Joe Christmas

Item: Upstairs Overlooking
Author: Todd Brown

Upstairs Overlooking

(1995)

Reviewed by Todd Brown

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1995

alternative rock indie rock power pop

Is there a name for this stuff yet? The lads of Joe Christmas have appeared on the scene, after some rather convoluted contractual twists, with a stack of songs cast adrift in the seas of a labeller's worst nightmare. I've heard some call it sludge rock. I pull out little bits of nerd rock. I expect that fans of Weezer will want to pay attention. In the end, to my ears, Joe Christmas sounds distinctly like, well, Joe Christmas.

And what does Joe Christmas sound like to these ears? It is full of sloppy, fuzzed-out guitars, slightly nasal vocals, and more great melodies and catchy hooks than you can shake a stick at. These are just flat out good songs.

Allow me to make one important distinction here. In the current music world, people tend to hear the words "distortion" and "alternative" (or variations thereon) and conclude-grunge. This is not grunge. This is not punk. This is not even remotely close to those. Essentially, these are pop songs with a great big attitude.

As seems to be the trend in what has crossed my desk in recent days, most of these songs deal with relational issues. Boys will be boys, and like most, these boys have discovered girls and the many and varied complications that can arise-the anxiety of possible rejection, the joy of togetherness, and the frustrations of uncaring are all touched upon. "Good bye" addresses those things most heavily.

The major variation from this theme comes with "The Blue Rider," the album's closer. It is also the most definite statement of faith.

He used to get mad at me When I would talk with mommy He'd take a big stick And beat the heck out of me Until he met the Blue Rider Now he's wearing a coat of arms

Sitting behind the rows upon rows of knobs and dials for this was Chris Colbert of Breakfast With Amy and Fluffy fame, and simply put, I doubt there could have been a better choice of producers. Colbert's own "plug and play" work ethic suits this recording just fine. Those overly enamoured with sonic cleanliness may consider this some sort of penance with its smeared layers of sound, but for long-time fans of the American alternative scene, this is one of the most engaging releases to come out of the CCM machine.