REVIEW: Archers of Loaf, White Trash Heroes (Alias)
- Chris Hill
In my college radio days, whenever I grabbed an I.R.S. album (Hunters and Collectors, R.E.M., Stan Ridgway, Let's Active, the Alarm, etc.), I was invariably challenged and delighted, regardless of the artist. Even the Bachelor Party soundtrack had its share of innovative tunes.
I say this because, like a perfume bringing back memories of an ex-girlfriend, as soon as "Fashion Bleeds" blew through the speakers with its drum/guitar bomb blast, that delighted feeling rushed over me. Grabbing the promo, Mitch Easter's name leapt from the mixing credits. Besides a long list of producer credits (R.E.M., Moose, Game Theory, to name a few), Mitch was Let's Active's guiding force. Their Big Plans for Everybody was a staunch companion of mine for months.
But how much influence can a mixer have? Compared to the feel of the Loaf's last, apparently a lot. Like '96's All the Nations Airports, the new disc's produced by Brian Paulson and the Loaf, and engineered by Paulson. But the ten songs on White Trash Heroes are individual sonic gems, and a step forward from ...Airports, whose songs had more of a grouped structure, less independent strength. I think Easter is the reason for the change.
The title cut (with its moody Vangelis beginning), the palpitating "One Slight Wrong Move", "Fashion Bleeds" - all would be welcome additions to everyone's local alterna-station. Eric Bachmann's chest has grown hair - the deeper growl of the above songs lacks the quavering voice of previous efforts (though "Dead Red Eyes" reaffirms that yes, it's still him singing).
Also, the voice is further forward in the mix, and the disc shines for it. His guttertrash lyrics (Bachmann writes the words, the band - the music) are pulled from the seedier side of town - whores, philanderers, sots, hypocrites, losers - splendid, alliterative descriptions of people & places you visit at your own risk. Sometimes painfully clear ("White Trash Heroes", "Dead Red Eyes"), sometimes indecipherable ("Banging on a Dead Drum"), these are lyrics that inspire transcription for contemplative reading.
"Blow by blow/Chipped off shell and bone/Tripped and talked around it/Could not walk through the crowd of careful lies/Busted open wide" - the mournful regret in "Dead Red Eyes" is followed by the muddied grind of "I.N.S." A good sequencing choice, as are most of the transitions on this record. Songs flow because of differences, not similarities. "Banging on a Dead Drum", a middle-finger salute to jangle pop, all electronic banshee vocals and guitar squall, trails "One Slight Wrong Move", a radio-friendly puppy dog, with its "a hundred million people could be wrong" vocoder-affected chorus. It keeps the pace lively.
Like the bygone I.R.S. catalog, it's clear the Loaf are artists having fun with what they're doing, yet committed to their own advancement. This could (should) be the album to get them mainstream awareness - if that's what they're after. This is their last for longtime home Alias Records, and according to a note at Go Loaf! ( http://www.wku.edu/~bob/archers/ ), the excellent official webpage, "Each member of the band has different projects that they are working on which will all but guarantee a split in the lineup following their current tour."
That'd be a shame - the next Loaf album could only stun and amaze. My fingers are crossed.
