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Rating: I don't think any introduction is needed here on DeBaser for the Californian band led by the brilliant multi-instrumentalist known as Anton Newcombe. We reserve introductions perhaps for this their second album, less Stones-like and more spacey, almost "futuristic" compared to other successors already reviewed.
It's as if, at some point in their evolution, BJM decided to dive headfirst into the sixties, fully embracing a retrospective dive into the past. But here, the retrospection is less distinct, and for that reason, in a sense futuristic. In short, they always look back, but only by a decade.
Probably, even though they have maintained a mood and attitude from the past since their beginnings, in the early days, they were more influenced by their present. However, despite these premises which only serve to change their framing, their creativity remains untouched. The offering has remained brilliant and original, whatever known territory they have crossed. And the strength of Newcombe and co. lies precisely in their ability to artfully tackle a fundamental "derivativity". Indeed.
"Methodrone" (Bomp! Records, 1995) is a psychedelic drone - fancy that. - that grabs you quickly, a collection of pseudo-hits where each piece is in the right place and contributes to raising a monument to Velvet Underground, Stones, Bowie, Spacemen 3, MBV, and JAMC. The grand design of Anton Newcombe...
It's one of those albums that last, characterized by songs that are impeccable, otherworldly, all of them, in every single note of every single instrument or voice, resonating within the listener's guts as if they have always known those songs, as if they were written at the dawn of time in their unconscious, leaving a certain familiar something.
Fundamentally, it's a drugged album - fancy that. (pt. II): Methodrone, methadone... - see the praise for the sound of confusion of Spacemen 3 (therefore Stooges) memory in the hallucinogenic "Hyperventilation" (on which you almost feel like singing strictly with sunglasses and a menacing air: «WELL I'M SICK, I'M SO SICK OF A LOT OF PEOPLE...»), a garage ride that seemingly only loses itself in length and splits the work into two, as if to prepare the listener for the second act, more heterogeneous and open to experimental fragments culminating in the monumental "She's Gone" and the melancholic epilogue of the title track placed at the closing.
Also noteworthy is the Velvet-like use of charming female voices, placed sporadically but with extreme good taste, with parsimony (see "Everyone Say").
These are eternal tracks, like "Wisdom", willing to unite everyone without even remotely feeling the need to compromise, which cannot go unnoticed. They shine with their own light, in the dark, in the underground of a forgotten classic that should have been unanimously considered among the immortal manifestos of the nineties. An "Evergreen".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Evergreen (03:24)
Help me
Or make me feel fine
I feel I've wasted my time
Lately
Nothing feels right
I feel like taking my time
Just beneath the floor
Is a new world to explore
Once you've said you loved me
Right behind your door
Is a treasure you've ignored
But you have to trust me
Or nail me to the boards
Crown of thorns for my rewards
And you've said you loved me
Aaaaaahhhhhhhh
02 Wisdom (05:20)
if i thought i knew the reason
why i've gone and fallen
in love with you
you're the one thing i believe in
and i know quite well
what i've got to do
first you say it's ok
then you say there's no way
then i'm making love to you!
you're the one thing i believe in
and know it's time cause i've
got to tell you
my love
is
like a flower
daisies
are
always free.
pulling out
the petals
i
wonder,
if you
love me?
love.
love me,
love me!
if i thought i knew the reason
why i've gone and fallen
in love with you
you're the one thing i believe in
and i know it's time because i've
got to tell you
first you say it's ok
then you say there's no way
then i'm making love to you!
you're the one thing i believe in
and
i'll get my way
or
i'm going to kill you
03 Crushed (06:08)
I'm tired of living alone
I've just discovered alone
I feel uncovered with you
I feel right here
I'm kinda silly I know
I'm not your lover although
I shouldn't bother I fall for the deep clear
eyes blue
And you know
I'm in line with you
I'm tired of giving enough
I've learned from living it rough
I think I know when i must make myself clear
I'm tired of living alone
I've just discovered alone
When I'm uncovered with you
I feel right here
Cant you see
I can fly but I'm not free
care for you
All alone in the clear blue clear
And you see
I can fly but I'm not free
Its kinda of silly I know
I'm not your lover allthough
I should'nt bother I fall for the deep clear
I can fly in the clear blue
Care free
Dry my eyes in a cool breeze
And you see
-----------
-----------
-----------
I'm alone when I lie still
And care free
I can fly but I'm not free here
I can fly but I'm not free clear
I can fly but I'll fall clear
I can fly through the clear blue
04 That Girl Suicide (03:41)
i can't explain all the things that i'm feeling
and when i look i don't know what i'm seeing
she say's relax
if i want you
we'll go slow
i close my eyes and
it all goes away though
what she wants is she wants me to no-no
it happens fast but the feeling is slow-mo
i know what
she wants
but she's never
going to get it
make up your mind or
you better forget it.
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By Conteverde
Methodrone is entirely enveloped in a dense and thick moorland; it seems like a creature suspended in the waters, roaming offshore at night, bordering unexplored seabeds.
Talking about an album regarding how it made you feel...is recognizing the supreme dominance of external forces.
