NŰ – NO - NOW! WAVE Social Climbers
Oct 09, 2011
A lesser-known, though ridiculously talented, band from the NYC downtown scene circa '81 has its arty dance-pop oeuvre excavated by Drag City. Listen to audio samples, below.
BY MIKE SHANLEY
The latest act in Drag City's series of underground reissues, Social Climbers existed as a tangential strand of the first run of New York no wave bands. However, they might not have been remembered in the same breath as DNA and Teenage Jesus & the Jerks because they don't fit the sound profile. The group had more musical ability and quality in their songs than those more infamous noise racketeers. And with some songs that lasted as long as six minutes, the trio had no regard for shorter-is-better thinking either.
Guitarist Mark Bingham had already been playing for years in hometown Bloomington, Indiana, working with folkie Caroline Peyton prior to this band. These songs sound like something of a 180-degree turn towards more of a tense, artsy new wave direction, but he never forsakes his command of his instrument. The repetitive guitar lick of instrumental "Palm Springs" could only have been dreamed up by someone who knows how to noodle. (His future solo career would include appearances on Hal Willner's tributes to Thelonious Monk and Walt Disney, and Allen Ginsburg's The Lion in Winter.)
Along with Bingham, the band consisted of Jean Seton Shaw on bass and A. Leroy on Farfisa Organ and Korg drum machine, the latter instrument giving the band its distinct personality. They didn't exploit the freaky nature of the rhythm machine, a la Suicide, nor did they merely use it for tepid tempos like a dance group. In fact, each song used a different rhythm, which was doctored with a bit of echo or tremolo which made a good complement to Bingham's talk-sung vocals. Subject matter veered toward typical punk disenchantment, like suburban homelife ("Domestic") or the world in general ("Western World"). "Chris and Debbie" seems like a snarky take on the leaders of Blondie, though it's hard to really tell since the vocals were mixed below the jazzy guitar and organ.
02 Chicken 80 - Social Climbers by knowyourconjurer
And in a sign of the times, the lyric sheet featured only a few lines for most of the songs, with "et cetera" following them. It's unfortunate because Bingham, who wrote the bulk of the songs, displayed a sense of humor that was neither too goofy nor wry, and half the time, it feels like you're missing out on something. "Type A" (also listed as "Taipei" on the cover) offered a good example as it spoofs that kind of personality, with Shaw singing lead in an almost operatic soprano. The vocals in the coda prove the band was ahead of their time with recording tricks that sound like modern sampling effects.
The reissue adds two live songs to the original album, which was originally released as a three-7" set (also available are three download-only bonus tracks). "Tickhead," where Bingham joins Shaw on bass, shows the band could kick out some no wave abrasiveness if they felt like it. Future producer Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth, Helmet) joined the band on drums and extra keyboards and appears on a garage-y version of the theme from The Day the Earth Stood Still, perhaps as testament to their eclectic choice of covers. (They once staged a five-hour World Pop Classics show which included everything from Terry Riley's "In C" to Television's "Little Johnny Jewel.")
It might not qualify as a lost classic, but Social Climbers' sole output does celebrate a band who played what they felt, even if it meant being ostracized by both the sub-underground and the masses. Three decades later, everyone else can catch up.
Social Climbers - That s Why by loafrecordings
blog comments powered by Disqus
More Photos
