Year: 1994
Label: Sony
Style: Alt-rock
Location: The Great Escape Discount Store (Nashville)
Medium: CD
Condition: Used
Dollar diamond or dud: Dud
Like most of North America, I first came across Ned's Atomic Dustbin with the release of "Grey Cell Green" off their God Fodder record. Also, like most of North America, I wasn't impressed with their duelling-bassists gimmick, although I will admit that I enjoyed God Fodder for what it was, which was ultimately just future $1-bin (god) fodder. Although I liked it okay, I didn't enjoy it enough to pick up Are You Normal?, and I only picked this one up because... well, it was $1. Enjoying something of a minor alt-rock blip with "Grey Cell," Ned's failed to capitalize on anything by releasing two consecutive boring records, before collapsing and fading away entirely...
A blend of Madchester beats, punky riffing, alt-pop dreaminess, and blandness, Ned's sound like about forty-seven British bands at the time, most notably Jesus Jones, except without the hookiness. This isn't awful--it's merely competent. And consequently, it's sort of pointless for anything more than $1. Back to the two bassists, one would play a higher melody line and the other would play the more traditional bass parts, so there's a combination of the typical post-punk British "let the bass carry the melody" ideal with the usual "let the bass fill out the sound' aesthetic, but that's more interesting in print than practice, I'd say.
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1 comment:
ned's were quite a notable band at the time, and on this, sadly their last album, their song writing and production values were at their peak.
this was a really interesting album in 1995. ther metal guitars turned the grunge/brit pop loud guitar sound on its ear.
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