SLACK – Murder In This Town
Alternative rock bands of the early 1990s managed to sell millions of records, had videos shown non-stop on television, and became world-famous performers. What were they doing a few years before their ship came in? Washing dishes, driving delivery trucks and cooking omelettes in restaurant kitchens in Seattle.
They were also reading strange books, listening to quirky bands and engaging in all sorts of bizarre activities. They were pop Dadaists, right? That’s, at least, what their bios suggest, and it’s a mighty nice story. It makes it seem as if they ultimately managed to pull off an incredible heist. In reality, however, they were rock bands with poppy hooks and great singers who sounded great on the stadium stages on which they were propped.
The best, most truthful thing that you can say about SLACK’s “Murder In This Town” is that they’re trying to sound like one of the premier alt-rock bands of the early 1990s, and they manage to do just that. There’s little here that is eccentric, quirky and, therefore, there’s little here that would stop the band from being played on classic rock radio. The singing is the best part – punchy and controlled. Do they have an agenda? Probably not, but with so few bands able to pull it off, just sounding great is, sometimes, enough.
The Scoffs – Miss USA
Most rockstars are horrible people-pleasers. It hurts to realise this, but they go to an office just like everyone else, and they do their very best to cosy up to their bosses. Keith Richard joked in his book that bandmate Mick Jagger used to phone up the head of the record company so much that the man opted to change his phone number out of desperation.
The moment that you realise just to what extent rockstars will go in order to be liked, your list of favourites will shrink significantly. You may look at the ones who always complain, never sporting a good attitude, who are so rarely promoted by music business people with different eyes. They’re the ones fighting a fight, and it’s often for good reason.
The Scoffs’ “Miss USA” working-class punk-rock meant to sound sweet and comfortable and with a message meant to make you ill at ease… if you’re a citizen of the U.S.A. If you’re from any other place in the world, it might just amuse you and make you pray that Lockheed Martin doesn’t include your country on their scouting reports.
Regardless, The Scoffs are rebels and that much is easy to hear and see. They may sound like they could open for Bruce Springsteen, but they’re even more troubled by The American Dream. And because of that, they are willing to take the long road.
