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November 16, 2006
Obscurer Than Thou - the Volcano Suns
Flush with the positive reinforcement that TWO comments can bring, our pal David Klein returns with another out of print treat for the hardcore record nerds...
Volcano Suns – Pt. 1 “You Only Get This Offer For a Limited Time”
by David Klein
When Mission of Burma called it quits in 1983 the group’s members went in vastly different directions. The tinnitus-plagued Roger Miller, forced to explore a less caustic musical path, formed the experimental, toy-piano-incorporating Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, while the freshly sober bass player, Clint Conley, produced Yo La Tengo’s debut LP, then dropped out of sight until 2002’s unlikely reunion. Only drummer Peter Prescott continued to rock in a Burma-like way, forming the Volcano Suns and cranking out six mostly excellent platters. The rock gods, it seemed, smiled on Prescott, who got to enjoy a pretty decent career, selling some records, playing in large halls and making a lot of people jump around wildly—something the other members of Mission of Burma never really experienced in their brief career. There was still a lot of Burma in there, but the music seemed to emanate from a wholly different place. Definitive M.O.B. songs like “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” sound as if they were created in a badly lit room with a low ceiling. Volcano Suns sound more like, I don’t know, like if the protagonist from Stephen King’s “Lawnmower Man” started an indie band and staged an enormous jam in a cornfield, at an astounding volume. It’s a big roiling sound, not at all twitchy.
Additionally, while the hard-charging tempos and overall sense of abandon of the Volcano Suns will sound familiar to fans of Prescott’s previous band, the Suns were far more light-hearted. No songs based on Goering quotes here; instead, the leather-lunged vocals and wryly humorous lyrics that touch on consumerism, sexual politics, and bucolic life temper these sweaty rave-ups with an attitude of aggressive fun. Prescott’s distinctive shouted vocals, along with spirited harmony singing by the band, have a sort of populist appeal that evokes a debauched all-night barn dance.
Which leads me to the music. The first three Suns records are seminal and well worth tracking down. Nevertheless, the single they released between the 1985 debut The Bright Orange Years and the following year’s even-more-raucous All Night Lotus Party (note: possible masturbation reference) captures everything that’s great about the band, in an incredibly short space, serving as a fine introduction. I was reserving words like “storming” “monolithic” and “burly” to describe these tracks.
the Volcano Suns - "Sea Cruise"
In which an anonymous stowaway arrives in a new land, only to learn that:
"This country is a playground/if you know a way to play
It’s take it or be taken/that’s the American way!"
Jam packed with cool parts, like Prescott’s distinctive, sputtering drum fills in the shambolic sections between verses, the pirate shanty bit around the 1:20 point, and the fierce guitar playing throughout. You know what else was great about these guys? Unlike a lot of over-the-top bands, you can actually hear what they’re saying. Here's an obscure fact: the vocalist who chimes in on the title phrase of “Sea Cruise” comes from the band Christmas, whose bassist, James McNew, left them to join Yo La Tengo, and whose 1986 debut record had the scarily clever name, In Excelsior Dayglo.
the Volcano Suns - "Greasy Spine"
From the crisp tom-tom thuds, rumbling bass, and long shard of feedback that herald its beginning, through the last joyously off-kilter scream, this is one whomping B-side. Rapturously repetitive and rich in assonance (rarely has the short “i” sound sounded so good), this song has the chest-beating vigor of a drunken sailor on shore leave.
Testify:
"Never trust a man with a skinny tie
Never trust a girl with a greasy spine
When she says she wants to be your valentine"
Think how much better life would have been in an alternative universe, in which Mission of Burma were Nirvana and the Volcano Suns were the Foo Fighters. The Suns would still be enjoying a thriving career, while Dave Grohl, drummer in a couple of excellent, now-defunct bands, would be living off his memories. Krist Novoselic would have produced Ride the Tiger, then disappeared until the Nirvana reunion in 2002, while Clint Conley would have gone into politics and won, because he has a perfect name for politics, unlike Krist Novoselic. As for Kurt Cobain, he would have suffered from tinnitus and been forced to quit hard rocking to write non-caustic children’s music. I guess that leaves Roger Miller…who would have reached for his revolver. And then, realizing that he didn’t have tinnitus anymore, but just a really bad stomach, would have gone on to play the big, loud rock he was destined to make.
Previously: Obscurer Than Thou, part the First
Posted by Jeff Klingman at November 16, 2006 10:00 AM
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Comments
Good show, Professor Klein.
Posted by: Kelli Douglas at November 16, 2006 11:13 AM
Thanks!
didn't have this
Posted by: blugg at November 16, 2006 01:11 PM
Great article. I actually used to own this wonderful single, way back in the day. Your description brings it all back, though I'd give my eyeteeth (or an eye) to hear it again for real.
Posted by: bulletholejonny at November 18, 2006 12:20 AM
hey, nice review..actually sea cruise is about marc e smith...we were touring with the fall at the time we wrote this...its about smith, trying to crack it in america...ect ect..but nice review anyhow...jeff weigand
Posted by: jeff weigand at February 17, 2007 05:06 PM
