|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Click to subscribe to our newsletter. |
|
|
Click to subscribe to the Rockzilla.net discussion group! |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
The quintet, comprised of Simone Rubi (wurlitzer, synths, moogs, farfisa, vocals), Dan Judd (guitars, synthesizers, vocals), Carrie Clough (electone organ, vocals), Terri Loewenthal (jazz bass, vocals), and Jordan Dalrymple (drums, percussion, organ, vocals), converges to make a sound that can only be described as the Partridge Family playing disco music written by Syd Barrett. "Psychedelic" and "groovy," adjectives I have gone years, hell, nearly a lifetime without using, kept making guest appearances in my thoughts as I listened to this disc, and I was clean and sober the entire time. To put it another way, this kind of music is not my cup of gumbo, but I had to ask myself two very important questions: one, what are they trying to do, and, two, are they doing it well. The answer to the first question was Call and Response is trying to make unadulterated pop music, not change the world or reveal hidden philosophical Truths. The answer to the second question was "yes," and they do it with more talent and liveliness than any of the brain-dead navel-flashers and vaudeville acts currently on the world's most wealthy lists. The disc starts off with one of Call and Response's signature songs "Blowin' Bubbles." It has all the hallmarks of their sound, a great bass line that immediately gets your head bobbing and a summertime vibe that makes you feel like you should be driving along a coast somewhere warm. The male and female voices intermingle in a mellow harmony that works almost like a vocal opiate, with lyrics that delve about as deep as this group is willing to go. I'm drinkin' stars up in the sky So listen to my bubble go pop The remainder of the disc pretty much follows this format, with pleasant, laid-back grooves, occasional eructating synthesizer, vocals that fall somewhere between ABBA and the Starland Vocal Band, and songs that are really more about evoking a good feeling than anything tangible. But a song like "Rollerskate" would be perfect for a ten-year-old girl who is doing just that, or for any of us who enjoy a good non-sequitur now and then. Hear the vibration Before you learn how to walk Another one of the group's signature songs, "California Floating in Space," is wellprobably best summed up by a couple of the members of the band itself, who described it as "a song you make out toin a Chevy van with a heart-shaped bubble window." Which says almost everything you need to know about this very impressionistic tribute to Call and Response's home state that comes complete with a Moody Blues-style trumpet solo. Blue painted sea While I'm not certain where, if it even has a place, on the spectrum of Texas and Americana music Call and Response falls, I can say that if you're looking for some mindless, in the best sense, whimsical, feel-good pop music, then you can do no better than Call and Reponse's Call and Response. Have all the negative vibes gotten you down, man? Well, turn
that smiley face sticker right-side up, brush off your tie-dye,
and head on over to www.emperornorton.com,
where you can pick up Call and Response's latest CD of feel good,
or to www.callandresponsemusic.com
to learn more about the band, find out where they will be next
to spread the joy, and maybe even find a few photos of the merry-makers.
|
 Read Rockzilla's Guestbook Sign Rockzilla's Guestbook |
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|||
|