"Sound It Out" CD
(Houston Party Records)
(REVIEW BY MATT FISHER)
On this day, oh this glorious day, finals are officially done at Michigan State University. For me, anyway. The first thing I did to commence the beginning of my wonderful week-long summer vacay was walk to my girlfriendís house and nap. Then she and I went to get a couple cheeseburgers at Bonnieís. Now Iím sitting here listening to Ze Malibu Kids and soaking up the wonderful ambience emitted by the perfect spring-jumps-into-summer album. True, ëSound It Outí did come out in February, but whoís counting? The point is that if one absolutely needs a blast of fun from a band that knows how to get it done, this is as important to sustaining one as air.
Believe it or not, Ze Malibu Kids feature members from three of the most prominent pop bands in recent history - The Go-Gos, Redd Kross, and That Dog. If you keep extensive records on such matters, this is the newest creation of Jeff and Steve from Redd Kross as they team up with their wives (no kidding, Charlotte Caffey and Anna Waronker, respectively) to create the first brothers McDonald release since the godly ëShow Worldí of 1997.
What will prove to be one of the most enduring pop albums of the year, ëSound It Outí features an array of different and diverse aural pleasures that are uncharacteristic of the old Redd Kross records. Male and female voices compliment one another as three accomplished song writers galantly carry the load. Not to scare you rockers away, but while there are a couple tunes here that song like good Bis songs (actually the mention of Bis would scare me away tooÖ bare with me!), there is a Carly Simon cover and a Cub cover to boot. To entice the more brazen rock inclined folk, Ze Malibu Kids offer up two or three or four vintage Redd Kross rockers in the vein of ëShow Worldí. Not to mention the chaotic fuzzed out coda ëVacsinationí.
I know, I know, range and diversity are not exactly values of the audible rock aesthetic, but this is fucking Jeff and Steve from Redd Kross! Have you punkers out there not bought at least two copies of the band's debut release ëBorn Innocentí (one of the great L.A. punk albums) in the past and then proceeded to hear the lush rock sounds of early to mid nineties Redd Kross (ëThird Eyeí and ëPhaseshifterí)? The McDonalds are allowed to do this kind of stuff because they pull it off time and time again. You and I arenít anywhere even close to being able to argue with these guys. Let them preach it on down to you because this wealth of creative talent does not bounce around every street cornerÖ and donít worry, the jokes will always be way over our headsÖ Sure, youíll dig the fucking ace cover of ëYour Bedí penned by the Cub girls (and let me say, this blows all hell out of Cubís versionÖ not to take anything away from them, but you wonít even realize its the same song), but youíll piss your pants for ëFiona Appleí with the chorus weíve all wanted to scream for years now - ëIs there something wrong with you? Yes, there is something wrong with youí. If you are lucky enough to find this in the store, make sure you grab it. You can also score a copy at --Matt Fisher
www.notlame.com
