"I
figure that If I can strip the song down to just guitar and vocals, and
the song still has the same essence, then 
it's
worthy to keep. I think that that is what classic songs have," says Mike
Ruetschle in the accompanying press kit for his sophomore release, “Lesser
Than Opaque.” Ah, another entrant into the Quest For Writing The Classic
Song. There are so many of these people/bands today that it's becoming
pure fashion: style over substance.
I'm
pretty sure you have never heard of Mr. Mike Ruetschle (pronounced rich-lee),
but the sound of his new record is undoubtedly familiar. Basically, the
record can be broken into thirds: one third Pernice Brothers/Neilson Hubbard-meets-post-Radiohead;
one third Guided By Voices
influenced
indie rock; and one-third throwaways.
It
may be unfair to mention that Ruetschle is from Dayton, OH, because the
connotations run rampant: the discerning music listener says, "Oh Guided
By Voices?!" Yep. Uncle Bob's (and ex-GBV collaborator Tobin Sprout's)
lo-to-mid-fi influence is evident. Most of the time this is not a good
thing, but Ruetschle's songwriting is just strong enough on tracks TWO,
FIVE, and SIX to be more than cloaked cover tunes (although, the melodies
don't fall from the tree).
The
Man Richly has more in him than just indie rock as evident by track one,
a dynamic and lilting number ala Pernice Brothers, Neilson Hubbard, Mark
Kozelek, and, yes, Radiohead. "[Track 3]" is that mid-90s Matthew Sweet
balladry, "[Track 1]" and "[Track 8]" have just enough of a hook and chorus
to work; although Ruetscle's vocals are stretched past their limits.
Ruetschle's
songwriting isn't awful, but it is evident that his songs are struggling
for their own voice. Still, this little record (clocking in at nearly thrity-one
minutes) is enjoyable enough to give him the proverbial critc's equivalent
of a pat on the back: "keep your ears open for his next
release."
Aussie
Adam Power is also out to write "classic pop songs." He mails in his debut
sweepstakes entry with twelve songs recorded from 1997 to 2002.
The
first thirteen seconds of "Under The Influence" tell you all you need to
know about Adam Power. This is straight-up, heard-it-before Power Pop.
Tommy Keene, Sloan, Brendan Benson, You Am I, Matthew Sweet, Thrush Hermit,
Redd Kross, The Posies, etc. etc. You know the sound. And yes, you got
it: the Beatles, the Raspberries, the Big Star influence saturates each
digitized track. More Juice should be called More Power Pop You've Heard
Before.
Now,
hold on. This isn't a bad thing ... that is, if you have the songs. Power
is hit or miss here. The melodies are entirely recognizable and the hooks
are inconsistent (the record is full of them, but some are great, others
are ordinary). The songs work the best when Power plays it by the
numbers,
channeling his heroes: "Under The Influence", "Winston Jones", "Face In
Time", "Bridges", "In My Shoes", the hooks shine, the choruses are catchy,
and the songs move.
The
title track has a nice string arrangement that is juxtaposed with hard
driving guitar and this works; but it also has one of the more annoying
vocal performances. Go figure. "Fact Of You" is just a really weird song
with understated metal riffage, a plodding drum stomp; it's like what Tool
would sound like if they went pop. "Rise" rips it's melody from R.E.M.'s
"Electrolite" and it's chorus from any number of bad alt.country singer/songwriters.
"TR2" an ode-of-sorts to vodka, Red Bull, and a sports car is just downright
annoying with it's goofy Lynrd Skynrd (!) groove.
Bitching
and moaning just isn't polite. I will say that Power's record is something
power pop aficionados would welcome into their collections, definitely
some great tracks, but as a whole this thing is humdrum.
