REVIEW: Pure, Feverish (Mammoth)
- Daniel Aloi
I admit I've joined the other complainers that much of the so-called alternative music hitting the airwaves today is too serious and self-important, to the point that the acts are indistinguishable from one another. On the other hand, you can always look to Jordy Birch of Vancouver's Pure to arch an eyebrow at life's absurdities while all the other boys in bands are wallowing in wasted woe and wanting to push you down.
On Feverish, Pure actually sounds at times like one of those bands (whose name rhymes with Neverclear), but without a spot of the misanthropy. Instead, we get Birch's dry wit throwing us observational curves in travel stories like "Trucks, Campers and Trees" and "My Surfboard and My Dog."
Imagination certainly kicks his muse, conjuring "Palm Springs" while sitting in rainy British Columbia and "The Elvis Hooker" from some street scene taken to an absurd extreme. Add rubber-band guitar chords and the surrealism takes hold.
Originally inspired by a snippet of overheard conversation between airline stewardesses, "Sunshine and Happy Hours" is a beery country stomp crossed with an Irish tavern ditty about the supposed good life. Instead of lampooning the sentiment, Birch backs it up.
I've liked this band for a few years, for the albums Pureafunalia and Generation 6-Pack. Any number of Pure songs could be their "Santa Monica," and maybe in the bargain someone would get the joke. I'd rather hear someone being tickled than tortured any day.
You'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from Pure and songs from Feverish - the video for "Chocolate Bar" is being played on MuchMusic and MTV's 120 Minutes, and will be featured in an upcoming Disney Movie of the Week, "Mail to the Chief," on ABC. The band is also a featured artist this month at http://www.Pepsiworld.com, and the song "Tennis Ball" will be on the soundtrack for "BASEketball" from "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
