Velvet Crush’s Ric Menck told a UK fanzine in 1990 that the main difference between the British and American underground scenes was groove. British guitar groups, Menck observed, mostly don’t know how to groove.I suspect that among the most important points Menck had in mind was America’s powerpop tradition and the musician/producer Mitch Easter.
Following their rollicking debut album, Anchorage, it’s hardly surprising that Brooklyn's Boy Genius get Mitch Easter – producer of Anchorage’s most obvious influences, REM and Pavement – in the control booth for their new single, Blame Love.
Blame Love grooves (of course it does!); it freewheels, it cavorts, it spells out L-O-V-E (more in the manner of Orange Juice than Al Green), and it has that woozy keyboard sound that says “1967”. The b-side is a rousing, jangling cover of Miracle Legion’s The Backyard (and, yes, that grooves, too).
There’ll be another single this year and then an album, Staggering, produced by Easter out next year.
3 comments:
Hey Ben - Thanks for the support. Mitch didn't actually produce this version of "Blame Love", but there will be an Easter produced version of the song on Staggering.
Among my most prized 7" singles is Menck's band Choo Choo Train's This Perfect Day. That and the Velvet Crush heritage make anything associated with his name worth tracking down.
Mitch Easter himself was no slouch in the janglepop stakes either. The two Let's Active albums I have are fantastic with the track "Fell" from side two of 1986's Big Plans For Everybody on my all-time favourite song list.
Paul - oh, fuck, I'll take "excellent research skills" off my CV right now.
Anon - This Perfect Day is a cracking single. And the sleeve has Menck clutching Big Star's #1 Record in a powerpop tribute.
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