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The Squeaky
Fromme: Photography
Like the Charles Manson protg from whom they take their name, The Squeaky Fromme is an eccentric, slightly disturbed, and sometimes silly band; but its this mix of qualities that also makes them so damn fun. Trying to build a bridge between classic rock and indie pop, and sometimes flirting with the dangerous edge between retro cool and hopelessly dated cheese, they generally succeed at marrying the bigness of 70s-style anthems with the warped guitars and boy meets girl vocal harmonies of todays alternative music scene. When the album opens, the first thing that comes to mind is Yo La Tengo, who seem to be a major influence throughout. While most of the seven songs on this 22-minute disc are propulsive rockers, the bands dedication to melody and hooks plus its willingness to throw things like jangly acoustic guitar and piano into the blend indicate that this is an album for those who can sit on the more sensitive side of the rock n roll fence. Beyond that, The Squeaky Fromme love to play around with guitar effects much like YLT always have, and they dont shy away from being vulnerable when its called for or flat-out goofy when the mood strikes. The first two tracks capture the best of classic arena rock its energy, tunefulness, bombast and rock-above-all-else attitude while maintaining just enough ironic distance to feel like they come from the right millennium. The lead singers slightly broken delivery is especially useful in keeping the band from sounding as if only middle-aged Long Islanders could get into it. Hes got enough of that post-Pavement sensitive drawl in his voice not only to placate the indie slackers, but slyly seduce them into pulling out their best air-guitar moves. But as alluded to earlier, there are moments when the bands classic rock influence threatens to destroy the delicate balance between timelessness and timeliness most of their songs embody. Tracks five and six may be the worst offenders, with guitar riffs and chorus vocals torn right out of the Boston and Journey songbooks. Still, its nearly impossible not to get sucked in by the catchy melodies each song possesses, especially the latter, whose chorus refrain repeats in perfect BTO fashion, Im not doin time / Im not towin the line. Interestingly, though, the songs that ultimately make the strongest impression are the two mostly-acoustic ones. Emotionally Attached to Inanimate Objects features a folk-like wispiness and lovely, spare lines such as Ill be your chair if you would be my table / Trade it all in for a violin. The album closer, So Little, is a bit more bright-eyed and up-tempo, yet still more CSNY than Frampton or Thin Lizzy. Both tunes stand in stark contrast to the over the top classic rock-conjuring numbers, but hold the secret to why The Squeaky Fromme usually work well on both ends of the spectrum: the band has found a way to hide emotional maturity within rock pomposity, letting us all-too-serious indie kids rock out without ever feeling like our parents.
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