Lyrics on the wistful Run Home contain the following holler “SHE’S NOT THE KIND OF GIRL WHO’LL TAKE YOU AWAY FROM YER GUITAR” (their capitals, not mine, gentle reader)
Lyrics on the wistful Run Home contain the following holler “SHE’S NOT THE KIND OF GIRL WHO’LL TAKE YOU AWAY FROM YER GUITAR” (their capitals, not mine, gentle reader)
The Big City Band – Born to Bar Band
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There’s a real late ’70s vibe to this recording, right from the shouting, giggly, frat-lad chorus of the opener, Born to Bar Band. We listeners get moments that aren’t a million miles away from something Alex Chilton would produce (Murray Street) or GBV for that matter (Bicycle Man‘s scuzzy groove and slumberous drums doesn’t half remind me of something Tobin Sprout would have written).
There is also a thumping male vibe to this record; it really does conjure up images of lads at the bar. Lyrics on the wistful Run Home contain the following holler "SHE’S NOT THE KIND OF GIRL WHO’LL TAKE YOU AWAY FROM YER GUITAR" (their capitals, not mine, gentle reader), whereas Wedding Day is a paean to single male life. Balls and chains are mentioned (and we get a reprieve of the Wedding March too, played, of course, on electric guitar).
The most effective tracks come towards the end of this release. She Dreams of Airports (a great title incidentally) is a hobo strum, but has enough brio about to win you over. Plus marks are given for the lo-fi stomp welded onto it as a fade-out. Leave Your Man is another Chilton styled strum, whereas Mathematics throws us off kilter with some serious guitar noodling. In some ways it’s worth listening to this LP just to be caught out by that intro. The song gets back on track as a pleading lament which uneasily treads Jonathan Richman territory.
One for the boys, this.
Words: Richard Foster