REVIEW: You Am I, #4 Record (RA Records/BMG)
- Chris Hill
If beach movies were still being made, You Am I would be the ideal band to plant oceanside, with boys and girls shimmying to the groove, luau going full tilt, and the sun slowly setting on the horizon. You Am I's sound is classic 60s mod drumbeats, achingly pure pop arrangements, and rave-up vocals. Their 1996 cd Hourly, Daily, led by gems like "Mr. Milk" and "If We Can't Get it Together" captured them "Album of the Year" and "Artist of the Year" honors in their native Australia. Like its two predecessors, #4 Record debuted at #1 Down Under. The band's been hugely successful as openers for groups as dissimilar as Wilco, Soundgarden, and Oasis. Am I preaching to the choir here? If you've been waffling over getting this album, waffle no more. If you've never heard of them, read on. I'd like to convert you.
Vocalist/guitarist Tim Rogers refines his pop style to pure cane sugar on this disc. The band runs between a wistful acoustic ballad ("Heavy Heart"), a punk rocker in pop clothing ("Billy"), an imploring doo-wopper ("Come Home Wit' Me"), and tongue-in-cheek vignettes ("Guys, Girls, Guitars", "Fifteen") with panache and ease. Artistic joy keeps the throwback style from being cloying or saccharine, and George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Tom Petty, Screaming Trees) envelops each two to three minute nugget with crisp, pristine production. Little fills pop up throughout the record, but nothing is extraneous: a mandolin and organ fade around each other on "...and Vandalism", a slide guitar sinuously winds throughout "Top of the Morn' & Slip of the Day", and the Memphis Horns are bliss personified on "Junk".
I'm convinced there's a secret government conspiracy preventing "Rumble" from becoming a radio staple. If the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night" is a favorite, "Rumble" is right up your alley, with its "R-A D-I-O, Hit me hard and hit me low" chant-along chorus. Humorously, the last use of the chorus name drops the ex-Black Sabbath lead singer ("Ronnie James D-I-O"). The song triggers a wide-open grin and a Pavlovian head-bobbing response.
As, in fact, do all the songs on #4 Record. Wry lyrics only add to the pleasure. For example: "he's big and dumb like a Dagwood dog", "I know this guy ... if I'm the mayonnaise he's the cream", "the sky's so heavy yeah it hangs like a beer gut", "he can see Wednesday mornin' the way others see Friday night". Combining the lyrics with retro, yet modern, music makes for twelve irresistibly catchy tunes.
Judging by the concert spectacle of You Am I in Seattle, 11/19 at the Crocodile Cafe, these songs shine even brighter live. Years of touring have honed You Am I to a tight, polished stage presence. Drummer Russell Hopkinson keeps tempo like an early Ringo Starr, with his hair flopping in rhythm to the beat. He's integral to their charisma, chiming in with harmony vocals and off-beat drumstick pantomimes. Andy Kent, on bass, is a foil to Rogers' jokes, while solidly undercoating the music, and adding his own voice periodically.
The band ran through most of #4 Record, older catalog staples like "Soldiers", "Trike", & "Mr. Milk", plus a delirious cover of "Hippy Hippy Shake". When Hopkinson broke a sweat before the second song, I had a feeling the show would be good. It was that and more. If they come to your town, it's an experience you shouldn't miss.
