Never Mind the Context. (Music review: moth balls).Never Mind the Context * moth wranglers * Magnetic Motorworks The bicoastal bi·coas·tal adj. 1. Relating to both the east and west coasts of the United States, as: a. Traveling frequently between coasts as part of a business or living arrangement: moth wranglers don't look like pop musicians. San Francisco denizen An inhabitant of a particular place. A "denizen of the Internet" is a person who frequently uses the Web or other Internet facilities. Chris Xefos (formerly of King Missile) and New York counterpart L.D. Beghtol are both burly enough to make the chunky guy from 'N Sync look like Tinker Bell. Yet from an a cappella take on "I Never Will Marry" that sounds like the Beach Boys on barbiturates Barbiturates Definition Barbiturates are medicines that act on the central nervous system and cause drowsiness and can control seizures. Purpose to a one-minute ditty about suicide, each of the 13 songs on the gay duo's challenging debut album bears the discrete markings of timeless classics--from madrigals to Madonna--while remaining unflinchingly unique in character. Beghtol and Xefos, both of whom are classically trained, first met at a New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. bar in 1993, shortly after the former arrived from Memphis, Tenn. Five years later they began collaborating musically and continued doing so even after Xefos relocated, exchanging ideas on tape and CD via mail. The first fruits of their union, a cover of the Pixies' "No. 13 Baby" on the 1999 tribute album Pixies Fuckin' Die! unveiled their weird hybrid of classic pop, experimental rock, and traditional American roots music. To complete. Never Mind the Context, the duo and their cohorts convened for a series of sessions divided primarily between New York and San Francisco. The resulting CD offers one highlight after another. "Figure-Ground" is Oktoberfest as realized by Dali, complete with accordion, tuba oompahs, and drunken sing-along; "Turnabout" juxtaposes hillbilly fiddle with abrasive white noise. The album's intimate moments are its most affecting: For the desolate Dear John number "Six-Page Letter," Beghtol's tender voice teeters on the brink of exhaustion, while on "The Last Request of Mr. Ezra J--" it wafts over repeated piano chords, unfolding into dissonant, multitracked harmonies that spread like an inkblot. Though often dour in character, the 52-minute disc also features flashes of sublime beauty, such as a wistful cover of "Souvenir" by '80s synth-pop act Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (often abbreviated to OMD) are a synth pop group whose founder members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, UK. OMD record for Virgin Records (originally for Virgin's DinDisc subsidiary). . If the production recalls the shoestring ingenuity of infamous '60s British closet case Joe Meek (mastermind behind the Tornadoes' "Telstar"), the ambitious arrangements--featuring ukulele ukulele (y  kəlā`lē), Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. , washboard, and harmonium--land closer to Phil Spector's "symphonies for the kids." The credits list more guest stars than a season of The Love Boat, 26 in all, including members of the Magnetic Fields (Beghtol sang on their 1999 opus 69 Love Songs), American Music Club American Music Club is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Although commonly lumped with other bands from the "slowcore" and "sadcore" movements, AMC is better known for mastering the disparate strands of American music into a wholly unique synthesis , the Geraldine Fibbers, and REM. While you won't see the moth wranglers on MTV MTVin full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. , Never Mind the Context provides a refreshing reminder that making great pop calls for more than just nice cheekbones and autotuning software. Reighley is the author of Looking for the Perfect Beat (MTV/Pocket Books). |
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