REVIEW: Gas Giants, From Beyond The Back Burner (Atomic Pop)
- Bill Holmes
The ironic title attests the fact that this record survived a label merger, an almost old-band reunion, and an almost new-band break-up. But ex-Gin Blossom Robin Wilson's determination to finally have a band with his buddies paid off in spades. Gin Blossoms fans mourning the break-up of their heroes will rejoice when they hear this record, while the harder sound might even attract a bigger audience.
The Gin Blossoms seemed to break up just when they were ready to enjoy the rewards of hard work, but this was a tense, haunted band. Founder and songwriter Doug Hopkins' tragic suicide lingered over the band's success, and following up a debut album that spawned six radio staples, Congratulations I'm Sorry had nowhere to go but down. So, Wilson grabbed drummer Philip Rhodes and old friend guitarist Dan Henzerling and started over, leaving guitarist Jesse Valenzuela and the rest of the band to regroup in some other format. When they became a casualty of the label wars, they incredibly walked away with a studio full of gear, their master recordings, and no debt. To better control their creative destiny, the Gas Giants hooked up with Internet record company Atomic Pop, who first released the record as a digital download before conventional brick and mortar stores got theirs.
And the result? Sometimes more power trio than power pop, but Burner is loaded with three minute winners. Robin Wilson is a great singer, case closed, and Henzerling's inventive guitar playing adds a lot of sparks to what could be seen as the third Gin Blossoms record. Retaining producer John Hampton was a smart move, as he obviously knows the players well and maximizes their strengths of vocal harmony, strong melodic attack, and Wilson's comically pessimistic lyrics. "Quitter" is a killer single, as memorable as anything the Gin Blossoms ever did, as is the bouncy "I Hope My Kids Like Marilyn Manson" and "In Between Two Worlds." So much for the thought that Robin Wilson can't write good songs.
Although some tracks on the disc's latter half are not as memorable, they're not filler either, and they pack enough of a wallop that you know these guys must kick ass live. Anyone who ever saw Rhodes play knows he was the glue that held the Gin Blossoms together on stage, and Henzerling's gurgling guitar break on "Quitter" (an acoustic version of which is available on the band's website as an MP3, by the way) is just one gem in his bag of tricks. The band even designed the comic-book packaging, although you'll need 20/10 vision to read the four-point "Rollerball" font they unwisely printed the lyrics with.
Jesse Valenzuela? Your serve, sir.
