It’s New to Elliot: as suggested by Brian Campos
As the host of the Pants OFF Podcast, Brian Campos has become a figure of note in Des Moines, though he would surely deny this. Brian has brought on musicians, artists, promoters and all the movers and shakers that Iowa has to offer, along with actual famous musicians like Buzz Osborne from the Melvins. He has worked very hard to become a great interviewer, a great promoter of his show, and a meticulous editor of his own product, creating a tight hour that doesn’t waste a bit of your time.
I asked Brian to give me records this week as a follow-up to last week’s release of the 100th episode of the Pants OFF Podcast, in which Brian turned the tables on himself and had me interview him. I am not a terribly experienced interviewer, but Brian had enough faith in me that I could get the job done, probably because anytime we have hung out we’ve had an easy rapport. As self-critical as I can be, I think everything actually worked out pretty great. The episode puts the focus on Brian and not myself, and I didn’t sound like an idiot, so I did alright. Again, huge thanks to Brian for asking me to do it. You can listen to it here or on iTunes.
Brian gave me three records that are all somewhere in the shoegaze/space-rock area, which I usually don’t enjoy. Let’s see how that went (spoiler: not very well!).
Superheaven — Ours Is Chrome
I’ll start with the most recent record from Brian’s shoegaze onslaught, from Superheaven. Apparently, their singer says he doesn’t think people should call them shoegaze or grunge, but instead just “rock’n’roll.” Dawg. Have you heard rock’n’roll? Like, actual rock’n’roll? I have, and you ain’t it.
This is that slow, plodding version of shoegaze grunge that you are just never gonna catch me digging into. It has those same old washed out wispy guitar tones and those barely-there nasally vocals that just ask you, “Why bother doing anything with any effort, right?” And when the singer doesn’t sound nasally, he sounds like Gavin Rossdale. Not a good look. It’s just…this doesn’t suck or anything, but GOD is it boring. Just a gentle verse, followed by a loud chorus, with no interesting chord changes or riffs. I simply do not understand why a band would want to play this stuff. I would be falling over and passing out if I had to stand there and play two barre chords forever and ever. Sorry, Brian, but this shoegaze thing has started BADLY. Let’s hope we can turn it around with the next one.
My Opinion: 4/10
Open Hand — You and Me
My old band The Mezzanine played with Open Hand in 2002, when they were a sort of melodic shoegaze screamo band, or something. I bought their EP that night, and I tried to like it, but didn’t. You and Me came out three years later, and things are a bit different here. This isn’t so much of a shoegaze thing anymore. Now it’s a bizarre melting pot of alternative rock, emo and just straight up “active rock” — reeeeal close to Nickelback. I’m not kidding. Some of these songs have meathead Nickelback riffs, but with fuzzed out guitar solos and pretty emo singing on top of it. It makes no sense. Then a few songs have some alright riffs, but they’re just scattered and disjointed and have no real effect because Justin Isham is trying to front a badass rock band with the least badass voice ever. I sometimes have a hard time pinpointing exactly why certain voices bother me, but I guess the simplest, dumbest explanation for not liking Isham’s voice is that he sounds like a wimp. Yes, I like other wimpy voices, but the context has to be right. Trust me.
Anyway, I don’t like this one either. Sorry, Brian.
My Opinion: 4/10
Failure — Fantastic Planet
What a relief it was for me to not totally hate this. I would have felt like I was actively criticizing Brian as a person, and I certainly wasn’t, but I could have seen how he’d feel that way.
And I’m still just giving this a 5, because I don’t actually like it, but not being annoyed by one of Brian’s records is a victory. Failure didn’t annoy me because they were not just a one-note shoegaze or space-rock band. Yes, it does have some of those droney slow jams that the previous two bands this week leaned on too heavily. That stuff just will never be for me. It has no vitality. It’s just tired.
But! Fantastic Planet is a 67-minute record that’s smart enough to not be the same thing the whole time. There are some weirdo riffs here and there that caught my ear and made me focus. Some of the chord sequences are just so ugly that I had to admire them for at least trying. And the sounds vary throughout — some piano even makes its way through the noise and it’s kind of pleasant. Ken Andrews commits the unfortunate sin of sounding even more like Gavin Rossdale than the Superheaven guy did, but his voice also varies throughout and doesn’t stay grating.
Again, I’m giving this a 5, but it’s a very friendly 5. A 5 with a pat on the back.
My Opinion: 5/10
