Amazing Transparent Man
The Measure of All Things (Springman)
by Scott Hefflon
Terrible name, and the contraction ATM, ain’t any better, but these guys smoke! While most cute teen punkpop rubs me the wrong way (but I can’t find anyone else to review it cuz they either gush unnecessarily cuz they’re, ya know, young and don’t know shit, or they hate the sissy shit cuz they’re old and jaded), I like Amazing Transparent Man. They’re fast, melodic, fun, humble, and anti-tough guy without being so god-awful sappy like so many emo pussies who really, really wanna get laid. Well, it’s pretty sappy, but it’s humorous too. “If I Can’t Have My Air Guitar, I Don’t Want No Air At All” and a not especially good cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” should point ya in the right direction. While I hate ripping bios, this one nails it: “Super catchy ass pop-punk from Illinois, sort of a mix of The Ataris, Chixdiggit, Smoking Popes… Produced by Mass Giorgini (Teen Idols, Screeching Weasel, Green Day…)” And track six, a cover of Smoking Popes’ “Need You Around,” is masterful. Man, those guys were good… So understated, so passionate, so sweet and lulling…
(PO Box 2043 Cupertino, CA 95015)