My old friend, fellow cartoonist and former band member (in WOMANIZER) Corey Harris recently released a CD of songs he compiled over the last twenty years. I mention this because Corey was influenced by New Wave bands such as Oingo Boingo, Talking Heads and especially DeVo. I mention this because the new CD by San Francisco Psych Rock collective Revolushn titled Further!! is also influenced by New Wave Art Rockers DeVo, also The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Clash and a couple of bands apparently too hip for me to have heard of. I assume the title of the CD was inspired by The Merry Pranksters' bus which is not too hip for me to have heard of.
The DeVo connection runs a little deeper since the song writing credit is attributed to David Kendrick (DeVo, Sparks) and NO. Does that mean Kendrick was in DeVo or wrote songs they recorded? NO is the other songwriter's name and their lead off single, Dinosaurs, recently made the Hot 100 Next Big Thing List on Spotify.
The CD was recorded at Cypher Sound Studio in Kansas City by Aaron Conner (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Ed Sheeran) which may be an interesting story. Why would a San Francisco band record in Kansas City? If it was my band the answer would be "for the BBQ". Last time I looked there were still plenty of good recording studios in California.
Revolushn: sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.
Musically, Revolushn is upbeat, poppy, New Wavish-psychedelic (very Corey Harrisish) and fun with a very well produced sound. Asked about the band's message, NO recently said
to the Fresh Committee "BE FREE. We want to say you can do anything you
want because the universe is larger than shit. We sing about space and life in
this fluid world. You never know what will happen so be happy and nice to other
humans and animals."
Hippies!
According to their press kit: "Revolushn began as a studio band that played
songs written by No (guitar) and Dekay (drums). The group recorded enough songs
to put out the album The Freshman, which received critical acclaim, airplay,
and modest sales. Several personnel changes and dozens of shows later, the band
got serious, stopped playing shows, and began the writing and recording process
for the next album. From that point, it took 16 months to get to the release of
the second Revolushn album called Further!!. The songs on Further!! range from the heavy,
guitar-based psych rock to the beautiful waltz tempo of You Will Go. Revolushn
has a range that in lesser hands would dilute the bands style, but Further!!
sounds like one band playing at one show and crushing it. The live feel of the
album is refreshing and intimate. Connor's production is a marvel that
somehow found the balance between chaotic and precise. The songs are at times
jarring and the lyrics can make you want to look away while at the same time
drawing you in".
Not my words, but you get the idea. My words; Further!! by Revolushn is a fun, arty CD with humor helping to round out some serious subject matter. A party record for thinking people.
Or, fun to listen to when you're stoned.
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