“We want to have the records and
bands [be] as visible as possible, but re
main underground,” says Owen. “I
don’t want to go to the Warped Tour
and see Jade Tree T-shirts as visible as
Korn T-shirts. The motivation has al
ways been to have respect and credi
bility... that’s what punk rock’s about.”
It’s also about not being perceived as
a sellout—something that matters to
Walters and Owen. “I definitely think
there are times when they are far too
concerned with what the vocal minority
is saying about them—the really punk
rock kids who can’t stand to let some
thing [succeed],” says Promise Ring
guitarist Jason Gnewikow. Still, he
notes, “they’ve continued to grow with
us, which I think has kept us together.”
Despite jitters about becoming too
big for their own good, there’s no ques
tion Owen and Walters are looking to
the long term. Their commerce-and
commentary website (with its increas
ingly active message boards) is as pro
fessional as that of a major. They
recently moved the label into an office
building in Newark, Del., and hired ad
ditional help—quite a leap for two
guys who, just a year ago, were spend
ing their evenings and weekends fill
ing mail-order requests from their
bedrooms. They’ve actually been able
to make a living off of what Owen says
began as a hobby: The Promise Ring’s
Very Emergency and Jets to Brazil’s
Orange Rhyming Dictionary have
moved nearly 50,000 albums each.
As for Morrissey? Well, The Prom
ise Ring did manage to secure a re
cent gig opening for the King of Fop.
“We were instructed, ‘Don’t look at
him, don’t talk to him, as soon as
you’re done, everything has to be
cleared up,”’ says Gnewikow. “There
was a big barrier between us.”
Sounds as if the singer isn’t ready for
such indie-sent exposure. • • •
Ml
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NO DOUBT
Return of Saturn
(Travma/lnter
scope] Someone fi
nally Heimlich ma
neuvered most of
that spueak toy from
Gwen Stefani's
throat. As she sinps
about boyfriend
trauma, you wonder
whom she's talkinp
about: Tony the bass
player? Gavin from
Bush? This album
plays like a Behind
the Music episode,
complete with a fun
soundtrack of peppy
new-wave sonps.
punky dirpes, and
too many blah-blah
ballads, but it's not
nearly as addictive.
B—Michele Romero
SLTATTR-K1NNEY
All Hands on
the Bad One
(Kill Rock Stars]
Don't let those pen
tie strinps on the
openinp "Ballad of a
Ladyman” fool you:
Washinpton's
fiercest three-piece
haven't pone soft.
But the proup's fifth
album does find
them smoothinp
their punk edpe with
pop polish: Witness
the high-speed an
them “Youth Decay"
and the party-ready
shout-along "You're
No Rock n’ Roll
Fun.” A- —BMR
COMMON
Like Water for
Chocolate
[ MCA ] Common's
sparse arrange
ments may allow for
plenty of room for
his sharp rhyming
skills, but they also
grow dull quickly.
Despite the occa
sional well-oiled
groove [like the rol
licking piano of "The
6th Sense”] and
guest spots by Mos
Def and D'Angelo.
Water never
emerges from its
monotony-induced
dry spell. C+ —BMR
SPRING HEEL JACK
Treader
[Thirsty EarJ
Whether warping
“My Favourite
Things" or sculpting
their own subversive
soundscapes. this
electronica duo cre
ates atmospheres so
visceral and warm
it's hard to imagine
them springing
from a computer.
There's not a soul
less second here,
just jazzy horns, ser
pentine beats, and
symphonic spuall. If
extreme daydream
ing ever becomes a
real sport, here's the
soundtrack.
A- —Lavra Morgan
SONIC YOUTH
NYC Ghosts and
Flowers
[Geffen/lnterscope]
Sonic Youth's new
disc is so evocative
of Manhattan life
that you'll feel like
you've licked the
floor of a yellow cab.
It's yet another of
the band's com
pelling avant-trash
punk epics, built on
gritty cacophony,
vaporous melodies,
and ominous poetry.
If you appreciate the
seedier side of the
city, this is one cool
tour. B+ -LM
SUPERGRASS
Supergrass
[lsland/Def Jam] If
Ben Folds Five
weren't such forlorn
wusses they might
have recorded a pop
blast like "Moving,"
which jump-starts
this British act's
third album. But will
U.S. airwaves em
brace this band?
Don't count on it. Su
pergrass' trium
phant songs [recall
ing Bowie, the Beach
Boys, and the Beat
les] rely on a smart
tunefulness that's
out of step with
rock's current meat
head bent. B+ —LM
TRAVIS
The Man Who
[Epic] Finally, a rock
album fueled more
by tears than beers.
This Glaswegian
foursome is blessed
with Fran Healy. a
frontman whose al
luring tenor wan
ders with melan
cholic vulnerability
for lonely stretches,
then bursts into im
mense euphoria.
Nearly each track
has the band punch
ing life back into
Healy before he flat
lines. leading to
some truly breath
taking music. A —MR