With a name like that it had better be good, eh?
Martin Luther Lennon (a.k.a. MLL) is actually the pseudonym of Tony Perkins, bassist, songwriter and vocalist for the band that also bears his nom de plume. You may have been teased by the wonderful cuts "I Rule The World" and "No Love Lost" from the Sympophony sampler out last year, and if so, you've been looking forward to more. So don't be thrown by song titles like "Kill Kill Kill", or that "evil eye" pose on CD sleeve (memories of that "other" Tony Perkins might come to mind) - your pop prayers have been answered.
Starting with a bang and ending with an anthem, Limitations features enthusiastic, powerful playing from this quartet. MLL plays a rhythmic, thumping bass in the style of Graham Maby and Nick Lowe, and drummer Robbie Rist's powerful bottom gives Lennon the freedom to race along with the guitarists when he feels like it. And those guitars...wow! Big, FAT chunky pop guitar chords that will bring out the air-guitar player in any popster. Major league kudos to Steve Refling (who co-produced with Lennon) and Adam Marsland for the axe work.
Lennon's vocals are abrupt and a touch affected, not unlike Paul Collins or Joe Jackson - slightly imperfect, but then again they somehow are perfect. When the harmonies check in, as they do so well in "Brenda Revisited", they're glorious. And yet beneath the surface, Lennon is singing about some disturbed topics - gun control, mass murderers, Los Angeles riots and unsympathetic doctors - you know, the standard pop subjects. Or maybe not.
A lot of comparisons could be made to the early Elvis Costello albums with the Attractions. Lennon writes clever, sometimes twisted lyrics and the band takes those simple rock and roll tools - guitar, bass and drums - and kick it good. Had this album come out twenty years ago, it would not have seemed out of place, yet it is current and robust, just like those classic Elvis records would be if they were 1997 releases.
At the heart of the record are hooks, hooks, and more hooks. I feel silly walking down the street singing the refrain "No junkies in West Hills", but I don't care. And I just can't get "Happygirl" and "Wonderful Us" out of my head, let alone the CD player. Pure Pop for Now People? Why not?
MLL and crew can also fire the melodies up to a pop pogo frenzy; like the Ramones-ish "Gun Heaven" or the giddy "Dr. Nu" ("Dr. Nu \ I hate you \ I do I do I do I do"). And "Hologram Sam" is classic invasion Britpop more than a Marc Bolan nod.
Breaking up this frantic pace are two slower, acoustic songs that suggest that MLL is Jonathan Richman's evil twin. Consider the chorus of "I'm Just An Elephant" - "I'm just an elephant \ you can bet it \ I may not know that much \ but I won't forget it". The disc's closer, "Wonderful Us", is a simple, rhythmic song that's not saying much more than "It's a wonderful world \ nobody knows but us", yet it's framed in a bonafide set-closer of a pop song, complete with false ending and refrain. I want to see this band live, now!
NotLame Recordings, a mail order service handling pop music, also has a few artists signed to its record label. With Martin Luther Lennon, they have a potential monster on their hands. The title of the CD says it all. In a "world without limitations", this music would be jumping out of your speakers right now.
