Nixon's Head
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Pheonix New Times Philly beat combo Nixon's Head professes no interest in Britney Spears' abs, has no stake in the future of Napster, and doesn't seem very inclined to update the résumé by switching to Clinton's Head. The six-piece does, however, state clearly for the record (in its bio), "It's never been a secret that we love Nuggets-style pop and Stiff-era punk." To that end, these veteran East Coasters reaffirm their retrodelic roots with 15 garagey/New Wavey three-and-a-half-minutes-and-under gems.
Such tuneage, of course, defies furrowed-brow dissection. To paraphrase Lulu in "To Sir With Love," how do you describe someone who can take you from a whisper to a swoon? Still, the Cliff's Notes version would include: a pair of economical guitarists equally at home with chordal whomp and more serpentine, surfy leads; a persistent Farfisa organ offering a warm, reassuring vibe; one charismatic lead singer and two equally tuneful harmonists (including the gal organist, who takes lead on occasion); and buoyant, infectious musical arrangements that hew to the rock 'n' roll "backbeat: you can't lose it" prime directive. Dig the old-school R&B-flavored pop of Elvis Costello and the Attractions? "It's a Beautiful Thing" and "Home Court Advantage" could pass for This Year's Model or Armed Forces outtakes. Miss the skinny ties and girl-on-pedestal worship of the power-pop era? "A Date With Judy" is so fresh-faced and innocent you'd swear that ratty flannel shirts and grungy hair were just bad fashion dreams. Pondering whether to be a Clash city rocker while you're making all those plans for Nigel? The brainy punkitude of "Intellectual Rescue" ensures that SAT scores skyrocket whenever it's playing. Hungry for some vintage L.A.-style twang 'n' jangle? "I'm Green" puts you front and center for a Whisky-A-Go-Go double bill featuring Love and the Buffalo Springfield.
As it turns out, this is the combo's second "comeback" of sorts; following a long layoff, three of the members assembled the '98 album Gourmet, inviting friends into the studio to flesh out the instrumental roster. Recent months, however, saw the return of the original drummer, and after two former Rolling Hayseeds signed on as permanent players, NH Mk. III was born; Take It! is the inspired end result. Somewhere, someday, in a Cavestomp or Las Vegas Grind fest of the future, Nixon's Head will be the headliner that graying garage fans return home to maniacally enthuse over in chat rooms across the land. Meanwhile, the band's got the now sound -- shoot, make that the wow sound! -- down cold. Get behind the band before it gets past you.Magnet The world is full of former punk rockers whose spikes, in the clever words of the Bevis Frond's Nick Saloman, have lost their point. Most of them have put their gear away and gotten on with their lives, including members of Philadelphia's Nixon's Head. But real jobs and families don't make the music in your head stop. As songwriter Jim Slade proves on this homemade treat, these things can be liberating. In its new incarnation, Nixon's Head is making music it likes without the pressure of worrying whether anyone else will like it. The result is incredibly warm and confident, mature and relaxed, guitar-and-organ-based pop. Slade captures moments small and large with spare, wistful lyrics. The six-piece band frames them in delicate pop constructions that manage to touch on the highlights of someone's very large collection of vinyl LPs from the late '60s and early '70s. But the new/old Nixon's Head is more likely to turn up playing a coffeehouse than a sweaty punk club, and that gives away something about the way the music sounds. Like the Vulgar Boatmen or labelmates Trolleyvox, Nixon's Head make music for that lazy Sunday-morning mood, when you're feeling a little older but not ready to grow up. - Phil Sheridan Pop Matters It's a Beautiful Thing,
Indeed Attention America: Destroy your radios and go purchase Nixon's Head's Take It! NOW. Here is power pop at its most perfect. Within the 15 tracks of this album, you'll find countless hooks and irresistible melodies that will leave your senses reeling. This album is so good that it hasn't left my player since I acquired it. You may consider some championed underdogs like Fountains of Wayne to be true proponents of the lost art of power pop. But where that band falters after a few good tracks, Nixon's Head delivers the goods across the entire disc. My friends, this is where the ghost of rock and roll has rooted itself. Take It! is simply one gorgeous album.
Formed in Philadelphia in 1985 by guitarist Jim Slade, singer Andy Rosenau, bassist Mike Frank, drummer Seth Baer and second guitarist Mike Fingeroff, Nixon's Head set forth solidly, releasing a couple EPs (1986's The Doug Factor and 1988's Traps, Buckshot & Pelt) and even touring with the Dead Milkmen at one time. However, by the end of the Eighties, the music scene was invariably a mess (as it usually is), and Nixon's Head had all but called it quits by the time of 1991's single "The New World Over" b/w "What We Lack".
After some time away from each other to salvage long-standing friendships, the band reconvened in 1995 to start work on their pet project Gourmet that finally saw the light of day in 1998. By this time the group consisted of Slade, Rosenau, Frank (who switched over to guitar), Baer, and newcomers Dorothy Haug (ex-Rolling Hayseeds) on Vox organ and vocals, and John Popovics (also from the Rolling Hayseeds) on bass. This is the same lineup that contributes to all the wonderful songs on Take It!.
Slade confessed to me that he doesn't like much music past 1981. "In my opinion, the rock 'n' roll "balls" and desire that were at the heart of all sorts of music from the '60s and '70s has faded from too much music," said Jim, and quite frankly I agree. When listening to Take It! and hearing Nixon's Head take all of its Nuggets-inspired influences and making them sound as fresh as they do, one quickly becomes aware of how so much of today's music really does suck. I told Jim that in a fair world Take It! would most certainly be number one.
Indeed, one can play "Spot the Influence" with this album, but why bother? The music speaks for itself as a fantastically original sound that defies all the worn out retro-categorizations that so many other members of the rock press have rushed to apply to this band. There are no gimmicks here. This is straight rock as it was meant to be heard. Tight harmonies, chiming guitars, super-groovy organ lines, straight-forward drumming and tasty bass playing that holds it all together. Aside from a nifty phase effect at the end of "Kids" and some backwards guitar in "Yeah Yeah Yeah", Nixon's Head plays it for keeps without bowing to the cloying preciousness and general lack of talent that so many fly by night pop groups wear on their sleeves these days.
Among my favorite moments are the fantastic guitar parts in "Microcycle" (what a riff!), and Haug's vocals on "Get Yourself Together". Dorothy's voice reminds me both of the Katydids'-now-solo Susie Hug and ex-Area/Moon Seven Times lead chanteuse Lynn Canfield, two of my all time favorite female musicians. Jim Slade's own singing on "A Date With Judy" recalls Young Fresh Fellow's Scott McCaughey at times, which also brings a smile to my face. Rosenau handles 95% of the vocal duties on the rest of the album, and he's as great as they come. On "Visionary", he reminds me a lot of Roger Powell from Utopia, which is great because Powell's "Windows" from the Oops! Wrong Planet LP is my favorite Utopia tune. Directly to the point, Andy's vocalizing is one of the main reasons why Nixon's Head sounds so damn good.
I told Jim that his band was the shit. That's as clearly as I can state it to you as well. From the vicious Truth in "Kids" (‘bout time someone said it all so perfectly in a rock song) to the beautifully pure emotion that surrounds "Home Court Advantage", Take It! is one hell of an album that should not be missed. There are no clinkers here. Jim claims that this is a "dance record", and he's right. Long after your feet have settled down, your brain will still be jumping to these tunes. I personally wish to thank Jim himself for contacting me and giving me the chance to hear this disc. Don't miss out on this one, yourself.