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Gene
Olympian
Polydor
Gene have taken alotof flack for bear-
ing a too-obvious-to-be-uncanny resem-
blance to the Smiths. Musically, the simi-
larities do exist, and even the sleeve for
their debut LP"Olympian"irecallsthe film
stills that graced the covers of the old
Smiths records. What difference though,
does it make that the album containstrac
of inspiration and even imitation?Itmak
none. After all, Elastica steal from Wire
and the Stranglers. Oasis rip off the New
Seekers. The verdict? Critical acclaim.
Why? Because neither Wirethe Stranglers
nor the New Seekers can comfortably lay
claimtothetitle "Most ImportantBandofthe
'80s." So it goes; rewrite "I'd Like to Teach
the World to Sing"andprepareto be lauded,
but attempttotakeon the torchthatMorrissey,
Marr and co.carriedsosuccessfully,and pre-
pare for the firing line.
To begin with, singer Martin Rossiter
resembles the Moz in delivery only. His
voice is gruff, like a Psychedelic Furs-era
Richard Butler, yet carries an acute sense
of urgency, invoking the ghost of Freddy
Mercury. Rossiter's lingo, with turns o
phrase such as "My kith and kin" and ref-
erences to "Wandsworth's finest land-
mark,"occasionally sounds a bit precious,
but fortunately his sentiments are as honest
as the music. Whether the subject mattf
happens to be dead relationships, dead
friends, mob violence, obsession/compul-
sion or leaving the small town behind, he
neveraffectsbutalwayssingsfromtheheart.
One can detect traces of Suede in
"Sleep Well Tonight" and rockabilly in
"To the City," though the Faces, as the
group has claimed, are probably one of
Gene's biggestinfluences.This checks out
thoroughly, not only in the Hammond or-
ganic threads of their sonic tapestry,
primarily in Steve Mason's guitar work.
addition to banging out the muscular licks
of"A Car That Sped" and "Left-Handed,"
Masonprovescapable of showing restraint
when it's called for, betraying Marr-esque
melodicisms as wellas bluesy brawn.
Musically and lyrically, Gene winds
the unnerving content of the LP, with
strings of genuine emotion, which is pre-
cisely what makes "Olympian" such an
impressive and yes, unique work.
-Thomas Crowley
CLUELESS
continued from page 9
rapid pace and in good humor. Certain
stereotypes (gay men can dress! the guy
with long hair is a stoner!) abound with
relative good naturedness and little mal-
ice; by the end of this congenial comedy
the only groups that might protest s
college students, here little more thant
tellectual social geeks arguing Nietzsche
over coffee. Please, we're just as shal-
low. As if.
Silverstone ... well, she is the crux of
the film and holds it together. As shallow
as she gets, she's still completely sympa-
thetic, funny and sexy, something
Shannen Doherty could have learned.
Maybe the film is "Heathers" Lite and
not as real life as director A
Heckerling's previous "Fast Times
Ridgemont High," but it's got heart and
even makes its eventual incestuous love
story tolerable.
Like 90210, but intentionally funny.
r