Wallmen

Variety Showcase (Bar/None)
by Joshua Brown

Wallmen deliver five songs of vintage ’70s cheeseball rock, ’90s style. First we wah-wah our way through “Rubber Monkey,” an upbeat ditty that combines early rockabilly with traditional surf instrumental. The male vocals are nerdy and squeaky in a very clever and funky way. The second track, “Xanthema Morning,” slows down only slightly to make a sappy, pseudo-sentimental rock ballad in the tradition of early Ramones love songs. The singer reaches new levels of dorkdom on this one. It sounds like they had a blast recording it.

The next song, “World Famous,” rocks hard and to the point with mucho feedback and wall of sound effects. The fourth track, “Optional,” is an epic acid-drenched drone which clocks in at over 30 minutes. It has a vibe to it that makes you feel like you’re hanging out underwater and cruising through outer space at the same time. There’s the hint of things going on somewhere in the distance, but you’re not able nor do you have the interest to discern what they are because you’re having too much fun in zone-out mode. Track five follows the same sort of motif, only it starts out closer to an actual song. The vocals are coherent but distant, giving “Tragic Drug Burn” a monster-like feel, Monks on LSD? Who knew?

Variety Showcase is very entertaining, but not really essential. So if you see a copy, snag it by all means, but don’t go chasing it down to the ends of the earth if you can’t.