Deck
1995

The Blue Up -- Spool Forka Dish

The Blue Up's new album Spool Forka Dish comes bouncing unfettered through my speakers like 3 dishes running away with 3 spoons, an entire sendak of nutcrackers and toy soldiers. Like James Joyce telling the story of Alice in Wonderland. Rachael's voice has the quirk in it which surely brings no end of Amos/Bush/Hersh comparisons, particularly on the first couple of songs. But calm down and settle in, here. You're going to like this, as the band soon kicks into their own idiom. Of that aforementioned troika, the singing is closest to Amos, minus the aqueous, quavering drama.

Though I am a fan of those three girl singers, they tend to wear on me after repeated exposure. Rachael's voice comes through like a friend on the phone, like your little sister gone slightly goofy, like that unspeakably cute girl a couple of seats down. And though this band has lots of unique stuff, and needn't be compared to the artists above, it IS worth saying that if these are three strikes on your scorecard, then look no further.

The album is beautifully crafted and produced by Bobby Z.; it sounds fantastic in stereo, filling up 9 out of 10 dimensions in my room and the entire flattened space in my head with a lovely montage of noisy things. But it's too beautifully produced. The studio work and synthetics obscure any musicianship that may be present. Can these girls play their instruments? I'll have to see them live to find out. These mostly buoyant, darkly sparkling songs rifle by in 68 minutes that delight my soul and disappear cheshirelike, leaving me smiling, though I sometimes remember not why. The complex song writing is nearly absent traditional cadences and hookiness (no three-chorders here, dude), and I sometimes have trouble recalling any melodies.

Lyrics bristle in my mind like restless golden flies bouncing around in a jar, hooks jangle together in my tackle box brain pan. This is an intense and infecting, entertaining and literate little piece of plastic, and the discerning consumer is well advised to pick it up.

Highly Recommended