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PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BACK IN WHITE

It’s been almost a decade since Presidents of the United States of America stumbled on an unlikely hit with their homonymous debut, a light-hearted and unabashed offering from the traditionally gloomy alternative-rock landscape of rainy Seattle. The group were dismissed by many as a novelty act, and given their nonsense songs about kitties and peaches plus instrumentation that included a two-string "basitar" and a three-string "guitbass," that was an easy argument to make. But the trio’s tunes were catchy and infused with a sense of humor and a lack of pretension that were refreshing in the mid ’90s. In 1996, they sophomore-slumped with II (Columbia); by early ’98, they’d called it quits with a farewell show and a rarities disc called Pure Frosting (Columbia). After pursuing projects independently, then working with Sir Mix-a-Lot on a project that failed to materialize, the three Presidents reverted to an indie label for 2000’s Freaked Out and Small (Music Blitz), an album that got little or no attention.

But it appears that Presidents stock has risen once again, with the release of a fairly respectable fourth album, Love Everybody, on their own PUSA label and a full-fledged tour that hit the Paradise last Friday. Their set drew primarily from their first album and their new one, but whereas the band were visibly more excited about the new tunes, the young crowd was more juiced up for the throwbacks. I saw at least seven pair of people high-five when drummer Jason Finn started pounding out the intro to "Lump." And you couldn’t really blame them. Love Everybody still evinces a fun-loving attitude, meaningless lyrics, and collective five-strings. But principal songwriter Chris Ballew has traded the clever quirkiness and catchy melodies for predictable pop clichés and lyrics that are more silly than funny. That’s not to say there’s nothing redeeming about the new material, but it didn’t help that at Avalon they failed to play the two best tracks from Love Everybody: "Clean Machine," with its thick, distorted basitar hooks, and the new-wavish "Drool at You," with its Cars-influenced synth line.

Dressed in tight white shorts and a "Presidential Physical Fitness Awards" T-shirt, Ballew bounded around the stage like a hyped up high-school gym teacher. Even when the songs fell flat, his enthusiasm was infectious. At one point, he instructed the crowd to imagine that there were 15,000 people behind them. Eight or nine years ago, he might not have been kidding.

BY WILL SPITZ

Issue Date: October 15 - 21, 2004
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