8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 17, 1993

RECORDS
Continued from page 5
guished and deals with love/hate rela-
tionships and~ dismemberment better
than "Boxing Helena" could in its
dreams; "Hook" isacool, clankyrocker;
"Man-Size Sextet" is taut and disturb-
ing. Her blues-based punk rock is per-
fect for the amazing cover she does of
Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited"
and her fiery single, "50 Ft Queenie."
The entire album radiates power. And it
should; P J Harvey is direct, uncom-
plaining and the strongest woman in
music today.
Ironically, though she is-one of the
most deserving artists today, she may
scare off the majority of her potential
audience with the sheer strength of her
pyrsonality and music. "Hot' producer
SJeveAlbini doesn't help matters much
by actually interfering with the impact
aid motion of the album with his occa-
sionally garbled and buried production;
however, he also gives the album a
sparse skeletal feel that often comple-
ments Harvey's music. At any rate, she
is releasing an album of demos from
"Rid of Me" that is closer to her per-

sonal concept of the music.
At first listen, this release sounds
unlistenable but grows more accessible
with each listen. "Rid of Me" is a scary,
smart, impressive album; with any luck
the music scene won't be rid of P J
Harvey for many years.
- Heather Phares
The Breeders
Last Splash
Elektra
Well. The new, eagerly awaited
project from ex-Pixie Kim Deal and her
band the Breeders, the follow-up to
1990's sparse, catchy "Pod" and the
snarling EP "Safari," one of the most
hyped releases of the year is ... a bit of a
disappointment, actually. First, the good
news.
"Last Splash" features a brilliant
single, "Cannonball," which mixes
punk, pop and hip-hop to create Deal's
most original song since "Pod"'s "Doe"
and "Gigantic" (from the Pixies' "Surfer
Rosa"). Along with this powerhouse of
a single are the strong album tracks
"Invisible Man," a wistful song about
the love 'em and leave 'em persuasion

of men, "I Just Wanna Get Along," a
tough, stuttering rocker, "Divine Ham-
mer," which has stunning harmonies,
and "Driving on 9" is charming in a
sweetly honky-tonk way, in the tradi-
tion of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams,
Sr.
Now, the bad news: these moments,
though brilliant, are merely moments
and are not maintained through the
whole album.
The opening track, "New Year," is a
difficult and strange song that takes
more than a few listens to comprehend;
"No Aloha" is the most frustrating song
on the album - it begins with Kim's
great voice and a churning guitar, then
explodes into a burning Sex Pistols type
thing - and then abruptly piddles off
into nothing.
"Roi" (pronounced "raw") and its
reprise are tiresome, turgid guitargrinds,
and the instrumentals "Flipside" and
"S.O.S" are just filler. To add insult to
injury, many of the songs don't fulfill
their lyrical promise ("Hag" and
"Saints," for example), and Kim's won-
drous voice is often buried and garbled
by the overly fussy production.
Listening to "Last Splash" leaves
the listener hollow, but the experience
reveals that neither Deal nor her ex-
bandmate Frank Black were solely re-
sponsible for the vitality and innovation
that is still apparent on the Pixies' best
albums.
If all this album had going for it was
its beautiful cover, "LastSplash"would
still be worth getting - it's not a total
loss. Hopefully, the Breeders' next al-
bum willbebetter... ifthisisn'ttheirlast
splash as a group.
- Heather Phares

,"

Big Chief will hold a record release party at St. Andrew's Hall Saturday, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.


By TOM ERLEWINE
Ann Arbor's very own funk-punk
outfit Big Chief has quietly been build-
ing a solid fan base across the country
for the last few years and their new
album, "Mack Avenue Skull Game,"
should earn them quite a few more. Big
Chief's grooves cut deeper than either
the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus
-instead of showy theatrics or snatches
of avant-noise the group concentrates
on the funk. In fact with its trippy early

us call of the wild

'70s vibe, "MackAvenue Skull Game,"
the soundtrack for an upcoming film by
forUniversity ofMichigan studentMike
Clark, recalls nothing less than the
Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head."
Where the Beasties are amateur
musicians at best, Big Chief actually

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Big Chief
Mack Avenue Skull Game
Sub Pop

MASS MEETING * MASS MEETING
Indian American Student Association

The University of Michigan
School of Music
Sun. September 19
Ann Arbor Dance Works
With guest artists Karen Brown and Keith Saunders of Dance Theater of
Harlem
Works by LucasdHoving, Bill DeYoung, Jessica Fogel and Linda Spriggs
Music performed by Stephen Rush
Power Center, 4 p.m.
Tickets: $10, $6 (students and seniors)

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IASA
Sign-up for the Diwali Show,
the Big Sib / Little Sib pro-
gram, and bring money for
membership as well as
Diwali Show tickets ($20
membership & 2 tickets)

can tear the hell out of their grooves
with their slashing guitars and lumber-
ing, muscular rhythm section. Different
elements of funk, hip-hop, punk and
guitar sludge weave in and out of the
mix, giving the album an appealing,
sleazy charm. Vocalist Barry Henssler
blends Curtis Mayfield-style melodies
with the churning, adrenalized Stax/
Isaac Hayes and hip-hop rhythms of the
band.
At times "Mack Avenue" hits too
close to "Check Your Head" territory -
"Cop Kisser (Mack Fucks Up the Scene
at the Freezer)" recalls their hard-core
punk roots much like the Beasties' own
"Time for Livin"' - but the album

doesn't sound like a Xerox. From the
free-form freak-out of "He Needs to Be
Dead/fen Easy Pieces" to the solid funk
of the rest of the album, Big Chief has
Different elements of
funk, hip-hop, punk and
guitar sludge weave In and
out of the mix, giving the
album an appealing,
sleazy charm. Vocalist
Barry Henssler blends
Curtis Mayfield-style
melodies with the
churning, adrenalized
Stax/isaac Hayes and hip-
hop rhythms of the band.
made a creative, distinctive record that
manages to evoke a specific time and
place - the broken-down neighbor-
hoods of downtown Detroit during the
Seventies. "Mack Avenue Skull Game"
is another impressive release from Big
Chief; the album maintains its sleazy,
gritty mood with its impressive fusion
of classic early'70s soul and contempo-
rary funk and rock.
Catch BIG CHIEF's record release
party for "Mack Avenue Skull Game"
at St. Andrew's Saturday. Tickets are
only $10 and the doors open at 8pm.
Outrageous Cherry and Grasshopper
are the opening acts. It's an all ages
show, so there's no reason not to go.

Mass meeting: September 17th (tonite!)
7 pm in the Pendelton Room, Union

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Northside Community Church
929 Barton Drive
betuen Plymouth Road and Pontiac Trail
fire minutes from North Campos
j. Ca,',p Den is1 Cate'r
. Terence I. McGinn
A SPECIAL WELCOME TO NORTH CA MPUS STUDENTS
SUNDAYS
9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for all ages
11:00a.m.- Worship, child care provided
THURSDAYS
5:45 p.m.-Young Adult Dinner /Bi-ble study
for students & spouses
6:45 p.m. - Bell Choir rehearsal
7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir rehearsal
A warm, informal settingjor worship
and fpintual growth
for transportation call 662-6351

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'A TERFCOLCTOY
BETY HERAN BSTO GOB

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this years
* Oscar Wintner
"OMNIBGS"
ANDALUSIAN PICTURES
IST INTERNATIONAL
FESTIVAL OF SHORT FILMS

- -

Oscar Nominee

UM students,faculty, and staff
must show valid University of
MichiganI.D.
may bring two escorted guests
your guests will each be required
to show a valid picture I.D. and
sign the guest register
Michigan Union
Identification:
required after 8:30 p.m.
No entry after 1:30 a.m.
Building Access
Fririav

Gold A

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AN URBAN TRAGE DY
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Best shar - Cannes
"Longon Laughter &Imagination!"
(- K. Thomas, LA TIMES)
This collection of mini movies from 5
countries will hold you spellbound.
From the contagious tone of The
Lounge Bar, and the dark beauty of
The Childeaterto the sweaty pace
of Rushes, and the hilarious climax
of Safari Holiday. These entertain-
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the best the medium has to offer!

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