This album, a collaberation between Rory and his producer Juliann France, took a while to grow on me. Bass-y and bleak, it struck me at first as another of those angst ridden whine fests - but there's more going on here. Rory performs almost all the instruments so this is clearly a personal project/statement from Providence, Rhode Island. It's a scathing look at the people and places Rory hangs around.
It starts with his observation in "I Know How You Are"; "You just don't like it if it's strange, you don't want to have to use your brain." This is followed by an angry rant in "Now that I'm Down," "You say money's tight/you won't help me get right/You talk about pain/you don't know about pain/ you think it's a game... I see you on tv, i see you in the cafes/talking about the people you've saved..." then, his voice dripping with venom, he continues "Now that I'm down, Fuck me!"
His mocking of the "Local Pop Hero" is just as sharp. Describing a guy that's more about style than substance, he describes him (in a sarcastic tone of voice); "I want to be a local hero/I want to set my sights on zero/I wnat to make you love me/I want to feel you touch me..."
"Dr. Fine" lambasts the medical profession "Voodoo priest/zombie minions/on the wall, the shadows lurk/the hand is sure/the knife can cure/zombies echo every word/they say, "scalpel... suture... you think you're sick now/tell him to cut it out/you think you're better now/you'll learn to do without/you think you're sick now/here's somthin' for the pain/you think you're well now/it's running through you vein/you think you're sick now/you think you're better now/you think you're sick..."
The album continues with songs titled "Man With the Largest (brain)," "All Fires Are Beautiful," "The Kids Pay Twice," and "Lie So Good." Rory has a unique songwriting style that mixes some strong pop melodies and tight grooves with minimalist structures and jazz, sometimes in the same song, a technique which works to emphasize the points he's trying to make. Couple this to lyrics both sarcastic and bitter and you have an album that stands alone. And, he doesn't appear to give a shit how unpopular the views are - someone HAD to point these things out.
With bands falling all over themselves to sound like their favorite recording act, or sign a contract based on the styles of others before them, Rory is a unique breath of fetid air. He's got a really bad attitude. But when I looked around my town, I noticed the same things that were pissing him off lurking here. It was kinda scary...
Rory and his label can be contacted at: Bazillion@aol.com
