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| From | "KEVIN MATHEWS" <kevin@powerofpop.com> |
| Subject | Grant Hart review |
| Date | Fri, 29 Aug 2003 21:28:37 +0800 |
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>>Just flipping over to allmusic to see what Hart has done lately and there
is
a 1999 album called 'Good News For Modern Man' reviewed by Jack Rabid -
mentions 'Power pop, Cheap Trick and The Chills' - has anyone heard this?
Oh yeah! Reviewed it for MTVAsia.com (back when they didn't bother WHAT you
reviewed) and here it is ...
Now, this is what I call a very pleasant surprise!
Grant Hart, of course, is best remembered as one third of those melodic
hardcore punksters Husker Du. Together with Bob (Sugar) Mould and Greg
Norton, Hart would blaze a musical trail in the 1980s that would lead on to
the Pixies and ultimately Nirvana.
For those who feared the worst, expecting a bit of the post-grunge malaise
in Hart's current material would be glad to learn that Hart has re-defined
his work somewhat through the kaleidoscopic lens of the 1970s. The result is
a refreshing and challenging set of songs that threaten to make Hart a cult
hero all over again.
Drawing from the best work of David Bowie and John Cale, "Good News For
Modern Man" contains the same cutting edge accessibility that the likes of
Bowie and Cale once excel in. A successful marriage of artistic and
commercial values. Well, commercial in the sense that much of "Good News For
Modern Man" deserves to be played on heavy rotation on any radio station you
would care to name.
The opening "Think It Over Now" epitomises this method succinctly. A densely
layered production albeit minimally arranged with Hart delivering a drop
dead gorgeous melody that one cannot fail to hum along to after the first
listen. The country-flavoured "Nobody Rides For Free," the surf rocking "Run
Run Run To The Centre Pompidou," the elegant "You Don't To Have To Tell Me
Now," the Joy Division evoking "Teeny's Hair" and the chillingly Bowiesque
"A Letter From Anne Marie" and "Seka Knows," build on this foundation
brilliantly.
Even with the obvious budgetary constraints (this album is gloriously
D-I-Y), Grant Hart has created a thing of incredible beauty - you can hear
it in the way he attacks each song with tremendous gusto. "Good News For
Modern Man" is the sound of an artist in full control of his faculties and
gifts. It is the sound of classic music making.
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