March 2023 REVIEWS
by Mike Baron
RANSOM AND THE SUBSET: Perfect Crimes
Ransom and the Subset is a trio, but they sound like a rock symphony, sleekly sophisticated and relentlessly melodic. Brian Wilson/Burt Bacharach level genius. RanDair wrote the songs and sings like a straight-faced joker on “Perfect Crime,” the opener. Each hook comes as a surprise and inevitable. Sometimes they sound like Supraluxe, but mostly they sound like themselves. “Sara Kandi” is filled with grace notes like the rippling piano and galloping drums. “Meet You Again” combines the cool elegance of the Hushdrops with a Bacharach-like chorus, and “Bring Him Home” has Sun Sawed in ½ level harmonies. Most of these songs do, including “Time In A Tunnel” which starts out over an attenuated reggae beat before flashing peacock harmonies. “Fast Car” kicks it up into Bonfiglio territory. Will be on everybody’s ten-best list.
They make the most of their postage-stamp sized territory with beautiful art and design. The CD looks as good as they sound.
THE AMPLIFIER HEADS: Rectifier (Rum Bar)
Sal Baglio’s in a lot of bands including two right now: the Peppermint Kicks and The Amplifier Heads. Peppermint Kicks is a band, but Amplifier Heads is all Sal with with percussionist Kevin Rapillo. Sal’s a master of rock tropes and slightly obsessed with the art form. Peppermint Kicks’ first song on their album is “When Rock & Roll Met Your Dad.” The first song on Amplifier Heads is “The Man Who Invented Rock and Roll.” Both “Dad” and “The Man” start out with a Kingsmen-like riff, the latter referencing “Louie Louie.” Teens scratched their heads bald trying to decipher the lyrics, as they did decades later with “Blinded By The Light.” Sal always veers off into his own territory, rearranging the basic building blocks of rock into fresh figures. “Monsters” is a bit Greg Pope-like, and not just because of the subject matter, and “Space Cadette” summons the spirit of Early Stones. For those who like their rock gritty with a chaser, like beer and a shot of bourbon.
THE LAISSEZ FAIRS: Singing In Your Head (Rum Bar)
Psychedelic quartet’s fifth album arrives amid swirling fog, haunting vocals, and the scent of patchouli and marijuana. The howling guitar on “Real Good Time In 1969” is as seamless as a synthesizer. “Kathleen Caffeine” is sooo sixties. In fact, the whole album is, with echoes of the Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, and Country Joe and the Fish. “A Wildforce” shares DNA with Israel’s greatest power pop band, the Rock4. You can hear Doors opening on “Everything Is Now Is Never Enough.” Even the titles are sixties. The ensemble singing is reminiscent of the sadly unheralded Jessica Fletchers. “Pretty Penny” sounds like something the Hi Dials might do, another band worthy of a wider following. Which is not to say the Laissez Fairs don’t have their own sound. They are instantly identifiable. You don’t need to drop acid to love them.
