BETTIE SERVEERT: LAMPREY (1995)
1) Keepsake; 2) Ray Ray Rain;
3) D. Feathers; 4) Re-Feel-It; 5) 21 Days; 6) Cybor *D; 7) Tell Me, Sad; 8)
Crutches; 9) Something So Wild; 10) Totally Freaked Out; 11) Silent Spring.
Now this album, I am afraid to say, does not
seem to have stood even a short time test at all. Positively viewed upon
release and still occasionally riding on the coattails of that first
reputational burst, now it seems like a prime example of «generic mid-1990s
indie» — lots of bravura, heroic posturing, volume, distortion, and angry,
self-righteous vocals, behind all of which there is no musical substance
whatsoever. Reusing, perusing, and abusing musical baggage accumulated by their
betters without putting their own distinct spin on it — Lamprey is the sort of album which you'd imagine a band like Sonic
Youth capable of writing and recording on-the-spot, except they'd be too
embarrassed to release it (and, for that matter, there is very little in this
world that Sonic Youth would be embarrassed of releasing).
What is so much worse, through all of it Carol
van Dijk wails, rants, and splutters as if she really had something to say, but
all she really says is the same old
"I can't explain", only dressed up in pseudo-metaphors and allegories
whose sound is clumsy and whose meaning is zilch. Example: "Go down inside
of me / There's still a part that sees the first time / You've opened up my
eyes / Completely self absorbed / What are we waiting for / Ferociously, you
never know just why" (ʽ21 Daysʼ). Feel free to correct me, but I happen to
think that these are some really bad lyrics out there, don't you think? And
there's more... so much more...
Unfortunately, this time around even Peter
Visser does not help out, because way
too much space is given over to verbal raving and ranting; most of the time he
is just weaving his jangle or minimalistic lead lines in and out of Carol's
rhythm playing. There is an inspired guitar break at the end of ʽD. Feathersʼ,
a song for which they also drag out the Mellotron (or, at least, something that
imitates the Mellotron), so that its coda becomes sonically similar to early
King Crimson, and a few other tracks as well feature maniacal leads from the
man, so that the process of listening eventually becomes the process of impatiently
waiting around for whether or not Visser is given a chance to solo at the end —
offering a chance at redemption — or not — condemning the song to immediate
death at the stake.
ʽRay Ray Rainʼ is the only track here that indirectly
points to a brighter and snappier future for the band: poorly produced (the
vocals are muffled and strangled in between the guitar parts), but upbeat,
poppy, and shiny in a cool mid-1960s fashion, as if somebody took a whiff on
inspiration from Revolver in
addition to all the Velvet Undergroundisms. I am also somewhat partial to the
album closer ʽSilent Springʼ which is at least different — after a long string
of those crunchy, but meaningless rock grinders its acoustic guitars and echoey
vocals are a nice change of pace. It is also the only track on the album on
which Carol actually sings in a
traditional understanding of the term, and does so admirably well.
Everything else is pretty much awful, with the
major culprits being ʽCrutchesʼ (the "let me down, let it bubble all
around me!" part could succeed if the rest of the song actually worked towards that anguished emotional
release, but it doesn't, and the protagonist just comes across as a phony,
capricious whiner) and the interminable ʽTell Me, Sadʼ, which takes its cue
from a not-so-obscure Beatles reference ("rocking horse people out on a limb..."), never really figures
out what to do with it, and burdens our conscience with some sort of problem
("tell me, Sad, what's wrong with that...") whose very existence is
never confirmed — five minutes of almost literally trying to produce a
meaningful something out of virtually nothing.
A more detailed scrutiny might be able to
extract bits and pieces — a decent bassline here and there, a minor vocal hook somewhere
on the periphery — but on the whole, Lamprey
is just a waste of talent, and I have a really hard time thinking why anybody
over 18 years old would ever want to listen to it once more. Then again,
judging by the seemingly fading memories of it, nobody really does these days.
Thumbs down.
Oh George,
ReplyDeleteAfter torturing yourself by listing to this shite, you really need to do your ears a favor and listen to some Admiral Fallow.
Much more intelligent lyrics there, oh yes!