Record Boy Ink:
Record Boy likes records with a point of view. Simple as
that. Nothing like an album full of well written tunes and lyrics that come
from an artist’s heart. Sometimes these records turn up from unlikely sources.
Take the new Veruca Salt Resolver
(Velveteen/Beyond) for example. For those not familiar with the band, here’s a
little background. Originally fronted by two young Chicago women, Nina Gordon
and Louise Post, the band seemed on the brink of a commercial breakthrough,
with both their 1994 debut “American Thighs” and 1997’s “Eight Arms To Hold
You” being certified Gold albums. Then the two young lifelong friends got
involved simultaneously with the same rock star and there went the friendship
and the musical partnership.
Louise Post somehow managed to keep the band name,
reformed the group, poured her anger and frustration into 13 tracks and the
result is “Resolver.” Taking sonic cues from fellow Chicagoan Billy Corgan,
Louise and new musical partner Brian Liesegang literally go from a whisper to a
scream on tracks like “Wet Suit” and “Yeah Man” complete with crunchy guitars
and jet propelled drumming. The record, produced by Louise and Brian has other
great production values (booming bass, sharp snare sounds and tasteful
keyboards) and the arrangements are dynamic and even occasionally profound.
She addresses her rock star soap opera directly on the
majority of the tracks, but very powerfully on “Used To Know Her” (sample
lyric…”I used to know her but now… it just doesn’t matter…”) “Officially Dead”
(sample: “You’re officially dead- you don’t have a
heart”) and “Only You Know” (sample: “Don’t blame me for sinking the
ship…you’re a hopeless liar and a hypocrite”). Other great songs include “All
Dressed Up” (sample: “I’m all dressed up to be what you want me to be”) and
“Imperfectly” where Louise pledges her love, warts and all (sample: “Will you
marry me… if I am the one with cold feet”).
“Resolver” keeps with the Veruca Salt tradition of
saluting the Beatles. Not only did they swipe the original title of “Help” to
name their last record “Eight Arms To Hold You”, they also gave a nod to “Glass
Onion” on their single “Volcano Girls.” This record brings to mind a particular Beatle era. Remember how
powerful John Lennon’s first couple of solo albums were after the official
Beatle breakup? You can relax if you’re thinking I’m comparing Louise Post’s
music to John Lennon’s. I’m saying that the adversity Louise faced as a result
of her split with Nina gave her plenty of material for this record. She did an
outstanding job both lyrically and musically to express her pain.
John Lennon would have appreciated what went into making
“Resolver” more than most.