Cry Baby Cry
Jesus Loves Stacey
Skoda
This hip little foursome from DC is hard to pin down: once you’ve decided that they are a jokey punk band (“The Last Days of Tarzan the Ape Man,” “The Fast-Assed Sumbitchie”), they go and get all inspirational on ya (“Wake Up Now”) or political (the title track; “Calling Out”). So stop trying to pin them down already!
I like Cry Baby Cry, but more as potential rather than anything in particular on the record. Sure, fun stuff abounds: the ill-named punky workout “A Sad Song of Needless Complication” could be an outtake from X’s Under the Big Black Sun, and “Calling Out” is even more relentless, especially when it gets to the part where James Brady starts yelling, “That’s right, motherfucker, deduct that_!_” Brady’s voice doesn’t go especially well with co-singer Kathy Cashel, but that’s part of their charm.
Cry Baby Cry is also capable of more than just New Wave workouts: “Chemical Castration” is shoegaze drama, “Jesus Loves Stacey” is a glam love note from Jesus Christ to a girl named Stacey (and features the great lines “Alas/Some people take it in the ass/So some cracker billionaire can make a fortune in gas”), and “Over And After” is rather Thin Lizzy-esque, which from me is always a compliment. And there are two extra tracks! Double bonus! Cibula likes this disc.
Cry Baby Cry: http://www.crybabycry.com
