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Rating:
I conclude the excursus dedicated to the great overlooked trios from the States in the late '80s, and after Buffalo Tom and Rein Sanction, I dare to tell you about The Texas Instruments, who truly ended up in oblivion (they don't even have a Wikipedia page, so to speak, and you won't find them in any search engine), even within my soul. It had truly been another century since I last put this record on the turntable, and I can only blame myself. As soon as the vinyl started spinning, I remembered everything. The first four songs are of rare beauty indeed.
What is it about, you may rightly ask, already bored by my ramblings. It's about a punk combo, with a desire to get close to their roots. And so, yes, exuberance, that of "Tomorrow's Uncertain," but with Dylan on their side. Here's the digression: even the Huskers thought about this in those years ("She Floated Away" isn't identical to "Sara" from the poet of Duluth?), and we're still in 1987. Moreover, producing "Sun Tunnels" is the same Spot that initially brought fortune to the Minneapolis group (by the way, the list of albums he's credited on would fill the whole page, but you know the drill: SST and surroundings).
But this is not the punctum, as usual. It's, pour moi, the writing. How can one not be captivated by the nonchalance of "Floating Off to Greenland" or the bucolic visions of "Little Black Sunrise" (only guitar, bass, and voice, thinking of Woody Guthrie)? In short, among the first to believe that being alternative doesn't necessarily mean making a great racket.
Guiding stars: on one side, the Minutemen (the rhythm section is absolutely indebted to them), from whom they reprise the magnificent "Life as a Rehearsal" ("Chasing a reason, refusing to reason, by listening to reason"). On the other, as already mentioned, Dylan, and not only for the vocal similarities. The cover, in this case, is: "You Ain't Going Nowhere." The rest is a handful of absolutely valid songs, which will let you understand how these three almost-nerds from Austin had already thought of alt rock, which has been much talked about in recent years. Enjoy (and also happy hunting: the LP was only released on vinyl by Rabid Cat, but there were a few CD re-releases in the mid-'90s).
Four stars to be intended as seven out of ten.
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