Tarkio

Omnibus

(Kill Rock Stars, 2005)

The vocalist, guitar player and chief song writer of this band defunct band, Tarkio, is Colin Meloy.  Currently, you can find him appreciating his recent and ongoing success to a group he now heads called The Decemberists.  He is now a rock star.  And because of this I need to point out the inherent irony in a label called “Kill Rock Stars” releasing a band who hosts a current rock star as leader.  This double album, which encompasses all the bands life span, was recorded in the late nineties, when Meloy was not a rock star, but a college student in Missoula.  So is a label that prides themselves on releasing interesting, unheard music and in a way making new underground rock stars guilty of cashing in?  Kinda.  Surely, a great deal of people do want to hear the band that birthed Meloy.  However, in the liner notes there is a picture of a rejection letter from Arista Records.  So, in fact this band, Tarkio, sought a deal and could not find one.  Is this the fault of KRS?  Nope.  But it is the fault of the label for releasing two hours of country rock that rarely varies in tempo while sustaining a measure of interest due to the entertaining vocals and well crafted song.  Should Meloy be a rock star?  I guess so.  Should Tarkio have gotten a record deal in the nineties?  Probably not.

The Sinister Quarter

Pink Guillotine

(Exotic Fever Records, 2004)

During the early 80’s Black Flag and Minor Threat gave hope to thousands of kids through the country as they toured in vans and spread the notions of individual thought and independence.  After that, hardcore became regimented and overly restrictive.  Luckily, bands like The Minutemen and The Meat Puppets entered the hardcore scene and completely destroyed any preconceived notion of what hardcore can or should be.  Today there is a new hardcore.  It’s on MTV.  It’s in your face.  And most importantly, it has nothing to do with its predecessors.  May I quote from the press release accompanying this slab? “The Sinister Quarter brings the rock from southeast Wisconsin, laying sideways hardcore onto clean, combative guitars at odd angles.”  Now, I don’t know what that all actually means, except that this release has nothing to do with hardcore and a good deal to do with working extraordinarily hard to posture oneself.  I know for a fact that Ian MacKaye would decry my restricting what hardcore is and is not, but he would also question why these folks are trying to do what has been done before.  The music is competent.  Everyone can wield their instruments with above average skill, but it really ends up sounding less than uninspired.  Even worse though, Erick Shelley (lyrics, vocals) ends up sounding as if he fronts The Darkeness occasionally, except he’s real damned serious.  I’m serious too.