Major Stars
(Drag City)
It should come as no surprise that the rhythm section of Major Stars occasionally gets buried in the mix. Three guitars, armed with wah pedals and plenty of fuzz, make a pretty big wall to scale. Once in a while, a bass lead breaks through, and a few songs get spiked by Who-ish drum fills. But the songs begin and end with guitarists Wayne Rogers, Kate Village and Tom Leonard (the band's original bassist, who joined them rather than trying to beat them, presumably). All ye who fear six-string solos that straddle mind-melting bliss and wankery should turn back here. Then again, after seven albums - not to mention Rogers' and Village's work in Crystallized Movements and Magic Hour - all who enter should know what to expect.
Return to Form never falls into a noodly abyss because Major Stars write strong, varied songs and crank up the leads only after they've found a setting for them. The group knows when to keep it under three minutes and a couple times they even place two songs in the space of one track. Much of the album could have come out in the early '70s, putting bands like ... oh, I don't know - Free, to shame, while they invoked the tone of Alice Cooper's lead player Glen Buxton and borrowed licks from Jimmy Page. The Zep man's unaccompanied "Heartbreaker" solo and "Dazed and Confused" pop up here, if only in a passing mutated form. Whoever takes the lead knows how to build a solo, often starting melodically and then oozing into feedback and wah-wah. Vocalist Sandra Barrett's gruff voice is a perfect foil and rises above the din while new vocalist Amanda Bristow, appearing on two of the seven tracks, plays up the band's pop qualities, sounding at times like Neko Case taking the New Pornographers in a hard rock direction.
Loud, heavy and sometimes excessive, Return to Form is also a few seconds under 40 minutes, so the band has a sense of discipline too.
Standout Tracks: "Better Stay Down," "Haunting Season." MIKE SHANLEY
