead singer Mia Zapata died in 1993. This band sounds like a 90’s Clash mixed with The Dwarves.
Produced by Thee Slayer Hippy and Ben London (Alcohol Funnycar), Powerline is thirteen crushing songs that build of the Liberals’ collective past while raking the band to new punk rock heights. The record also offers a hidden surprise: Joan Jett in a duet with Andy on “In a Past Life.”
Jett’s involvement with the liberals will continue later this year when they present Evil Stig (try spelling it backwards), a Gits tribute album featuring the Liberals and Jett (singing Mia’s lead parts), the proceeds of which will continue to fund the investigation into Mia’s death. Meanwhile, America’s Most Wanted will feature Mia’s case this coming July, while her friends continue to raise money and awareness in an attempt to find justice. (Over $50,000 has already been raised via concerts and art openings in Boston, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, with the help of Exene Cervenka, 7 Year Bitch, Tad, Love Battery, Steel Pole Bathtub, Nirvana and many others).
Silverchair
Frogstomp
Epic/Murmur
This is probably the hardest CD I’ve ever reviewed. This is a fantastic band with amazing potential to heave themselves on top of the hard rock heap. I hate them because they are all 18 years old or 16 or some damn age. But they sound killer! The songs sound like a well oiled veteran band. They’re a trio from Australia with very strong hard driving guitar/vocal lines. Unfortunately, they sound way too much like Soundgarden and the closed minded idiots in rock media will hang them for it. Maybe they’ll survive the comparison, if they do, expect big things from these Aussie monsters. Did I mention they were little fuckers?
hHead
Jerk
I.R.S.
After seeing the cover of Jerk many times, I wanted to scream “Heed move that huge melon of yours” in my best Scottish Mike Myers imitation. But alas hHead is a Canadian band and pronounce their name “Head”. Oh well I laughed until I put the disc on. Good stuff. Some of the lyrics are potent and sarcastic while the guitars hook away over that sweet rhythm into angst ridden power pop.
They are not Green Day with intelligence as some moron wrote in a review that made the bio (believe it or not). They are better than that. Don’t be fooled. It isn’t the Beatles, but face it, it’s the music direction of the ‘90’s. Deal with it.
Slinky
Stone Garden Records
When I first looked at this CD, I noticed that they cover Lou Reed’s classic “Satellite of Love.” I was bound and determined to hate it. Luckily for Slinky, I started drinking before I listened to this one. Mwaaah! They didn’t ruin it! They did it really well, even though their version is only 3:05 long. Anyway, it was cool and so is the rest of this 7 song EP? of this trio from La La Land. When you 
listen to a CD and want to listen to it again, it has accomplished its task. Slinky did it, and did it right. If they can produce a full length with all the meat and integrity of this first Stone Garden release, it’ll be an outstanding album, so keep your fingers crossed.
Super Chunk
Incidental Music 1991-95
Merge Records
Well hello, Mr. Fancy Pants! Finally, Merge sends us product. This is a good day. Superchunk is a very cool album. I’d already heard the CD but was glad to review it. This is the CD you put on when you have 7 people at your house playing poker and inevitably they all ask at different times “Who is this?” You tell them, and they say “It’s good I like it” well, go get it. It’s a collection of songs that were recorded and released at different times since 1991’s “Tossing Seeds” Eighteen songs including “Home at Dawn” and “Connecticut” (Jim Wilbur’s vocal debut) and one of my all time cool as shit songs, (I’ll tell you later) plus more rare faves from Superchunk. –Madd Maxx