Thee Sgt. Major III
(Spark & Shine Records)
Kurt Bloch, legendary guitar hero of the Great Northwest and leader of the Fastbacks, has kept himself busy over the last several years with Sgt. Major, reformatted in early '08 as Thee Sgt. Major III. The Idea Factory is the band's first full-length release, and is certain to satisfy hardcore Fastbacks fans, as Kurt wrote ten of the songs and co-wrote the other three. Teamed up with Young Fresh Fellow member Jim Sangster on bass, and Ex-Posie and Fastbacker Mike Musburger bashing drums and recently added Leslie Beattie doing lead vocals, there's plenty of bubblegum-ish pop-punk exuberance bursting from your tweeters and woofers. It's rather a "supergroup" of Seattle music history. Leslie's youthful singing voice, (think Clare Grogan from Altered Images, to some degree and The Avengers' Penelope Houston a lot) really pops out to the forefront of every song and is the tasty icing on the party cake.
Atmospherically, the music really is a time machine to lots of the great sounds of ‘80s and ‘90s pop and post-punk, making it sound like a lost classic of the period, which is cool, as those were two of the best musical decades ever. "What Am I Gonna Do?" is a prime example of that sound, and one of the best numbers on the album, "Into The Rhizome" is another catchy, rousing anthem. Playing live, the band tosses out covers by bands like the Replacements, Toy Dolls and The Who. In fact, when you listen to "Help Is On The Way", you'll hear the stealthy inclusion of some familiar guitar parts from the Who's "Baba O'Reilly" in there. "Everything Is New" exchanges guy and gal vocals back and forth with ex-band member Bill Coury, for whom you may have to strain your ears a bit to tell that it's a male voice.
The album is very punchy and upbeat except for three songs that ease off the throttle a bit. As expected, Kurt Bloch turns in some stunning guitar work that adds extra lustre to every song. I suspect some younger listeners, previously unfamiliar with the Fastbacks, may scurry off to a music merchant to grab some early catalogue like Fastbacks...And His Orchestra or Very, Very Powerful Motor, to catch up on what they missed. Whether of not TSM3 enters the annals of classic bands whose music lives on, only time will tell, but comparisons aside, this album stands well on its own and one can hope that this factory keeps producing megawatt ideas.
DOWNLOAD: "What Am I Gonna Do?", "Information Seminar."/or "New Painter Man" BARRY ST. VITUS
