Music from Goats, Rednecks, and Chicks in Leather
Goat, the Yayhoos and Nicola all manage to squeeze a diamond or two out of coal
Reviews by Al Kaufman
Goat
Twisted Heart
Engine Room Records
When a guy goes by the name Goat, and his only claim to fame is writing a song for a successful Kia ad (“Great Life”), it’s hard to take him seriously as a songwriter. But on TWISTED HEART, Goat proves that he has the skills to conquer such obstacles. He has a great ear for clever melody, and his voice has just enough grit in it to make it interesting. The opener, “Two Sides to Love,” is in the same funky, pop-jam vein as Dave Matthews, right down to its overly repetitive chorus. For the most part, the piano-playing Goat chews on Matthews’ lawn throughout the CD, sometimes bringing the funk, and other times slowing it down.
He offers just enough variety to keep it interesting. The sole exception is “Find Somebody,” in which Goat finds his inner Harry Connick Jr. (but in a good way). The lyrics, which often fall into cliché, don’t often measure up to his deceptively intricate melodies, but his sophisticated rasp is able to overcome his sophomoric words. This is good fun to listen to, despite its faults, and Goat will be someone to watch in the coming years.
The Yayhoos
Put the Hammer Down
The Yayhoos may sound like a bunch of rednecks making music after drinking a few too many PBRs, but what they really are is a bunch of great musicians who got together to make music after drinking a few too many PBRs. The band consists of a bunch of southern rockers who know they are good and don’t feel the need to prove it. Consisting of Dan Baird and Keith Christopher (lead singer/guitarist and bass player, respectively, for Georgia Satellites), Eric Ambel (guitarist for Del-Lords, Joan Jett’s Blackhearts and Steve Earle’s Dukes) and Terry Anderson (drummer and songwriter whose songs have been covered by everyone from Etta James to Jo Dee Messina), the Yahoos got together for fun in 1993. Their first CD, FEAR NOT THE OBVIOUS, didn’t arrive until 2001. Their inspired cover of Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” turned the disco ditty into a southern rock anthem.
Much like their debut disc, this year’s PUT THE HAMMER DOWN (Lakeside Lounge) is full of straight-ahead rock written by the band members, as well as a couple of unexpected covers. Their version of the B-52’s “Roam” is lacking a bit in energy, but the cover of the O’Jays’ soul classic “Love Train” is dead on. The disc begins with the Anderson-penned lines: “Where’s your boyfriend at/’Cause I want me some of that” and you know exactly what you’re in for. It’s a bunch of guys singing about drinking and fucking, yet there seems to be some soul behind their boyish merrymaking. And Ambel’s songs add a bit of (dare I say) sensitivity and straight-ahead pop to the whole mix. This is good, boisterous fun from a bunch of guys who know how to do it.
Nicola
DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY
Hot Cherry Records
While The Yayhoos come off as unassuming bad boys, NICOLA tries so hard to be a bad girl that if she ever wore anything with sleeves you would see the sweat stains from all that effort. Her fishnets and bustier that she wears on her new CD, DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY, feel contrived. So do many of her lyrics, including those from her lead song, “My Name Ain’t Mary.” Her attempts to make us think she is a bad ass are about as convincing as Olivia Newton-John’s at the end of GREASE.
Still, she knows her way around a guitar riff, and she has the kind of power pop vocals that recall Heart’s Wilson sisters. But most of the time, she simply resorts to harmless generic pop. She brings in rapper Tah Phrum Duh Bush for street cred on the socially conscious “In Your Own Backyard.” And, although “(5, 6, 7, 8) Hot Date” sounds like Liz Phair at her most artificially shocking, she includes a great kiss-off line to her deadbeat boyfriend. “5, 6, 7, 8/Who do you appreciate?/You’re gonna have to masturbate/I’ve got a hot date.” It ain’t Shakespeare, but it gets the point across.
