Album Review: Merchandise - Children Of Desire

Merchandise
Children Of Desire
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Tampa trio Merchandise, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Carson Cox and David Vassalotti and Patrick Brady on bass, apparently have flitted around that city's underground hardcore, goth, and post-punk scenes for a while in other bands such as Neon Blud, Cult Ritual, and the Dry County. With their second LP Children of Desire, the band seems to have taken their various backgrounds and combined them into a much more fully realized beast. Strangely, this also creates the almost impossible task of trying to pigeon hole the band into any one genre. Stylistically, Children of Desire is all over the map, touching on a lot of their influences, from shoegaze, dream pop, 80s alt-rock, folk, and neo-psychedelia. It is a testament to the band's fortitude that they are able to blend all these disparate styles into such a compelling mix.

Starting off with the lovely "Thin Air," Cox's deep, evocative voice begins in almost a spiritual way, with floating electronics buoying the short intro track, before leaping into the jangly first single "Time." Drawing from the Smiths, Railway Children, The Sundays, and a whole host of other 80s alt-rock heroes, the track feels well-settled but completely of the now. The wistful air of the music goes well with the cynical nature of lyrics like "I took a lover just to kill some time."



But the album truly kicks into gear with the mesmerizing brilliance of the 10 minute "Become What You Are." A stately guitar track that builds from a steady beat and scrawling guitar chords into a fantastic mesh of guitars, organs, and forceful drums. The track is a beautiful testament to remaining true to one's self, Cox reflecting "The music started, I realized it was all a lie/ The guitars were running out/ Last year's punk," and crushed that someone doesn't believe in him with the lines "did you ever listen to my words/or did you just want to memorize the chords."



It is startling how easy the tracks flow through to one another even when they are of different styles. The almost shoegaze-trance of "Become What You Are," neatly segues into the industrial goth of "In Nightmare Room," which sounds like the perfect marriage of Sisters of Mercy's goth cool with Jesus and Mary Chain's brash attitude.



And the sweet piano ballad "Satellite" is the perfect refresher leading into the other 10 minute track "Roser Park." Although not as sublime as "Become What You Are," the track still closes the album on a high note, its celestial organs driving the reflective melancholy along before it drifts out into a haze of echoing, shoegazy guitars.



Children of Desire was such a wonderful discovery for me. Seeing a band capable of so much diversity while still remaining true to their individual sound and approach is a rarity these days, and makes me very hopeful for even greater things from this promising band.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Cut Off Your Hands: Hollow

Cut Off Your Hands
Hollow
Rating: Grrrr

Back in the 80s and early 90s, Sunday nights were always set aside for 120 Minutes on MTV (yes, back in the day when 90% of their programming was still videos. This was well before the Internet and easy access to music that was not Top 40. Back then, our only sources were publications, college radio stations, record stores, word of mouth, and the beloved 120 Minutes. Without that show it is unlikely I would have heard of half the bands that are now part and parcel of my being. Until developing my taste in electronic music, the music that interested me the most was from guitar-based bands like The Smiths, Chameleons, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Railway Children, House of Love, Kitchens of Distinction, R.E.M., and The Church. Loved all the ringing/chiming guitars and driving beats associated with these bands and voraciously sought out similar bands. As my taste in music has evolved and changed over the years, I still hold a fondness for simple, guitar driven bands who have a good ear for melody. New Zealand quartet Cut Off Your Hands could easily have held a second hour slot on 120 Minutes, their songs evoking those bands listed above; reverentially but not slavishly. There is a lovely energy to their songs, the guitars chiming and clear, with a dreamy backing section. Their previous album (produced by ex-Suede member Bernard Butler and Smiths producer Stephen Street) found them leaning too heavily on Britpop and post-punk angst of bands like Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Maximo Park.

With Hollow, they have not completely forsaken those roots, but have focused more on melody instead of just pure energy this time. First single "Fooling No One" is a perfect mix of the two styles, rushing out the gate in a blur of drums and acoustic guitars and yelping vocals before settling into a jangly groove reminiscent of The Church in their earlier, more minimalist style.



There is a lovely mix of styles on Hollow that keep the band from sounding too one note or too indebted to one influence. From the Smithsian opener "You Should Do Better" with its shuffling drum and intricately ringing guitars and warbling, over-the-top vocal,



to the guitar rave-ups "Hollowed Out" and "Down and Out" that sound like the direction Echo and the Bunnymen should have taken before descending into bloat and excess,

Cut Off Your Hands - Hollowed Out by ology

or more gentle tracks like "Nausea" that capture that era of music so well:



But even though the album is not incredibly innovative from a style standpoint, there are moments of interesting juxtaposition, like the charming song "All It Takes" with its lovely Railway Children jangle mixed in with some odd Haircut 100 sounding background yelps and chirpy keyboards.



Hollow is not an album that announces itself as the next big thing or that is revolutionary, it is simply a good guitar, pop album. While I do have an affinity for bands that push the boundaries of what is pop music, there is something to be said sometimes for a band that just puts out a well-crafted album of just great songs. Hollow is record that reveals its charms subtly, but sticks with you for days.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.