Seattle stepson Kurt Cobain's most famous entreaty, "here we are now, entertain us," was meant as a wry commentary. Yet Seattle's newest breakthrough band, The Presidents of the United States of America, seem to have taken Kurt's words as gospel. The Presidents have no political or sociological agenda, their goal is simply to entertain us. And they do.
A fine response to the grungy, ultra-serious Seattle mainstream, The Presidents put on live shows that are pure fun (I've seen a few) and that soon drew a sizable following, not to mention the attention of record labels big and small. While the labels lined up to court them, the Presidents released this album on Seattle's other big indie, PopLlama, more known for tongue-in-cheek pop than teen angst.
After signing with Columbia, that album has been remastered and is now widely available. It's a lot of fun, too, like the live shows. Most of the songs here are a little silly, but in a good way. They make you smile inside, singing about such things as what they want to do to an annoying cat, their desire for peaches, or the seductiveness of Hollywood.
This (lack of?) attitude could get annoying mighty quickly if the music wasn't as much fun as the lyrics. The Presidents are a somewhat straightforward power pop trio, and they put tremendous energy into every song. These tracks bounce around wildly, the musicians obviously loving every moment. Oh, did I mention that Chris Bellew plays (according to the credits) a two-string "bassitar" and Dave Dederer plays a three-string "guitbass"? The booklet also point out that Jason Finn plays "no-string drums." Bellew's singing is as joyous as the playing, half-shouting his odd little tunes. You'll shout right along with him -- this stuff is very catchy.
If, like me, you're ready for a short break from the self-conscious seriousness that drives much of today's new music scene, check out The Presidents of the United States of America's new album. And don't miss 'em when they play your town.
