Upon first listen, you can detect a ton of influences embedded in the
music of this band simply titled "Tsar." But do they have the goods to
back up such a likeness to royalty? Maybe, but at least they're not
lacking in confidence to start from the top and work their way down.
I'll give 'em this much, there's a free-spirited willingness to take a
wide right from where pop music's been heading lately - right into a dead
end devoid of emotion and uninteresting folk heros. like movements that
get old about as fast as the artists they sound like.
On their self-titled debut, they do oftentimes prove that all that glitters is
indeed gold, and that's not counting the twinkling finish on the singer's
do or the sparkle and fade of the bassist's outfit. It's refreshing to
hear (and see if you don't agree with me on this point) a debut album, or
any album for that matter, where there's at least an attempt at
uniqueness between songs rather than two or three obvious hit singles
and the rest yesterday's trash.
"Calling All Destroyers" brings the
sounds of the seventies to life, and those vintage Rick Neilson guitar
licks shooting through as though he were right there next to you. Yes,
the Cheap Trick comparisons will be obvious, but not very often -
that is if you don't count song two, "I Don't Wanna Break Up."
"Silver Shifter" could well be the theme music for just about any weekly
adolescent series, or at the least background music while Nickelodeon's
six o'clock credits roll.
"Kathy Fong Is The Bomb" is right there with
the best of The Romantics and their motor-city pop/rock grind, only
we're getting a much happier chorus here, and damn, I'll bet she is.
Worth mentioning, while all of the happy faced harmonies are wafting off
in the distance at the conclusion of song six, out of absolutely nowhere
comes this monster truck of a tune called "Afradio, Pt. One & Pt. Two,"
all of which lasts for about a minute and a half and look at me - I'm
awake! But, just as suddenly, they return to their mellow shade, hands
on heart as gently they sing their ode to the "Ordinary Gurl."
"Tsar" would've been absolutely huge in the seventies. I can see 'em
already on
every cover of Seventeen or Teen Beat or something. As it is, they'll
probably have to fight for teen-dream recognition in this day of
cyber-sex and civilian warfare, but it's good to know the opposite and
often ignored side of the human psyche gets its fair share from a young
group of up and comers that'll definitely hit it big somewhere!
