Blau Zur – Lament for Lymon – Review

Blau Zur

Lament For Lymon
by Scott Hefflon

What’s in a name? Word association is how we catalogue “things” and define them. “Knee-deep in kimchee” sounds pretty bad, but unless you’ve got an intense distaste for wading through pickled cabbage, things could be worse. Blau Zur looks like Mötley Crüed spelling of Blase, which, if you bother to look it up, it actually has a certain ’90s social significance all its own.

The six tunes on Lament For Lymon range from noisy versions of ’80s pop you might hear on the Valley Girl soundtrack to ’90s alternative college music. The soft-spoken title track contrasts the megaphoned “Jed is Junk” and the danceable pop/punk of “Mush”, “21 (and you’re done)”, and a surprisingly bearable rendition of the Who’s “The Kids are Alright.” While a little noisier and off kilter than, say Descendents or Ramones (and they know more chords than the latter), they have the big cheesy grin, bop your head from side to side and pogo the night away sort of energy. They haven’t played live for a few months due to drummer, Marc Arsenault, recovering from a head-on car collision. Evidently, he healed quickly and, with the exception of a couple screws in his hand, he’s fine. The band has dates in and around Boston starting in April. For a quick preview of their music, or to find out when and where they’re playing, call up the Inside Boston Bandline.