Best Music Poll '96

All told, it was an eventful night on Lansdowne Street and at the Orpheum a week ago Wednesday. It was the culmination of two days of festivities, including a local-label showcase Tuesday night at Mama Kin, and two afternoons of industry panel discussions at Jake Ivory's.

The panels and showcases were the part of the Best Music Poll activities that focused on local music. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a couple hundred local musicians attended discussions on the current state of label talent-scouting, the power of rock's new accent on social activism, and the way the latest computer and recording technology provides fresh outlets for independent music. Then they submitted tapes for a pair of demo derbies in which industry experts ranging from musicians to critics, radio programmers, and major-label reps gave instant critiques of their work. The night before the big Lansdowne Street bash, an indie-label showcase with Gravel Pit, Jack Drag, Jack Frosting, and Tree packed Mama Kin. Tree, in particular, drew an impressive crowd with their mix of hardcore chops and peace & green & leafy vibes.

But this accent on the indies doesn't imply that major labels are evil. Not if they're willing to sign a band like The Elevator Drops (Time Bomb/Arista), who remain ready and willing to weird out their audiences (if the greasepaint they continue to wear on stage didn't do it, the night's long art-rock instrumentals and Pink Floydian segues sure did). Or Mercury Rev, a wonderfully odd hybrid of twisted pop and trippy abstraction, flute player and all. Think of Hüsker Dü crossed with Hawkwind. Or Scarce, no longer as frenetic as they once were (Joyce Raskin is now content to play her bass rather than throttle it) but still a first-rate pop outfit with added emphasis on texture and harmony. Now on their fourth regular drummer, the band are apparently re-recording their A&M debut, which was originally scheduled for release a year ago.

Scarce effectively stole the Mama Kin show from the more-hyped Polara, who seemed a little too affected to connect on the pop level they were aiming for. You also wouldn't mistake Salt for an original band, though they had the Garbage/Bettie Serveert sound down close enough. The night's only truly wretched entry were Gravity Kills -- not coincidentally, a new act on Everclear's label (Capitol) -- whom I'd initially pegged as 8-1/2 Inch Nails before realizing they're more reminiscent of Billy Idol's Cyberpunk (EMI) fiasco.

Girls Against Boys' brand of bluster didn't translate to a live setting as well as one might have hoped -- too many new-wave overtones lent by those keyboards. But Everclear had no such problem. Sometimes all it takes to embody punk rock is a B-level band playing with the right passion, and Everclear had it last week. Their focused energy, serviceable songs, and unfaked aggression managed to cut through all the night's static -- just like on the radio.

-- Brett Milano