Indigo girls bore, Minethirtyseven shows potential
‘All That We Let In’ by the
Indigo Girls is rather dry,
but locals Minethirtyseven
make a good punk effort
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
Once again, folk rock seems to be
suffering from a distinct lack of rele
vance. After a revival in the 1980s,
the style has since fallen by the way
side, and for good reason. Most
dissatisfaction that first made folk
rock such a powerful medium.
The latest release from the Indigo
Girls, "All That We Let In," is an unin
tentionally sad testament to this loss.
Apart from folk rock as a genre, the
album is not worth much on its own.
The music is clean-cut and bland
from beginning to end, so much so
REVIEW
modern
folk rockers
have lost
the power
of protest or
the sense of
that it's hardly noticeable except as a
mood setter. This musical dryness
puts all the weight on the lyrics, which
alternate between laundry lists of re
lationship quibbles and vague politi
cal protests. All of it is lighthearted
enough to be likable, even if it does
n't have much of an impact.
Courtesy
The Indigo Girls’ album “All That We Let In”
doesn’t take chances musically or lyrically.
The lyrics just never strike any hard
notes. They’re too vague to have any
specific meaning but not abstract
enough to encompass any larger con
cepts. And while there are hints of a
I;.1
Courtesy
Minethiryseven's EP reveals the band's
influences and strengths. The local rockers
play tonight at the Black Forest Tavern.
political agenda, the band makes no
serious stands. "Do we tether the
hawk or do we tether the dove" is
about as direct as it gets.
The music expresses a severe case of
complacency. Nothing in the album
isn't musically safe, and no chances
are taken either lyrically or composi
tionally. The music has no edge and
nothing new to offer, meaning that it
serves no purpose other than as radio
filler. While it might be listenable, in
the end it means nothing.
Now for something a little more off
the beaten path. Local punk band
Minethirtyseven has just released a
self-titled EP in which they at least
make an attempt to do something
new within their niche. Ihe band gen
erally plays straightforward melodic
punk, but makes things a little more
interesting by including slightly more
complex arrangements than the stan
dard three-chord riff.
The experiment doesn't always
work, however, either because the
band isn't ambitious enough to take
it all the way or because they don't
yet have the ability to do so. Either
way, there is a lot of potential in the
group, provided they work through
some of the problems that are evi
dent in this recording.
One of these issues is the band's
obvious Pixies influence. Like most
bands inspired by that particular
brand of indie angst pop, Minethir
tyseven has trouble making the
sound their own. At least they don't
actively plagiarize from "Doolittle,"
unlike a number of mid-1990s
bands I could mention.
Overall, the pluses outweigh the
minuses on the EP. One standout
track in particular is "In the Event of a
Water Landing." The song has a rough
guitar sound and a killer chorus that
propels it to a climax of sustained bor
derline chaos. It's the real powerhouse
track on the recording.
So, while the band is still at a stage
where they could either become
worthwhile or just another processed
emo done, they're worth looking into.
If they learn some better instmmental
and lyrical chops before their next
recording, they could really set the aty
on fire. They'll be playing tonight with
Yeltsin and Pelletgun at die Black For
est Tavern, located at 50 E. 11th Ave.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
Courtesy
Leon Johnson’s “Faust/Faustus in Deptford" will be shown at the Colin Raugh Thomas O’Fallon Memorial Lecture in Art and American
Culture tonight at 8 p.m. in 177 Lawrence Hall. Johnson is an associate professor of art at the University.
FAUST
continued from page 8
film festivals, including the Rain
dance Film Festival in London.
Johnson is glad his film was chosen
as the topic of discussion for the me
morial lecture.
"The project is a good fit since it
draws on so much literary and musi
cal discourse," Johnson said. "It real
ly represents a complete humanities
project in a really lovely way."
Those in charge of the lecture feel
the same way.
"We don't typically use people from
the University of Oregon for this lec
ture," Oregon Humanities Center Asso
ciate Director Julia Heydon said. "But
given the amount of notice the film has
gotten nationally, we thought it would
be good to give it some local attentior
The lecture will take place in 177
Lawrence Hall and will include a
r
showing of "Faust/Faustus in
Deptford." The lecture is free and
open to the public.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
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