Kim Deal has in the past her share of success. She is of course most famous for being the bassist and a founding member of The Pixies. In the early 1990’s, Deal returned as the guitarist and vocalist of The Breeders. She clearly has a great deal of talent and is always seeking out new and different ways to show her skills to fans.
In 1994, Deal had an idea. She formed a new, one-shot band called The Amps. Starting with her own talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, Deal added drummer Jim MacPherson (The Breeders and Guided by Voices) to the lineup. She then recruited musicians Nathan Farley and Luis Lerma from her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Farley and Lerma were relatively new to music and even to this day are pretty much unknown. The Amps weren’t an entirely new entity. Their sound drew on the sharp pop of The Breeders and was in many ways an extension of the then-defunct rock band.
As with much of the work from The Breeders, the songs from The Amps are a wicked pop-punk-rock blend. Their one full-length album, 1996’s Pacer, is overall rather appealing. Though to some ears more sensitive to stripped down production, much of the album will prove too harsh to stomach. It is anything but professional sounding. Pacer is the product of a band that sounds remarkably like the garage rockers of today like the White Stripes and The Strokes among many others. But while those acts have had major crossover appeal, The Amps got little more than a nod and the occasional supporting tour gig with similar contemporaries Sonic Youth and Helium.
Pacer is a good album, though doesn’t quite reach the level of “great.” At the same time that the minimalist approach to production works well for garage rock, it also detracts from the overall appeal of the album. It sounds very much like the album was recorded in a tin room. Deal’s already difficult voice echoes unmercifully throughout most of the songs. While as a part of The Breeders she sounded brilliant, the difference was in the more rock n’ roll guitars and drums. That band rounded her spiky voice wonderfully while MacPherson, Lerma, and Farley cannot do anything to tone her down and warm her up.
Even with these pretty significant issues, Pacer is still a worthwhile album especially for Kim Deal completists. Since I do not personally fall into this category despite owning two Breeders and three Pixies albums, my personal affection for this album is somewhat compromised. On many levels, I enjoy Pacer. I like the fact that Deal took a chance by recruiting unproven hometown musicians and by cutting down on the production. I even can appreciate many of the songs here are pretty darned good. But something about the album strikes me as incredibly hit or miss.
Twelve songs populate Pacer. The title track kicks the disc off on a positive note. But unfortunately for Deal’s outfit, it is the strongest track of the album and as such makes the rest a disappointment. A few others come close. Tipp City, Empty Glasses, Hoverin and Breaking the Split Screen Barrier are decent enough to partake in.
The aforementioned Pacer is sunny, light, and fits nicely into the scheme of the album’s goal. The lo-fi aesthetics work brilliantly. Deal’s vocals are exuberant and genuine. But as with all lovely things, it comes and go much too quickly, only to be replaced by the appropriately amped up Tipp City. Deal shrieks in exstasy and agony in the same breath. Though, it is the earlier Pacer that seems more the band’s speed.
I Am Decided, Mom’s Drunk, and Bragging Party come as an unwanted awakening. I Am Decided is fine enough, but the melody and entire song construction are pretty haphazard. Not just that, the song in the end is a bit too stripped down in addition to being repetitive as hell. Mom’s Drunk is thick and impossible to navigate. Deal’s vocals are twisted into the occasional strange echo and vibrato. Bragging Party is much, much too long and anticlimactic. The Amps were initially a solo project for Deal, and as such the other performances are put on the backburner for better or for worse. The track (and many others) would have greatly benefited from stronger guitars and drums, and as such nothing about it works. Given the right supporting characters, she is an incredible talent. The Amps was not the right platform.
Pacer picks up just long enough for the rockin’ Hoverin. For such a brief song, the intro takes much too long. Aside from that problem, Deal’s performance is among the best on the disc. She sing-talks in a manner that fans of The Breeders should already be well acquainted. This song again would have benefited from some more tender production, but overall it is worth checking out.
First Revival, Full on Idle, She’s A Girl and Dedicated are al pretty painful. The only two exceptions to the awful second half are Breaking the Split Screen Barrier and Empty Glasses with the latter the stronger song. Breaking the Split Screen Barrier is about as rock n’ roll as the album gets. It abandons pretenses and gets down to the dirty business of kicking butt after a minute of intro (in this case this extended beginning works, while throughout most of the rest of Pacer it does not). Deal emotes beautifully in a refreshing non-distorted style. Empty Glasses is superior in just about every way. The guitars and drums are brought to the front of the production, something that listeners will be desperate for by this point in the album. This time around, the slant is toward pure punk. And this punk slant works well on The Amps.
Fewer than half of the tracks on Pacer are palatable. No great, or even above average, album should be this divided. Again, I want to reiterate that Deal’s effort is obvious. But it is quite clear that this band and this album were mere stopgaps between her more powerful and overall better endeavors. Seriously. Don’t believe any hype about The Amps. It’s a disappointing disc and doesn’t belong in any collection not centered toward garage rock or Kim Deal.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. Pacer
2. Tipp City
3. I Am Decided
4. Mom's Drunk
5. Bragging Party
6. Hoverin
7. First Revival
8. Full on Idle
9. Breaking the Split Screen Barrier
10. Empty Glasses
11. She's a Girl
12. Dedicated
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