| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Circus Comes To Lithium Land | | | | | |
| 2. Sketches | | | | | |
| 3. Birthday Party | | | | | |
I can guarantee that most readers of the Tentative Reviews will be unfamiliar with this group. In fact, it's unlikely that more than a few people outside of Southern Ontario know of their existence. Which is a shame, since they have more potential than other independent bands in the region.
Some context may be needed here. Hamilton, Ontario (my home town for most of the last six years) does not have a strong reputation for local musical talent. It's true, of course, that Daniel Lanois was born here. It's also true that David Bottrill is from Dundas, a local suburb. It's even true that Brian Eno lived here for a bit, and sampled noises from downtown Hamilton streets in his excellent Apollo album. But none of this really makes any difference in the city's overall reputation.
The stereotype of a Hamilton band is roughly as follows: blue- collar rock, three-chord songs in 4/4 time, lots of beer in the audience, guitar/bass/drums, no keyboards. And this is largely true. There are some exceptions, but not many. Bands from Hamilton have often noted that the mere mention of their home city is enough to invite scorn from dwellers of the more diverse city of Toronto -- given that Junkhouse, Crowbar and the Forgotten Rebels are among the city's most famous exponents, such a reaction may be understandable.
As such, the arrival of a local band that goes beyond these limits is almost always a cause for celebration. The aforementioned Lanois can always be held up as an example of the city's potential. The Burlington- based (ie. across the harbour) Legion Of Green Men put the area on the map in terms of electronica. And then there's Marvin K. Mooney.
I first heard of this band in the summer of 1997, when they were a last minute replacement as the opening act for Glueleg, at a pub known as The Loft. I've commented on this show in the past, noting the irony of MKM suddenly exploding upon the local scene while former art-rock heroes Glueleg were clearly on the way down after the departure of Chapman Stick player Carlos Alonso. I've since seen MKM on two other occasions -- the first a horribly-attended show at the same pub (the posters advertising the show went up on the same day that the show took place), and a very enthusiastically received show in the performance room of The Fever Club. On each occasion, the band lineup was slightly different; it now seems to have consolidated around a core of six young men.
And "young" men they are -- all members of the band are under twenty years of age. This is just another reason why the quality of their live performance is so unbelievable in this culturally-deprived zone of the world.
The first clue as to the eclectic nature of the band is their choice of instrumentation -- keeping with one Hamilton theme, they have no keyboardist, but the instruments they do have more than make up for this. Along with the traditional rock arrangement of bass/guitar/drums, they also feature trombone, saxophone, trumpet and violin(!). The last two instruments are played by Marc-Paul Gauthier, who also sings on some tracks; I know his name as we worked at the same establishment for a while -- I sadly don't know the names of the other members.
This is, moreover, a band without slackers -- each player is extremely skilled at his instrument of choice (well ... maybe not the drummer, but he's generally at least adequate). The guitarist, despite having the appearance of a street punk, is very talented at crafting impressive solo; doubtless, his occasion appearances in Cat-In-The-Hat dress have played some role in impressing his audiences as well. The three members of the horn section are all very skilled players as well -- though, really, the mere fact of the band having a three-piece horn section at all is enough to make them a godsend in this area. The bass player, as may be expected, plays a more background role, but has his moments too. A conga player has been known to make on-stage appearances in the past, but this no longer seems to be a part of the band's show.
As to the music they play ... well ... let's just say that it makes for an interesting sociological analysis. The band members are all too young to have experienced the original progressive period, and the one that I've talked to in any detail about the subject (Gauthier) hadn't even heard anything by King Crimson at the time (though he did admit to liking Pink Floyd). They seem to have more of a basis in jazz (especially big-band style) and punk than anything else -- in other words, they wouldn't describe themselves as "progressive", and are certainly far, far removed from from the neo-prog being churned out by slacker labels on west coast (ahem).
But the music? Pure art energy. Aside from their unconventional instruments, the band's music features elaborate arrangements, a fairly sophisticated approach to melody and rhythm, and a lot of enthusiasm. When I first heard them, I could scarcely believe how good they were -- and there was none of the posturing and posing that frequently accompanies hackneyed "prog revivals". Even more interesting was the audience reaction -- despite the fairly advanced nature of the music, the band has managed to get real interaction with fans in their own age group (and, notably, of both genders). Watching this process on more than one occasion made me believe that there could be a future for real, intelligent music in a popular framework.
Recorded music? Well ... herein lies the problem. Being both a young band, a new band, and a not-strongly-endowed-financially band leaves them in a bit of a predicament with regard to their future. They still haven't released a full-length CD, and financial woes have sadly hindered this process for quite some time. The band has managed to put together a three-song EP ... but aside from occasional appearances on CFMU (my radio station), it hasn't exactly set the world on fire.
This EP does not, sadly, capture all of the fire that this band clearly has. It was obviously recorded on a low-budget, and the production quality quite frankly sucks (freely admitted by at least one band member, and probably several more). Song selection is also a bit of a problem -- it's difficult to see why the band decided to go with a throwaway like "Birthday Party" instead of, say, "Mr. Mooney" or other superior live tracks. They don't seem to have done much of a job promoting the tape-only release, and it may be that they're waiting until they have a better product before targeting the world. Let's hope they can pull it off.
For the moment, though, this poorly-recorded EP is the only official release by the group, and merits some attention accordingly. While it may not show the group at their strongest, it's still a powerful testimony to what they're capable of doing -- and may yet do if given the chance. And besides which, the first two tracks are damned good songs by any standard, no matter how lousy the recordings may be.
"Circus Comes To Lithium Land" is one of the group's better live tracks, about the arrival of motley band of freaks to their home town. The introductory section is unfortunately very poorly recorded, with a violin line that just doesn't sound right in relation to everything else around it. The main body of the track is much better, however, propelled onward by heavy guitars (the guitarist also sings this track), hyperactive vocals, and a strong punch from the trombone department. The group has enough talent to pull off the instrumental bridge very credibly, and the drummer comes off pretty well in this number. It isn't going terribly far out on a limb to suggest that a better version of this track should eventually be recorded, but this is good enough for the moment.
"Sketches" is even better, telling the grisly tale of a murderous clown over some great violin playing and impressive vocals (both courtesy Marc-Paul). The demented folk melodies at the beginning sum this one up fairly nicely, and the chorus vocals are once again complemented by a heavy guitar presence (the lyrics are pretty good too, for the most part). The vocal shift in mid-song should surprise even those who've become accustomed to the band's habits, and the brassy bits which follow once again verify the group's instrumental diversity. Again, a better version could probably be recorded ... but this is still pretty impressive.
I'm not sure what caused the band to think that "Birthday Party" would be a good closer for the release -- it's a decent enough song, but far from the best in their catalogue. Besides which, the production is really, really terrible on this one -- they were probably going for something akin to new-wave concision, but the sloppiness of the recording suggests that they didn't get it right. Anyway, the song focuses on a children's birthday party, wherein Bubbles (the entertainer) ravages the brains of his following before track's end [note to band: some thematic variety might not hurt once in a while] -- the violin and saxophone solos towards the end are good, but aren't enough to turn this one into anything really special.
The future is uncertain for MKM, and it may end up that this recording will be their only official release. Those listeners willing to brave the poor audio quality of this recording would obviously be recommended to support the boys for their future endeavours, with the caveat that they are capable of more than this, and that the EP should not be taken as a demonstration of the band at its full strength.
Note: It would be unprofessional for me to advertise the contact number of the band over these channels, but those curious can contact me about it in private mail.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 29 Aug 1998)