Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 2 in B flat major ("Lobgesang", "Hymn of Praise"), Op. 52
King Of The Delta Blues Singers
The Complete Clef/Verve Count Basie Fifties Studio Recordings
Amazon.com
Rebecca Gates and Scott Plouf--or is it the other way around?--literally walk you into Strand, where the palpable, breathy atmosphere and a low, footsteps-in-a-factory rumble-beat greet you at the opening. "Hey baby," Gates whispers, with Plouf echoing her even lower, "Your head's on fire." Welcome to their world. Almost as much has been made of the Spinanes' lack of a bass player (Gates plays guitar and sings, Plouf drums) as has been made of the band's remarkable songs. On record, it doesn't really matter how many people are in the band, the songs veer between layered pop tunes that place the emphasis on a guitar hook and a driving beat, and real downers that concentrate on Gates's whisper-to-a-lover vocals. All the songs are shaded by a true dark side to both the lyrics and the music. "There's nothing so pathetic/ as the way I blow a punchline," Gates reveals on the subdued, almost morose, "Punch Line Loser," rumbling thunder suggesting that there's more to the story than she might be letting on. In "Azure," Gates sings sweetly of "another season of conning dipshits everywhere" in front of a hook that could've been swiped from label-mates Velocity Girl. --Randy Silver