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The Noise - Boston
FOOLED BY APRIL, SCHOOL FOR THE DEAD, FIREKING,THE MARLOWES,
THE MONTGOMERYS, NATURAL TOY
T. T. the Bear's 11/23/03

by: Steve Gisselbrecht

It is the last night of the International Pop Overthrow, meaning that I will only be asked to give it up eight more times. Natural Toy get the unenviable task of opening the show at 7:30 on a Sunday. It's not exactly a full house. The mix is notably great, and I can hear everything perfectly. Unfortunately, this puts the lead singer front and center, and I really don't like his singing. This is a problem when it's a pop band, and it's all about the vocal melodies. They're pretty good songs, though, and all the instruments are competently played. The lead guitarist is ambitious, doing a lot of weird things, some of which work quite well. The drummer is particularly good, but she looks really unhappy throughout the set, like she'll be punished if she messes up a fill.

The Montgomerys' lead singer, Peter Montgomery, is also in The Irresponsibles, who headlined Thursday's IPO show, but in that band he has a lead guitarist. The Montgomerys are a three-piece, so Peter's is the only guitar, and he's still kind of playing rhythm. Fortunately, the bassist plays some wonderfully complicated lines that mostly manage to take up the slack. And I love Peter, whose weird voice, weirder stage presence, and really weird musical left turns make for a really fun set.

The Marlowes are from Providence. I may, at this point, be getting all Popped out, but I'm afraid I find their songs kind of forgettable. The lead singer has a fairly decent voice in the lower part of his range, but insists on remaining mostly in his strained upper register.

I may be getting grumpy and tired of pop at this point, but then Fireking come on. They're kind of an odd fit for this bill: their melodies are less intricate and more full-steam-ahead rock, and the "harmony" sections are more like shouted unison. The drummer is not always totally accurate, but I like the guitar and bass a lot, and I'm willing to forgive them much for the rock break.

Up next, School For The Dead are from Northampton. I am initially frightened by the lead singer's voice---sort of high and thin and weird---before I see where they're going with it. This band is Quirky with a capital Q. They Might Be Giants comparisons are really unavoidable here, since they have some of the same genius for bizarre yet insanely catchy melodies and harmonies, oddball lyrics, and willingness to co-opt and corrupt the conventions of many musical genres, sometimes in a single song. I buy both of their CDs.

Fooled By April are probably the best possible band to close out the International Pop Overthrow. They have the Total Pop Package. The lead singer (who alternates between rhythm guitar and tambourine!) has a big, muscular voice that he uses fluidly. The lead guitarist mostly plays fun leads that accent the songs without calling too much attention to themselves, although tonight he is also providing backing cowbell at every opportunity. The rhythm section is perfectly tight. The songs themselves are glorious happy slivers of pop heaven, and all four members sing, so they can do big four-part harmonies to die for. If I have to be critical, it can get a bit predictable at times, but it's not necessarily a bad thing to be predictably gorgeous, and the lead guitarist does pull off one surprise knob-twiddling feedback solo to keep things interesting. (Steve Gisselbrecht)