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The members of "Super Kreme"
are no strangers to touring and recording. They all came up in
popular acts in Ohio. Guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, Matt
Sobol, fronted the band "The Waynes." Taking on the
same chores, Susan Rasch fronted her own band, "Rasch."
Bass player, Paul Lewis, and drummer, Jeff Harmon, both played
in the band "Jehova Waitresses." They all came together
to form "Super Kreme" in January of 1997. Sobol and
Rasch share the writing and singing for the new band, and their
new self-titled debut album has a lot going for it from the start
with Scott Litt producing (REM, Pavement).
"I'll Be Around" starts off hard
and fast, with all instruments grinding after a short guitar
intro. Sobol's vocals are slightly irritating, but once I got
used to them, I liked them. Rasch supplies backing vocals on
the tune, which helps soften Sobol's a bit. "Hang Nail,"
a Rasch composition, is a definite rocker, on the order of Joan
Jett, but Rasch's vocals are much smoother. She sings "We
feel so real. . ."
A Sobol tune, "Swerve," is heavy
on bass. It has great harmonies from Sobol and Rasch right from
the beginning. I like their voices together. The guitar work
has a great finished garage band sound to it, much as did early
"REM." Sobol's voice is better on this song than on
the first. "Mary Jane" is a Rasch song, about being
average, but wanting to be noticed. Some of the beat is handled
with claps. One guitar is clean sounding, while the other is
a harsh rumble, accentuating the contrast between the "Mary
Jane" average look verses the desired super model look.
Guitar on "Won't Tell Why" is
awesome. There are interesting rests that leave the listener
hanging for a precarious moment. This follows the theme well,
as the song is about meeting in a certain spot for reasons not
revealed. "Meet me in the place we thought of before/ And
I don't need to tell you what's in store/ The circle's become
a spiral you can't ignore. . ."
"Letter Goes Nowhere" has a long
intro of guitar and humming. Drums join in, and ultimately it's
the drum that ends the three with a double beat. Then the song
starts in earnest, with a shift in the music and lyrics. The
song is about what to do about an argument. "Tried to explain
what I said in anger/ It's walkin' through what I knew was coming/
Find a trace of what comes after/ Turn away about face we couldn't
say it didn't matter. . ." Harmonies are good on this one.
Drums and heavy guitar ignite "Dream
Girl." It has the same theme as "Mary Jane," but
it pokes fun at what a dream girl is by the definition one might
get from advertising. "Niagara" has engaging, clashing
guitar riffs and an airy vocal by Rasch. It's a hard rocker of
a song. Though I can't catch many of the words it has a nice
feel to it. "Invisible" might be unseen, but you can't
miss it for the din of cymbals, drum and guitar. Sobol's vocal
is a bit more whiny here. It examines what life would be like
invisible.
"Blue Man" has a complex guitar
intro which gives a good indication of where the song is going.
Sobol's vocals are sharp; Rusch's back up is reminiscent of "Exene
Cervenka." This is a good song, filled with nice riffs.
"Don't want to live my life as a blue man/ I didn't come
here to leave here a blue man. . ." The song is about trying
to keep a positive attitude. "Tea and Sympathy" features
a more varied Rasch vocal, heavy guitar and Sobol backing vocals.
Rasch reminds me of Chrissy Hynde of "The Pretenders,"
but more melodic. "Long Road Gravity" has gritty, hard
guitar at the beginning; drum and bass come in next. A winding
lead weaves its way through the landscape they create. Vocals
are cool and unrushed. Through some passages of the song, Rasch
and Sobol do repeated breaths, "heh, heh, heh. . ."
It makes for a different percussive element.
"Super Kreme" is a fairly impressive
first effort from a promising new band. Stand outs for me were
"Swerve" and "Won't Tell Why," but they didn't
stand out a lot. There is also nothing here that really bothered
me. A second album from "Super Kreme" may reveal some
intense surprises. I'll be watching for them.
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