Influence Peddlers
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One of the latest bands to emerge from this culture is Chicago’s own Number One Cup, whose models are indie titans Superchunk and Pavement; on the band’s 1995 debut, Possum Trot Plan, the gem “Divebomb” is mired in a loose stew of lo-fi muck and half-baked songs. All of which makes the new Wrecked by Lions (both albums are on the small Rhode Island label Flydaddy) a rather dramatic turnaround. Number One Cup’s lyrics still fall squarely in Pavement’s obscurantist tradition, but it’s hard to fault a couplet like “You swing like Roger Maris / And you dress like Paris.” The tunes still sound like the carefully arranged detritus of the band’s contemporary heroes, but the playing has a new snappiness, the angular, intersecting guitar parts sound fresh, and the melodies sink into memory quickly and effectively–all the more impressive considering that they’re relatively complex and quirky.
The addition between albums of bassist John Przyborowski, who played with Number One Cup guitarist and vocalist Seth Cohen in a previous band, Eliot, has clearly bolstered the sound. Wrecked by Lions, produced by Brad Wood, also succeeds in part because it’s the product of a tight working band: fresh from a European tour opening for English stars Reef, on which Cohen says Number One Cup met with “indifferent to mildly enthusiastic” audiences, the band will kick off its own U.S. tour in mid-April, with a local date to be announced this week.
During a recent Lounge Ax performance by Six Finger Satellite and Arcwelder, a tipsy Jon Spencer found himself on the wrong end of Gregg “George” Foreman’s arm. Witnesses say some good-natured mutual ribbing turned violent when a gentle slap from Spencer startled the Delta 72 singer, who responded with a solid blow to the diminutive Spencer’s face. The dueling front men were quickly separated, and by the evening’s end apologies had been made.
