Review by LarryG
2 stars out of 4
The Texas band Toadies had a surprise hit with 1994's Rubberneck
CD. The music had good tension partly because the band seemed like
smart people who liked to play dumb, loud rock. Rubberneck also had an
edgy atmosphere and darkness that lent an added dimension, especially
to Possum Kingdom, the seductive first person vampire tale. Hell
Below/Stars Above, Toadies first CD since Rubberneck, is mostly hard
rock that lacks the atmospheric edge of Rubberneck's best songs. With
new guitarist Clark Vogeler on board, the band enjoys just wailing.
That sometimes creates a visceral thrill. But with not much melody or
any other hook to grab on to Hell Below/Stars Above is hard to warm
to.
It's clear from the start of Hell Below/Stars Above that it's
about rocking out. On Place Crash, over Vogeler's very fast guitar
line, Lewis is juiced up like a young Eddie Vedder on crack, gleefully
whooping whoas and yeahs and cockily crying "we know what we really
want." Just listening to it is exhausting. Push The Hand is slower,
with an stupid, stomping arena rock riff. Big power chords also
underline Little Sin. Its lyric, apparently about trying to convince a
girl to lose her virginity, is one of a few where Lewis is a little
too pleased with his own depravity. Sweetness is also an unpleasant
hard rocker about tempting someone into bed.
There is quite a bit to like about HB/SA. Hell Below/Stars Above's
title track, which has guest piano from Elliott Smith, is a
hysterical mini-rock opera like Queen used to do. It's a two part
epic, perhaps about the agitation then peace that comes when a man,
hysterical about seeing an ex with another, decides to kill himself.
Starting with a frantic chorus and finishing with cool, soulful backup
singers, Hello Below/Stars Above is hard to resist. The CD is fun when
Lewis is totally nuts and goes beyond rock belting for a primal
scream. What We Have We Steal is routine, with the kind of basic riff
Stone Temple Pilots use to show they're rocking hard, until the end
when Lewis shrieks "you're not so nice anymore." The pep talk of
Motivational becomes distilled to a delirious rant: "get your head
around it." I'm not as fond of Heel. Lewis sings about teaching a
woman respect and discipline then yells the title's command. You'll
Come Down, with its nice, twisty guitar line, comes closest to
Rubberneck's edgy, atmospheric songs. As he often does, Lewis flirts
with misogyny, turning the tables on a woman who "stowed away my
breath", predicting "when I drag you down, you will sink like an
anchor" and "you'll come down on my side." Jigsaw Girl, about keeping
body parts of the woman he loved "scattered around my apartment", also
has Rubberneck's cool attitude but I've heard enough wry, wicked songs
about crazy guys who kill women. I'm not that impressed with the quiet
ballad Pressed Again The Sky but it is good to hear Lewis doing a
straight love song("if this is a dream I'm happy you're having it with
me") without a nasty edge.
It's hard to figure Hell Below/Stars Above's target audience. The
CD is probably too weird and its tone is too inconsistent to interest
rock fans. It often rocks too hard for alternative music fans. And a
lot of the stories are really nasty and ugly about women. Still, Hell
Below/Stars Above packs the thrill of big guitars and bigger
arrangements and the strangeness of the theatrical, over the top songs
and the intensity of Lewis' big lunged howls can compelling.
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