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Matt Sweeney was the leader of New Jersey ironic punk-rocker Skunk, whose
Last American Virgin (Twin Tone, 1989) and
Laid (Twin Tone, 1991) did not revolutionize the genre but certainly
made it less obnoxious.
Later, Sweeney formed Chavez with
drummer James Lo (former Live Skull),
guitarist Clay Tarver (former Bullet Lavolta),
and bassist Scott Masciarelli. Repeat The Ending (Matador, 1994)
announced their brand of slightly-dissonant-while-anthemic punk-rock with
huge hard-rock riffs.
The short but intense album Gone Glimmering (Matador, 1995) shines
when the band combines highly charged accelerations,
dissonant, new wave guitar sound, and
almost synthetic melodies
(Pentagram Ring, Nailed To The Blank Spot,
Break Up Your Band, Ghost By The Sea).
Chavez comes through as a more melodic version of
Mission Of Burma and, sometimes,
Television.
Ride The Fader (Matador, 1997) is a more experimental and less exuberant
follow-up. The reference model remains
Mission Of Burma: melody and noise.
Top Pocket Man and Tight Around The Jaws are maelstroms of
power-rock that leak catchy vocal refrains.
The praxis can swing either way, towards the
strident guitar attack of The Guard Attacks and Cold Joys
and You Must Be Stopped
or towards the relatively calm and ordered Flight '96 and
Our Boys Will Shine Tonight.
The former have the upper hand, even when (and "even better when") the band
strays into the sheer dissonance of Tight Around The Jaws and
Lions.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Simona Tidore)
Matt Sweeney era il leader degli Skunk, ironica band punk-rock del New Jersey, i cuiLast American Virgin (Twin Tone,
1989) eLaid (Twin Tone, 1991) non hanno rivoluzionato il genere ma di certo
lo hanno reso meno sgradevole.
In seguito, Sweeney ha formato gli Chavez con il batterista James Lo (gia' Live Skull),
il chitarrista Clay Tarver (gia' Bullet Lavolta),
e il bassista Scott Masciarelli. Repeat The Ending (Matador, 1994)
annunciava il loro genere di punk-rock lievemente-dissonante-eppure-inneggiante con massicci riffs hard-rock.
Il breve ma intenso album Gone Glimmering (Matador, 1995) rifulge
laddove la band combina accelerazioni ad alto voltaggio,
chitarre dal suono distorto, new wave, e
melodie quasi sintetiche
(Pentagram Ring, Nailed To The Blank Spot,
Break Up Your Band, Ghost By The Sea).
Chavez si rivelano come una versione melodica di
Mission Of Burma e, talvolta, di
Television.
Ride The Fader (Matador, 1997) e' un seguito piu' maturo e meno esuberante.
Il modello di riferimento restano i
Mission Of Burma: melodia e rumore.
Top Pocket Man e Tight Around The Jaws sono vortici di
power-rock da cui si librano accattivanti temi vocali.
Una prassi che oscilla in un senso e nell'altro, ora verso le
stridenti distorsioni della chitarra di The Guard Attacks,
Cold Joys
e Lions, ora verso la relativamente calma e ordinata
Our Boys Will Shine Tonight.
Flight '96 e' qualcosa di totalmente diverso: su quelle fondamenta
la band costruisce una ballad psichedelica dal potere ipnotico.
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