Tape and Record Reviews February 1990
National Music Reviews
Bauhaus
Swing The Heartache
Stock gets belted in a skirmish. Jab, poke, poke, shove. It was the 4th quarter of the Utah Jazz vs. New York Knicks game and a fight was about to erupt. But I did care? Nope. Lars was too heavily under the influence of music. Bauhaus, to be exact. If there’s such a thing as band worship, these are my “gods”—Gothic, never to be duplicated! And if Ter was correct about my being bonkers, this I owe to Bauhaus for fucking with my mind, heart and soul.
So, it’s been 10 years since Bauhaus’ birth, and some gumshoe wants to capitalize on the anniversary-of-sorts by compiling Swing The Heartache, right? Yes and no. Granted, there are a few numbers that run a close facsimile to the original released songs, but for the most part, the music is foreign to even my ears. And odd, very odd, if you’ve never experienced Bauhaus before. This exquisite exposé is a good place to start. A band that is sinister, surreal, snide, sublime, sensuous and gouging. I said gouging!! Musical poets. The epitome of death and life in a day. Existential imagery to scorch you raw. Autonomy and conviction? It’s all here. Saunter down to an indie store and “Swing The Heartache, just for the sake…”
Maybe I’ll be humming a few bars at the Utah Opera’s Rigoletto come Sunday. –Lars
Food For Feet
For about 10 seconds, I actually had a comp of Food for Feet’s promo in my grubby lil’ hands. But when I set it down on the Speedway bar counter, turned my back and much to my chagrin, some jerk-off thief abducted it (to hell with *@&!). Thanks to Marty (who was back in town), I did get to hear his copy of it later that night after the Burial Benefit reunion gig.
Okay, I’ll admit to my own avid predilection about any possible off-shot of Oingo Boingo. I’ve probably been to more OB concerts than any other band disgraced our fine land of Zion. Nevertheless, FFF stand on their own as a full intoned three-man band. Crazy, crazy Latin salient salsa, corkscrew power-pop and gyrating gymnastic grooves that will move you to dance until the meridian of exhaustion occurs. All of it a furor of fun, too. Give me vatos, or give me death! Come to see FFF when they return in March at the Speedway. Cha cha cha to “Tequila,” along with other hybrid cuts and feed your otherwise indolent feet. –Lars
The Reds
I know everybody’s impression of The Reds is that they are just a cover band, but that isn’t true. When I received a copy of their tape I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
The Reds consist of Eddie Seegrmiller (drums), Allen Billings (guitar, vocals), Jon Kirchoff (bass/vocals) and Chris Rowe (guitar/ vocals). The band does most of their performing at bars, so it is easy to label them as a bar band. The band has obviously used some of their bar-earned money to produce a nice little demo. I don’t know how easy it is to get a hold of but I do remember them being given out when they played at Sabathon 89.
The music is smooth, well written, and easy to listen to. The production on the tape is very good. I find the music a little bit predictable, but the variety of the original music they play is good. The tape could warrant them some attention from the big boys.
If you see them play sometime, wade through the covers and listen for their originals. They definitely stand out as the best songs they perform.
Check Bar & Grill, DV8s, Z-place for their name … The Reds. –Lars
Take a look at some more archived record reviews:
January 1990 Tape & Record Reviews
Local Review: American White Trash by Dinosaur Bones