PISTOL FOR RINGO: Solid State Neo-Hedonist

Pistol For Ringo

Solid State Neo-Hedonist

© 2003 Aeronaut Records (654807001724)

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Q: What is your music like? A: It has been described as "Bowie meets Air, American-style." Q: Who described it that way? A: I don't know. I just say what they tell me to say.

tracks

1 intro
2 Nothing Equates to a Saturday
3 segue 1
4 Watch Me Waste My Time
5 Masochistic
6 Complicated
7 Hero
8 segue 2
9 Noir du Monde
10 segue 3
11 I Am The Fly
12 Levitate
13 segue 4
14 Sparkle
15 outro

notes

ALL MUSIC GUIDE *4 STARS*

Solid State Neo-Hedonist is one of those rare indie debut releases that sounds like anything but a debut, and anything but an indie release. Pistol for Ringo display a propensity for the sophisticated both in lyrics and production, eschewing the obvious while still working within commercial pop/rock structures. The impact can take a while to set in, as on the opener, "Nothing Equates to a Saturday," whose labyrinthine lyrics include the album's peculiar title. Indeed, frequently the album reads almost like a postmodern novel, chief songwriter Brian Murphy offering lines like "What if we acknowledged the sources of our torment?" on the strong rock cut "Masochistic." Those words are married to immediate riffs, tasteful drum loops, and liberal sprinkles of electronic icing, resulting in a sound familiar yet unique, Steve Arm 's accompanying vocals being garden-variety but up to the task. The unusually lighthearted "Complicated" and the vivid "Hero" stand out as particularly fine tracks, with only "I Am the Fly" approaching misstep territory. A cluster of brief segues exist merely as self-indulgences that add to neither the flow nor the meaning of the record, though with them, Pistol for Ringo seem to desire a unifying concept on it. Solid State Neo-Hedonist is no concept album, but the band demonstrates an ambition in its creation that suggests their potential for making an unreservedly great dream pop/rock album. -- Joseph McCombs

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Pistol For Ringo bring a new sound to the fine people of Los Angeles and the world. Although not re-inventing the wheel, it's safe to say that P4R do pull a few spokes from it, as they combine familiar melody with inventive arrangements.

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...from AIDING & ABETTING

The description of this disc on the label's web site is "a very nice listen for those who want a little more from their CD player." Damn. I wish I'd written that. That's really damned good.

Pistol for Ringo plays pop music. Pop music with all sorts of electronic noises infused and plenty of weird musical lines trailing. Note that I didn't call this power pop. This band prefers the deft aside to the bludgeon.

The sound is full, but with plenty of space in-between the instruments. The band refuses to play the same song twice (or, perhaps more explicitly, play the same style twice), but this vaguely sterile sound really brings out the complexity of the songwriting.

"A little more," indeed. Pistol for Ringo doesn't dumb down for the masses. Instead, it commands respect by sticking to its guns and making aggressively interesting music. Precisely what I like to hear.

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...from THE PLANETARY GROUP in Boston, home of the Tea Party and the baked bean...

"Lo-fi and yearning indie pop that moves from moody to twee along with electronically manipulated beats, backdrops and ba-ba-bas. RIYL: Death Cab for Cutie, Folk Implosion and John Vanderslice."

reviews

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  • The stuff is really pretty good
    author: Score! Music Magazine

    I was immediately concerned when I read that the band is "drummerless", not being a big fan of drum machines. Pistol for Ringo gets their beat from a drum kit which, as painful as it is for me to admit, its use here is sufficient *she cringes*. There are high doses of synthesizer to carry you along without sounding like modern techno. Think Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (you know, John Huges era "If You Leave") with a Bowie vibe. The band seems to have been put together based on what each could bring to the table, not talent-wise, but business-wise (one member owns the label, another member's brother owns the studio, one could run the recording counsel - you get the idea). But don't be afraid -- they don't suck, I promise! The stuff is really pretty good. If you're a fan of old school synth (Devo, Gary Numan and the like) you'll dig this. Plus the integrated sound bytes are pretty fun! It bears noting that John Mastro (synth) and Brian Murphy (guitar) were (and might still be) supported by their girlfriends who worked a perfume counter. Hey - the ladies deserve some credit here kids!

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