Scott Andrew - lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!

So I’m really perplexed about the new Oysterhead album. Oysterhead should have been a cross-generational/cross-genre music geek’s dream: Trey Anastasio from Phish, Les Claypool from Primus, and Stewart Copeland from the Police. Musically competent, extremely tight. But it just doesn’t gel. The majority of songs sound like Primus throwaways (with better production; I’ve never been a big Primus fan although Claypool has mad chops). The handful of Anastasio tunes are pure Phish with some interesting drum loops. And where is my man Stewart? His distinctive drumming is lost in the mess.

My despondency is somewhat compounded by Summershine, the new album from Vigilantes of Love. As many reviewers have already pointed out, gone is the Americana-tinged roughness that made VoL great, and in its place is a shiny college pop sound straight outta 1984. In fact, several of the tunes (”Nothing New” and “Making It Up” come immediately to mind) sound startlingly like they belong on R.E.M’s Murmur or Reckoning. It’s not all bad, but it sounds forced if a bit defeated, as if Bill and the gang decided to find out how happily they could jangle. BTW, if you’re not a VoL fan yet, grab a copy of their compilation CD.