Verbena was supposed to be the next “next Nirvana.”
They weren’t.
I mean, they were loud, someone had bleached blond hair (I think), their songs were aggressive yet melodic, but they lacked that something that puts band over the top from being merely okay to undeniablly good. Verbena was merely okay.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
This Week In Music: 6/18-6/24
This week in music listening, featuring patent-pending two-word reviews:
Monster Magnet: Mastermind – robust stoner
Silkworm: Italian Platinum – bombastic indie
Pretty Boy Floyd: Size Really Does Matter – garage glam
Mike & The Mechanics: Beggar On A Beach Of Gold – forgettably dull
Juliana Hatfield: God’s Foot – lost gems
Watershed: Fifth of July – refined power
Watershed: The More It Hurts, The More It Works – blistering cuts
Watershed: Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust, Vol. 2 – hit-filled set
Watershed: Brick and Mortar – energetic return
HiFi Handgrenades: Carry On – quick bursts
Sponge: New Pop Sunday – missed opportunity
Soul Asylum: Made to Be Broken – jagged energy
The Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania – second rate
Redd Kross: Third Eye – sugary sweet
Glen Hansard: Rhythm And Repose – quiet intensity
Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do – familiar ground
Rush: Clockwork Angels – heavier licks
The Go! Team: B-Sides & Rarities – bouncy mixture
The Wannadies: Before & After – catchy pop
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: She’s The One – solid songs
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Pay Attention – overly long
Monster Magnet: Mastermind – robust stoner
Silkworm: Italian Platinum – bombastic indie
Pretty Boy Floyd: Size Really Does Matter – garage glam
Mike & The Mechanics: Beggar On A Beach Of Gold – forgettably dull
Juliana Hatfield: God’s Foot – lost gems
Watershed: Fifth of July – refined power
Watershed: The More It Hurts, The More It Works – blistering cuts
Watershed: Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust, Vol. 2 – hit-filled set
Watershed: Brick and Mortar – energetic return
HiFi Handgrenades: Carry On – quick bursts
Sponge: New Pop Sunday – missed opportunity
Soul Asylum: Made to Be Broken – jagged energy
The Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania – second rate
Redd Kross: Third Eye – sugary sweet
Glen Hansard: Rhythm And Repose – quiet intensity
Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do – familiar ground
Rush: Clockwork Angels – heavier licks
The Go! Team: B-Sides & Rarities – bouncy mixture
The Wannadies: Before & After – catchy pop
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: She’s The One – solid songs
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Pay Attention – overly long
Concert Review: Universal Honey @ Downtown Buffalo, NY (12/31/94)
For those not familiar, Universal Honey was the Canada answer to Letters to Cleo. Got it? Okay, good. We have to go back to college (again) to frame this one.
During my sophomore year of college in a math class I met a girl named Kathy, who it turned out was from my hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., and in fact lived not far from where my parents and I had once lived. Double in fact, my parents would soon move back there. So, while on winter break for ’94, I headed to downtown Buffalo with Kathy and her friends for the New Year’s Eve bash.
Truth be told, this involved a lot of walking and not much else. We walked from locale to locale, taking in things that I have no recollection of, and eventually ended up at an indoor arena that had bands. It was here Universal Honey were playing, and I ended up scoring a free cd.
When I got back to college after the break, I made sure to play the single, “Just Before Mary Goes” to support this new discovery. That reminds me, I need to dig out Universal Honey, as I have only a slight recollection of, 18 years later, what the band sounds like.
During my sophomore year of college in a math class I met a girl named Kathy, who it turned out was from my hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., and in fact lived not far from where my parents and I had once lived. Double in fact, my parents would soon move back there. So, while on winter break for ’94, I headed to downtown Buffalo with Kathy and her friends for the New Year’s Eve bash.
Truth be told, this involved a lot of walking and not much else. We walked from locale to locale, taking in things that I have no recollection of, and eventually ended up at an indoor arena that had bands. It was here Universal Honey were playing, and I ended up scoring a free cd.
When I got back to college after the break, I made sure to play the single, “Just Before Mary Goes” to support this new discovery. That reminds me, I need to dig out Universal Honey, as I have only a slight recollection of, 18 years later, what the band sounds like.
This Week In Music: 6/4-6/10
This week in music listening, featuring patent-pending two-word reviews:
Gaza Strippers: From the Desk of Dr. Freepill – full throttle
Samiam: Whatever’s Got You Down – middle road
Matthew Sweet: Sunshine Lies – classic Sweet
Sleater Kinney: One Beat – strong chorus’
Redd Kross: Show World – lost treasure
Tindersticks: Curtains – dark richness
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime – heady brilliance
Stereolab: Not Music – catchy kitsch
Soul Asylum: Hang Time – energetic ‘Mats-lite
Public Image Ltd.: This Is PiL – welcome return
Garbage: Not Your Kind Of People – moderately successful
Hot Snakes: Suicide Invoice – punk gem
Watershed: Twister – midwestern power-pop
Alive: No Token Vol. 3 compilation – strong diversity
Gaza Strippers: From the Desk of Dr. Freepill – full throttle
Samiam: Whatever’s Got You Down – middle road
Matthew Sweet: Sunshine Lies – classic Sweet
Sleater Kinney: One Beat – strong chorus’
Redd Kross: Show World – lost treasure
Tindersticks: Curtains – dark richness
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime – heady brilliance
Stereolab: Not Music – catchy kitsch
Soul Asylum: Hang Time – energetic ‘Mats-lite
Public Image Ltd.: This Is PiL – welcome return
Garbage: Not Your Kind Of People – moderately successful
Hot Snakes: Suicide Invoice – punk gem
Watershed: Twister – midwestern power-pop
Alive: No Token Vol. 3 compilation – strong diversity
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