No on Yes

Abunai!, Other Star People, Baby Ray

Cellars by Starlight by Brett Milano

One of the more overlooked '60s concept albums was the Turtles' 1968 opus, The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands -- to date the definitive example of what can happen when a formerly wholesome outfit gets hold of the right drugs. It's remembered among diehards for its wealth of in-jokes (the single, "Elenore," was a takeoff on gooey-sweet pop that nearly everyone mistook for the real thing), but mostly for its ingenious concept. Although a few other bands have tried on alter egos -- notably XTC as the Dukes of Stratosphear -- nobody else has gone so far as to pose as a dozen fake bands in a mock-compilation album.

Until last month, when local band Abunai! (whose name is Japanese for "Look out!") released their second long-player, The Mystic River Sound (on Camera Obscura). Not only did they invent 11 different bands to populate the disc, they even made up the context: it's packaged as a comp documenting a fringe-music circuit that's been flourishing for decades in Boston's north suburbs. Contributors include an Anglophilic folk-rock band (the Merrye Shyrwode Rangers), an acid-punk-outfit (North End Molasses Disaster), a cosmic-jam band (the Tea Tokens), and Abunai! themselves, who allegedly bring things up to date with their own closing track. The liner notes spin a fake history of the above, complete with in-jokes -- two of the made-up bands from the Turtles' album are named as role models.

Of course, it's unlikely that anyone's going to be fooled: like the Turtles' album, Abunai!'s disc ultimately sounds like one band playing in a bunch of different styles. But the concept helps make sense of the band's eclecticism: instead of going for a semi-homogenized approach (as on their debut, Universal Mind Decoder), they pick up all their musical passions and run with them. So they wind up getting full-tilt poppy, full-tilt proggy, full-tilt psychedelic, and full-tilt folky (the last two on a terrific reworking of the standard "Barbara Allen") in a way they didn't quite do on the debut. My other gripe with the earlier album, a flat and/or tentative quality to its vocals, is also remedied here -- all four members sing, and playing other characters evidently gave them a vocal confidence they didn't have before.

Some parts of the album sound more retro than others, but the members of Abunai! reject the prog-rock tag -- then again, rejecting tags was what the best prog-rock was all about. And so is the thrill of exploration that's all over this album. Many of the songs were built around improvs, and it's impressive enough to hear a band whose jams go somewhere -- especially one whose jam ethos predates Phish and largely bypasses the Dead. (Abunai!'s jamming side is best shown on "Lockjam," a long, hidden track that plays only as a computer MP3. And the cross-references go on, as that track takes its name from local band Lockgroove, to whom it pays homage.) "What we all like is strong melodies and strong instrumentation," says drummer Joe Turner. "As far as prog-rock goes, yes on Hawkwind and no on Yes."

When I meet them at Redbones in David Square, it's clear that this band can match anyone in town for obsessive musical knowledge. I guess wrong that their take on "Barbara Allen" is based on the Everly Brothers' version (it was actually Joan Baez) but correctly peg "Merrye Shyrwode Rangers" as an Albion Band song title. And some of the Mystic River references are more obscure than that: note that the first track is credited to the Sea Monks. "It was an improvisation that we did in the studio that I just wrote the vocals to," says singer/guitarist Brendan Quinn. "The joke was that it's like sea monkeys -- Instant Abunai!, just add water."

Do they expect listeners to get all this? "No," reply all four members in unison. "But it takes on a life of its own," says drummer Joe Turner. "We realize it's a different experience for the average listener, since we're in the room and we've heard these songs literally hundreds of times in various stages of completion." Adds bassist Dan Parmenter, "It could be argued that we're an overly intellectual band. Sometimes it's a load of crap, of course, but we do have reasons for everything we do."

One reason for the new album's concept was a fanzine review that they took to heart; the reviewer suggested they take the styles on the first album and push them further out. "The material predated the album concept," admits Parmenter. "It was a way of reconciling ourselves to the diversity of what we had." And they don't find it too odd that traditional folk music has found its way into their mix. "It's music of the folks," notes Quinn, cringing as he realizes he's just quoted the Del Fuegos' infamous beer commercial. "I mean, as opposed to music of the court. Popular music and folk music both derive from the tradition of people who work day jobs like we do and go out to bars at night. To my mind, the passing-on of garage riffs is also part of the folk process."

Although the gig hasn't been finalized yet, it looks possible that Abunai! will be part of a dream bill with '60s punk/prog legends the Pretty Things at the Middle East next month. Meanwhile, the latest issue of the UK psychedelic fanzine Ptolemaic Terrascope carries a bonus CD that includes Abunai! backing Barbara Manning on her song "Dock Ellis," about the major-league pitcher who claimed to have pitched his no-hitter while on acid. This unrehearsed, one-time performance happened at the Middle East two years ago and is fondly remembered by those of us who caught it.

OTHER STAR PEOPLE

Don't look now, but the Cars are finally becoming a trendy role model. You've got Ric Ocasek producing Weezer and Guided by Voices; you've had Letters to Cleo covering "Dangerous Type." And now you've got Other Star People, an LA band whose debut album (on A&M) has a lot of the Cars spirit -- namely, that cross of hedonism and wry cynicism -- if not the exact sound. Diamonds in the Belly of the Dog was done with former Cars/Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker -- who's been largely MIA since Shake It Up -- and guest keyboardist Greg Hawkes. "We wanted to keep the same formula as the first Cars album or the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady," notes group founder and ex-L7 member Jennifer Finch over the phone from LA. "Our songs are short because we're MTV generation and have no attention spans, and we don't expect anyone else to. And we used the same Vocoder that was on the Cars' albums -- that's exciting to us, because we have no lives."

The group's other Boston connection is drummer Todd Phillips, the former Bullet LaVolta member who's been a mainstay of Juliana Hatfield's band. He's known Finch since 1990, when LaVolta were in LA to make the Swandive album. "The thing about this band is that it's got everything we were missing, personally and musically, from our old projects," he says. "It's based on spectacular performances, which our old bands weren't." It's no secret that Finch's departure from L7 was less than amicable; her replacement was ex-Belly member Gail Greenwood, who's also left the band. "Other Star People was a side project up until we got signed," she says. "I went back to UCLA and got a degree in American studies. I wanted to do both bands, but things in L7 got stinky, so I left."

Cars references aside, Diamonds in the Belly of the Dog has more of a California new-wave sound. The songs are fast and hook-heavy, though frontman Xander Smith, who likes to come on like a dangerous type, takes some getting used to -- I would have let Finch harmonize more than she does. But it's a kick to hear some of Baker's trademark production tricks again -- the overloaded bottom end and quick cuts between songs -- and there are a few ideal summer-radio tracks in the batch. Phillips didn't join until the album was finished, so one can expect a heavier sound on stage. "If there's a California thing about us, it's in the vocals," he says. "Historically LA bands have a more natural and open sound, even when you're looking at hardcore -- look at the Descendants versus SSD." Expect Other Star People to hit town in late summer.

BABY RAY EP

Probably saving the big promo push for the next full album, local popsters Baby Ray have quietly released a new seven-song EP, Do I Love America (on Thirsty Ear). When set against their debut album, Monkeypuzzle, Baby Ray's sound here is the same but different. What's the same is that they still write pop tunes that are both catchy and complicated, with equal parts sweet melody and guitar clatter. What's different is that this disc doesn't sound like XTC. Frontman Erich Groat has evidently made a conscious effort to get the Andy Partridge-isms out of his vocal delivery, and the band's guitar sound has gotten harder-edged than the Drums & Wires model (though the opening "Gossamer Riddle" does have an acoustic-guitar lick right out of the Kinks' "Come Dancing"). But for those of us who swear by bands like XTC and GBV -- in other words, who expect a song to lure you in with a great hook, then lead you to a few hidden corners -- Baby Ray are offering the same kind of thrills. They play the Lizard Lounge tonight (Thursday).

COMING UP

Los Lobos and Barrence Whitfield play a can't-miss show at the Middle East tonight (Thursday); the all-new Rollins Band hit the Paradise, the Strangemen are at Bill's Bar, and a Bad Grrls Studios benefit at the Milky Way features Saturnalia, Mr. Airplane Man, Tom Devaney of Betwixt, and lots more . . . The Unsane and Quintaine Americana are at the Middle East tomorrow (Friday), the Raging Teens are at T.T. the Bear's Place, Merrie Amsterburg is at the Lizard Lounge, Cherry 2000 and Quick Fix are at Bill's Bar, and the Ray Corvair Trio are at the Milky Way . . . Plunk-lock reunion night at T.T.'s on Saturday, with Moving Targets headlining and a Boys Life tribute band followed by the real thing. The Johnny Black Trio are at the Midway Café, the Sterlings, Francine, and the Ape Hangers are all at the Linwood, and Superzero are at the Middle East . . . Mr. Airplane Man are at T.T.'s on Sunday . . . Wire frontman Colin Newman introduces his new band Swim at the Middle East Tuesday. The Babaloo side project Cha Cha All Stars are at the Milky Way, and Barrence Whitfield continues a residency at Toad.