November 27–December 4, 1997
stone's soul picnic
Shellito: (L to R) Simon Nagle, Daryl Rothmond, Jeff Tanner, Mike Shellito, Ken Finn and Dan Shoemaker.
Local label Siltbreeze gathers its mossy singles.
Maybe Philly's infamous noise-rock label Siltbreeze isn't that noisy after all. Tard & Further'd, a new CD collection of Siltbreeze's 7-inch releases, is filled with quite a few tuneful ditties. Oh sure, Halo of Flies' blistering blues-punk is a little abrasive and the Dead C's combination of squeals and raucous snare hits might seem out of control to the untrained ear, but the majority of songs (by acts such as Sebadoh, Monkey 101 and Guided By Voices) are scrappy, lo-fi hits waiting to happen.
"I don't think there's a 'Siltbreeze sound,'" says label-honcho T.J. Lax. "It's pretty much whatever I like and—with the exception of disco and kraut-rock-lite—my tastes tend to jump around quite a bit."
Tard & Further'd compiles the label's 7-inch releases from 1989-'95 in chronological order. Certain bands, like Strapping Fieldhands and The Pin Group, were left off because their material had already been reissued on CD elsewhere. Other artists had reservations. Sebadoh's Lou Barlow agreed to re-release the band's material on the condition that songs written by former member Eric Gaffney weren't included. V-3 mainman Jim Shepard didn't want to hear any of the tracks that his ex-wife had appeared on.
Finding the original recordings wasn't easy, either. Most had been returned to the artists long ago and getting them back seemed almost impossible. Eventually, Lax put the retrospective together by re-recording pristine copies of the singles. Listening closely to Tard & Further'd, the occasional crackle is almost endearing, recalling a time when the 7-inch mattered in indie rock circles.
"These days there are just way too many singles out there to do it with any hope of recouping your investment," Lax concedes. Though most of his single runs are small (between 500 to 1,500 copies each), they sell well. People still write Lax looking for 45s that went out of print long ago. So far, the best seller is Guided By Voices' EP Get Out of My Stations, at a whopping 3,500.
There may not be a Siltbreeze sound, but there are definitely regions of the world which seem to propagate Siltbreeze bands. Lax fell in love with the "shambalic, sci-fi rock" stylings of New Zealand's Dead C soon after discovering one of their albums in Third Street Jazz and Rock. He tried in vain to get the band a deal with Amphetamine Reptile records and finally decided to release their music himself. Band member Bruce Russell put Lax in touch with the mercurial New Zealand-based singer/songwriter Alastair Galbraith.
Growing up in Ohio, Lax followed Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments' founder Ron House through several bands, so deciding to release their hopped-up, adenoidal punk was easy. Connecting with Dayton's lo-fi wunderkinds Guided By Voices just took a few phone calls.
So maybe Monkey 101 is the only Philly representative here. But their gritty indie pop does the town proud. It's not that Siltbreeze hasn't released notable singles by great local bands such as Bardo Pond, but they didn't make the 1995 cutoff. Don't worry, Lax plans on putting out a second compilation in the future.
You can check out a couple local Siltbreeze bands that aren't on the compilation, Ashtabula and Brother J.T. & Vibrolux, at the Siltbreeze Christmas show on Monday, Dec. 15 at The Balcony, 10th and Arch Streets, 922-LIVE.
Though Shellito isn't on Siltbreeze, they still work the lo-fi groove. Actually, "they" is a little misleading. Shellito's debut album, On Sale (Birtha), is mostly the work of Mike Shellito, who wrote, played and recorded the album by himself on eight glorious tracks over the past two years. Strummy tunes like "The Original You" and "Again & Again" have a breezy, psychedelic sound akin to T-Rex or early-'70s Bowie. "The Taste of It" creates an early '80s synth-pop texture by incorporating a tweaky vintage keyboard. The live version of Shellito includes members of The Photon Band (drummer Simon Nagle and bassist Jeff Tanner) and The After Dinner Mints (trumpeter Daryl Rothmond). It's hard to imagine the larger group will replicate the intimate sound of On Sale, but you can hear for yourself when Shellito plays its release party on Friday, Dec. 5, at The Mask & Wig Clubhouse (310 Quince St.).
Looking for something a little more epic? Try Franklin's new album, Building in A and E (File 13). The first track, "(#1)," unleashes a torrent of late '80s post-punk fervor, replete with percolating percussion, lumbering bass and piercing guitar paradiddles. It falls together with a kind of arena-rock edginess that could fit Franklin neatly on a bill with Jane's Addiction, U2 and The Alarm, though this local quartet is never quite derivative. As the album continues, songs start to mellow out, incorporating elements of dub reggae and prog rock into the arrangements. The seething vocals are a little nasally, but thankfully lean towards earnest rather than grating. When I've seen Franklin live, they've had more of a hardcore edge that isn't present here, but that might just be for the best. Building in A and E displays a range of dynamics and songwriting that makes for an energizing listen.
If you can get beyond all of the pining for Lexus cars, Versace clothes, Timberland boots and Rolex watches, The Kartel's Players Only Live Once (Brandon Records) exhibits two rappers with superior flow. The mid-tempo backing tracks are rarely more than simple beats and a few looped notes, but rappers Kyon Johnson and Michael McFarland manage to give the songs plenty of thumping rhythm. Their performances bubble and pop, capitalizing on interior rhymes and rapid-fire delivery while not sacrificing enunciation or clarity for the sake of speed or emphasis. One of the better local rap releases of the year.
