ENTERTAINMENT
Swamp Zombies shamble into Eugene
Swamp Zombies
A Frenzy of Music and
Action
Doctor Dream Records
1992
★ ★
By Tim Neff
Emerald Associate Editor
One of life's greatest Injus
tices is that "acoustic hippie
punk" music connoisseurs are
so starvod for entertainment.
Unfortunately, it's a one
band genre, and fans have llltlo
choice but to turn to the
Swamp Zombies, the Southern
California band that started and
single-handedly continue the
acoustic hippie punk revolu
tion.
And on Aug. 17, Eugene
Zombiemaniacs can got a first
hand look at the throe street
77w Swamp Zombiia on oot to ploy Aug. 17 ol Horpoo. ThoZombio
crow born loft: Stovo Jocobo, Jooh Agio, Dovid Worron ond Roy
Vogtmng. 9
musicians turned retro-croon
ers at Harpo's.
The Swamp Zombies are em
barking on a one-week West
Coast tour to stump for their re
cently released fourth album.
A Frenzy of Musk: and Action.
If you've never hoard of the
Swamp Zombies, the vintage
movie poster ring of the album
title should tell you just about
everything you need to know
about the band.
Zombie guitar meistor josh
Agio confessed to the band's
teen-flick Influences.
On thin rncnrd wo triad to
do a vintage sound, not really
rotro." Agio said. “Wo Ilka to
stay away from modom ideas.
And we're sort of into those
trashy films of the '50s and
'60s "
They also seem to he Into
mass murderers.
I’ust albums, like Fink and
Scratch and Sniff Car Crash
(which actually s|>orted a foul
smelling scent patch on the
cover) contained numerous ref
erences to the grisly crime. The
theme continues on Frenzy
with lho song "Unemployed."
which details a down-his-luck
drifter who obsesses about infa
mous mass murderers
Accusing this band of ticing
tongue-in-cheek, ts a bit like
calling Leona Helmsloy "un
scrupulous."
Agio would prefer the lalad
"pretension free "
"It's sort of a level of unpre
tentiousness and ignoring a lot
of things that popular music Is
doing today." he said "We
don't pay a lot of attention to
those trends."
The result is concentrated
wackiness like you haven't
seen since "Hee-Haw" thank
fully went on hiatus.
Observe the reggae-influ
enced lyrics to the song "I
Bawled" - “Took me girl
friend homo the other nighl/Cot
mcself in an awful fight./She
said do. do darling won't you
please come In/Hor old lady hit
me with a rolling pin."
If you rain stomach that, you
are definitely Zombie material.
It makes no claim to being
hip. and it's laced with strict
"good-time" overtones. It can
be a refreshing change from
more serious hands Hut in the
end. it will prolsibly only pro
vide a brief but wacky
musical pit stop
Falling Joys capitalize on Nirvana
Falling Joys
Psychohum
IRS Records
1992
★ ★★
By Pat Malach
Emerald Editor
Nirvana la big. In fact tho entire Soattln thrush
sound Is big. If you nood proof, chock out tho th<>
now album by tho Falling Joys from Australia.
Psychohum, tho band's aocond album. Is an odo
to tho fact that tho Soattle sound is a logitimato
trend In tho industry.
Tho first song on tho album is cloarly Influ
onend by Nirvuna, Sound Cardon, ot al. "Black
Bandagus" has tho patontod Nirvana-moan lyrical
style, aggrossivo guitar riffs and continuously
ftounding bass boat typical of the punk invasion
ogilimized by Nirvana's platinum succoss.
But the similarities with the Soattle sound end
with that first song. The other 11 songs on the al
bum are solid. light-touch pop songs (hal hold up
well in that genre. It’s as if the Fulling Joys com
pletely changed ihuir stylo for that First song Just
to capitalize on the popularity of the "alterna
tives.”
"Black Bandages" works us a neo-punk song.
For the most
part, the songs
on the album are
different enough
to remain
Interesting for
the entire album.
Tho lyrical mes
sage Is suffi
ciently nihilistic,
ami the music has
the necessary
hard edge and
kick. But the song
just doesn't
sound liko it be
longs on this al
bum, mostly be
cause the rest of
the songs work so
we 11 as simple
pop tunas.
On song* llko "Winter's Tale." load singer Su
zie Higgle shows off a gentle voice that ladies the
aggressiveness of "Black Bandages " The song Is a
typical ballad about love and security.
I'or the most part, the songs on the album are
different enough to remain interesting for the en
tire album. "Natural Scone" has a standard 70-ish
melody with backing guitars. "Parachute" is a
simple love song with a slightly twisted melody
— twisted enough to make It interesting, anyway.
Despite what the band, their producers or the
record company may want you to think about
Psychohum based on the opening tune, this Is not
an alternative album. It Is good quality pop music
with enough surprises to be worthwhile.
i.ft' J
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