REVIEW: Luscious Jackson, Electric Honey (Capitol)
- David Landgren
A friend introduced me to Luscious Jackson sometime in '95, just after Natural Ingredients, their first album, had been released. I flipped out. Later that year, Fever In, Fever Out was released and for me it was a revelation. Such a delicious album full of poppy tunes, combined with lyrics honed with a scapel and delivered with an subtle, understated sense of humour could only be a product of the U.K. pop scene. I was wrong.
Luscious Jackson, named after Lucious Jackson, a pro basketballer in the late '60s, is an all-girl line-up, hailing from New York City. They used to four; Vivian Trimble went her separate way early last year. This year Jill Cunniff (bass), Gabrielle Glaser (guitar) and Kate Schellenbach (drums) teamed up with a number of other people, to bring Electric Honey to fruition.
Fans of Garbage, Suzanne Vega, Laika will appreciate this material. And there's a certain Go Gos or Bangles feeling here too. It's also more overtly American in sound, and the cynic in me can't help feeling that the group has sharpened the album like an arrow, aimed to burst into the Top Ten. And I can't help thinking that somewhere along the way, something has been compromised.
The band are still able to lay down really gorgeous melodies; songs that wrap around your brainstem and don't let go. But the lyrics aren't what they used to be. Where are the songs that tell of the joy and pain that two people together can do to each other?
For instance, "Nervous Breakthrough", with its pumped-up nightclub mix, sinks its hooks in and doesn't let go. I've been humming it myself for days. Humming, not singing, because I can't bring myself to mumble "Thanks to you, I had a nervous breakthrough..."
In a similar vein, "Alien Lover" also displays a really addictive chorus, but once again I find myself annoyed by mindless verses like "Fly me first class, Over to your pad"... hello? This, from the band that brought us such classic lines as "Wearing nothing is divine/Naked is a state of mind".
With "Summer Daze" there's no mistaking it -- they're aiming for the Top 40. "Lying around with you, I never thought a feeling could feel so good, I gotta be closer to you" or "got my glasses all fogged up, my body's aching for your love." Yes, teen-agers around the world are going to love this up a storm. And the thing is, it works; it's really catchy.
The only truly unfortunate track of all is the eminently forgettable "Fantastic Fabulous", featuring Debbie Harry on vocals. Bear in mind that I was a teenager when Eat to the Beat and Parallel Lines were released, and I was a big fan of Blondie. But what has gone on since then, well, it just makes me sad.
Smart girls, they know exactly what they're doing. They chose a path, and are getting where they want to be. And so this is where we part. That's OK, you gave us two really brilliant albums and one that's not too bad.
