^Tuesday, March 31, 1992
The Battalion
Page 9A
Cranes bring back classic Goth rock
By Kevin Robinson
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The last time I checked, Goth rock this good died
when the Cure started to smile. I was wrong. It was
only hiding out in a small English town.
I "Wings of Joy," the second album by the Cranes,
was recommended to me by several friends who
know of my liking for early eighties gloom and
doom music. Since Ian Curtis hung himself and
bands like the Cure and the Banshees have become
dance floor favorites, the only way to get a healthy
dose of musical depression was from that old stand
by, 4AD. Even then, it just wasn't the same. As
good as many of the 4AD bands are, overprocessed
locals and washes of instrumental noise can only
progress so far. After that, it tends to grow stale
retty quick.
The Cranes, thank God, have come along at the
erfect time to throw me back to when I first listened
to those scratchy old Bauhaus or Joy Division LPs.
he Cranes are not, however, just a nostalgia trip,
eband is firmly set in the nineties.
The group takes their cue from the numerous
ther English rock groups with ethereal female vo
cals and runaway guitar noise. They're not, however,
quite as rock n' roll as Lush, and the happiness of re
cent Cocteau Twins is not something the band's mu
sic will be expressing. If any musical debts are owed,
it's to American minimal groups like Hugo Largo
and Hetch Hetchy. The Cranes, however, combine
the style of their American cousins with some of the
moodiness and atmosphere which the English seem
to do best.
The Cranes construct most of their tunes around
a piano melody or acoustic guitar riff. Siblings Jim
and Allison Shaw provide the backbone of the band,
with Jim writing most of the music and Allison pro
viding striking, shrill vocals and a subtle bass. Alli
son's vocals are unusual enough that they take some
getting used to, but once they do, its hard to imagine
this album without them.
The opening track on the album, "Watersong" let
me know that I was really going to enjoy this album.
The song starts with a quiet little piano melody, and
Allison's voice slowly begins flowing over the tune
about halfway through. It honestly sounds more like
a film soundtrack than a pop song, and while good, I
was afraid that this would be one more band at
tempting an "ambient" sound. Later songs proved
me dead wrong.
" Adbration" and "Leaves of Summer" are two of
the best songs on the album. They manage to be sub
tle, but have a quiet intensity about them. In the
completely opposite vein is "Starblood, " a harsh,
distortion number from the band's first album.
If this was the style of the entire first album, the
Cranes have progressed enormously from generic
Lush rip-off to a distinct sound all their own.
No Doubt's debut takes goofy look at life
By Chris Eklof
The Battalion
No Doubt
ijNo Doubt"
^ . Interscope
<[ Sprouting from Orange Coun-
r jjity, California, home of Disney-
^ land, No Doubt takes a cartoonish
look at life and many of its prob-
|fems, both major and meaningless.
3—-^—4Fast food, famous models and the
L I painful removal of wisdom teeth
are all topics within the realm of
No Doubt.
j No Doubt's wacked out per
spectives are laid out over music
that is just as fun as the lyrics. No
Doubt blends funk, ska and rock
into songs that have terminally
happy beats. A three man horn
section backs up the band on sev
eral of the songs.
The horn section makes many
of the songs sound like the intro-
iduction to the "Tonight Show" or
a television game show. This sim
ply adds to the weirdness of the
album.
The breeding point for No
Doubt's humor is inside the head
of keyboardist Eric Stefani. Ste-
fani's past work as an animator on
"The Simpsons" and "Mighty
Mouse" only adds to the band's
cartoon image. Stefani is the main
writer of the group and gets com
plete credit for the album's
strangest songs, "Paulina" and "A
Little Something Refreshing."
Stefani's sister, Gwen, does the
majority of the singing on the al
bum, handing over the micro
phone to her brother only on the
lustful love sohg, "Paulina."
"Paulina" is Stefani's one-
handed tribute to a famous model.
He stares at her picture all day
long, wishes she would take off all
her clothes and then he "single-
handedly turns the page."
"A Little Something Refresh
ing" takes an absolutely essential
element of life, food, and makes a
song about it. It is meaningless.
non-important, but totally fun. It
describes a mad eating frenzy then
ends appropriately enough with a
long, protracted burp.
No Doubt does occaionally at
tacks a more important song, but
even the topic of addiction is treat
ed with a nappy feeling. "Sink
ing" is about alcohol addiction
while "Trapped In A Box" exposes
an addiction that is not too often
thought of —the addiction to tele
vision.
More often than not, the sub
ject matter of No Doubt stays on
the light side. They will write a
song about anything and every
thing. The song "Ache" goes on
and on, telling the story of Ste
fani's wisdom teeth removal. It is
basically about how much pain
the guy was in. Certainly, nobody
else cares about that, but it did not
stop No Doubt from making an
other goofy song.
"Goofy" is what the group is
all about. No Doubt looks to have
fun first and make music second.
Guess who can’t touch this?
Humpty-Hump (left) and Money-B, rappers for the hip-hop group Digital Underground, play “guess-the-artist'’ (here the
popular Hammer) during an MSC Town Hall concert Friday night in Deware Field House.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
OFF CAMPUS CENTER
HOUSING FAIR
1992
1992 HOUSING FAIR
Go for the gold in your off-campus housing search!
Over 50 management properties and 15 service
providers will be on hand with information about
their properties and services.
Wednesday, April 1, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Memorial Student Center
Scuba lessoNS
1/2 PRICE BUDDY SPECIAL
(Sign up and set your Buddy in at 1 /2 Price J
Classes begin: April 2nd
read for schedules! April 20th
May 4th
Dive Trips: jm*
•Heated Pool*
•Textbook and Scuba Equip, included*
Cozumel- June 24th - June 29th
Belize- August Dates TBA
SCUBA
115 College Main. College Station TOn NorthgateJ 409-846-9396
SHANNON
DURKIN
TREASURER
1995
COMING IN CONCERT
STEVE CAMP
Benefiting Still Creek Boy's Ranch
Presented by Aggie Men's Club
Thursday, April 2, 8:00 p.m.
RUDDER AUDITORIUM
Tickets $7.00 in advance $8.00 at the door
Sww
COLLEGE STATION
□
ATTENTION:
ALL DEC. ’92
GRADUATING
SENIORS
If you are a member of the Class of ’92 and will
graduate in December ’92, you may vote in the
upcoming Class of ’92 Class Agents Election.
Stop by the MSC Hallway (across from the Post Office)
Tues., Mar. 31; Wed., Apr. 1; or Thurs., Apr. 2,
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. to cast your vote.
STUDENT ID REQUIRED.
The Association of Former Students will hold
Fall Senior Induction Banquets for Dec. ’92
graduates in Nov. ’92
Q