Anthem Jukebox: Klaus Flouride, The Joneses, Laibach, The London Quireboy, The Screamin' Sirens, Too Much Joy, Terminal City Ricochet (1990)

Klaus Flouride – Because I Say So (Alternative Tentacles Records)
Rattling like a funeral dirge and frequently as nerve-shattering as a slipped dentist’s drill, ex-Dead Kennedy Flouride travels lightly down the darkened path of his unique and original musical vision. Containing over a dozen musical/poetic vignettes, Because I Say So stands proud in an experimental field that only a few brave souls (Brian Eno, Boyd Rice, and Jon Hassel come to mind) fear to tread. Incorporating nightmarish tape loops, mutant pop songs, obtuse and symbolic lyrics, and an improvised musical mish-mash, Flouride has created a disc that is highly recommended.

The Joneses – Hard (Atlantic Records)
“Life is a hard road full of mean women who need a little love” says the insert to Hard, and those words of wisdom sum up the entire listening experience that is the Joneses’ current elpee. Seventies-styled hard rock is the rule here; meaty, muscular songs full of ringing, raging guitars propelled by David Finnerty’s gravely, soaring vocals. The Joneses burn like a nineties cross between Bad Company and B.T.O.

Laibach – MacBeth (Restless Records/Mute)
Laibach are one of the most underrated and underestimated outfits treading not-so-lightly across the same experimental ground as the likes of Non, Psychick TV, and Current 93. Laibach does it with dignity and grace, creating a new classical music for a cyberpunk generation. MacBeth is grand, dark, and disturbing and well worth your investment.

The London Quireboys – A Bit of What You Fancy (Capitol Records)
Part of the current seventies rock ‘n’ roll revival which includes the Black Crowes, the Raindogs, and the Joneses, the London Quireboys will bring forth memories of vintage Rod Stewart & the Faces complete with grungy, ringing guitars; guttural, too much smoke-and-whiskey vocals; and a rocking, rollicking rhythm. Short on substance, long on style, and a lot of fun, the London Quireboys are destined to be today’s influence on tomorrow’s bands.

The Screamin’ Sirens – Voodoo (Restless Records)
Uncrowned Queens of Country Thrash, the Screamin’ Sirens have finally delivered a follow-up to their enchanting ’85 debut, Fiesta! The line-up has undergone a few changes since the last time out, with guitarist Rosie Flores striking out on her own for a solo gig, and other members falling prey to marriage and responsibility. Pleasant Gehman, the Sirens’ talented vocalist and songwriter remains, accompanied by the likes of ex-Pandoras bassist Miiko Watanabe and guitarist/songwriting partner Kathryn Grimm. Produced by Ethan James, Voodoo is all guts and fury, thirty-something odd minutes of ringing guitars, flying hormones, sweetly sung harmonies, smart lyrics, and sex appeal guaranteed to please. Seemingly all lace and frills and feminine beauty, the Screamin’ Sirens are all leather and steel when it comes to their music. These girls R-O-C-K with the big boys, so don’t you ever forget it!

Too Much Joy – Son of Sam I Am (Alias Records)
Too Much Joy are to much fun with their second effort, Son of Sam I Am. Four-chord power rock with lots o’ loud guitars, banging drums and such only serve to distract from the real attraction of the disc: the lyrics. Too Much Joy’s songs range from the sophomoric to the slyly satirical, their razor-sharp barbs unfailingly hitting their mark, whether they’re aiming at video hucksterism (“Hugo!”), new age mumbo-jumbo (“My Past Lives”), or life in general (my personal favorite, “Clowns”). Funny, stupid, witty, clever, cynical, and absurd this is a disc that deserves a place on your turntable.

Various Artists – Human Music (Homestead Records)
My buddy Gerard, the big cheese over at Homestead, won’t send me any more records ‘cause he’s still pissed off over a Sonic Youth review from years past, but he’d be glad to know that I plonked down a tenner for the label’s newest low-priced, liver-quiverin’ comp Human Music. Lotsa faves on here, from the scary nightmarish vision of Phantom Tollbooth to the abrasive pop of Happy Flowers, from New Jersey’s Yo La Tengo and their enjoyable reading of Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby” to the ever-enigmatic G.G. Allin. Also features Half Japanese, Live Skull, and Salem 66 among the twenty-five bands included on this two-disc set. Buy it and maybe Gerard will speak to me again in this lifetime...

Various Artists – Terminal City Ricochet OST (Alternative Tentacles Records)
Don’t know about the film that this is based on, but it sounds like a real hoot, kiddies! Something ‘bout a city where rock muzak is banned, the Mayor is addicted to the power of teevee, and Public Enemy #1 is a rock ‘n’ roll star…hmmm, sounds sorta like Nashville, don’t it? Anyhoo, the soundtrack is a monster, with cuts from familiar folks like punk crooners D.O.A., the recently broken-up and sadly-lamented Beatnigs, NoMeansNo, and Evan Johns & the H-Bombs. Collaborative material includes a cut from D.O.A. and Jello Biafra, Jello teaming up with NoMeansNo, and Keith LeBlanc’s inspired musical accompaniment to Biafra’s spoken-word piece, “Message From Our Sponsor.” New folks (in these parts, at least) include I, Braineater, Gerry Hannah, and Art Bergmann, distinctive stylists all. An A+ rated soundtrack from A.T.

All reviews originally published in the Summer 1990 issue of Anthem: The Journal of (un)Popular Culture

Stuff I Like: Too Much Joy’s “Uncle Watson Wants To Think”

It would be an understatement to say that I’m overjoyed that one of my fave bands from the college rock era – the quirky, intelligent, indefatigable Too Much Joy – is returning in March with their first album in nearly a quarter-century. From indie rock records like 1987’s Green Eggs and Crack and the following year’s Son of Sam I Am (which includes the mirthful, insightful, classic tune “Clowns”) through their too-brief major label years, which yielded underachieving and overlooked albums like 1991’s Cereal Killers, 1992’s Mutiny, and the criminally-ignored …finally (1996), Too Much Joy never failed to deliver an entertaining musical experience. My long-lost interview with TMJ frontman Tim Quirk remains one of my favorite conversations with an artist but, since it was never published, I have no idea what we talked about…

Currently comprised of original band members Tim Quirk (vocals), Jay Blumenfield (guitar, vocals), Sandy Smallens (bass, vocals) and Tommy Vinton (drums) along with long-time member William Wittman (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Too Much Joy comes roaring back on March 19th, 2021 with Mistakes Were Made, and the band has released its first single from the album with an accompanying video. Needless to say, it sounds like they never left, with “Uncle Watson Wants To Think” displaying the same sort of bruised, wistful lyrics as their best songs along with an edgy pop-punk-drenched rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack…think of Weezer, but smarter and with balls. Of the song, the band writes that it “began life when critic/professor Gina Arnold shared a list of unused Raymond Chandler titles on Facebook and suggested her friends kill some pandemic lockdown time by writing stories to match.”

“Tim was struck by the title ‘Uncle Watson Wants to Think’, and asked if he could contribute a lyric, instead. He wrote the words quickly, while swimming laps in a swimming pool near his house: ‘I just saw Uncle Watson collapsed on a couch, and a little kid trying to sneak past him without disturbing the guy. The whole thing pretty much sprang to life fully formed, which is rare, for me. I could tell the guy was kind of a jerk, but I never like it when songs spend all their energy ridiculing someone else, so I tried to figure out what made him so sad and mean. Turns out Uncle Watson probably had his own Uncle Watson. Jay, Bill and Sandy worked up an appropriately melancholy arrangement for the tune, then Bill asked his pal Joan Osborrne to contribute some lady vocals to the mix, as we really needed to hear from the mother who brought this man into the house.’”

The video features singer/songwriter Joan Osborne on guest vocals and was directed and edited by Keegan Denery of 1596 Films. Says the band, “Jay had the idea for the video, which was assembled by young genius Keegan Denery after experimenting for several hundred hours with dozens of different images suggested by the band. Some looked uncannily real when they mouthed the song’s words, others were frightening failures. After a lot of trial and error, Keegan combined all the ones that worked into a seamless whole. Many of the characters are easter eggs for diehard Too Much Joy fans, based on old lyrics or PR mishaps.”

In the liner notes to the new album, the band writes “we weren’t really planning on making another record; this album only exists because 2020 sucked so goddamn much. Our humble hope is that, since it now exists, it can make whatever year you’re listening to it suck a little bit less.” Check out the video below and then get on over to Bandcamp to pre-order the brand-spankin’ new Too Much Joy album Mistakes Were Made. Tell ‘em that the Rev sent ya!

Buy the new CD: Too Much Joy’s Mistakes Were Made

Too Much Joy, circa 2021