Gerty
Carload of Scenic Effects
Merkin Records, 310 East Biddle Street, Baltimore MD 21202
Release Date: October, 1997
I have a mental image of the Gerty war room: it's a dank concrete haven shoved in the inner bowels of one of the hundreds of non-descript warehouses that dot the band's hometown of Baltimore. Tattered Mad Libs books, discarded Faygo cans and empty Funyons bags litter the floor. Mysterious phrases like "test casio vs. real hand claps" and "call dad for CB samples" are messily scrawled across a blackboard. Devo and Superchunk posters are taped to the walls next to test pressings of goofy publicity photos (they chose the "band having breakfast in bed" one).
The room is a mess, and with good reason -- Gerty has been busy plotting a Geek Rock revolution. And Carload of Scenic Effects is one hell of a manifesto.
Actually, the cut that opens the record, "Have You Heard About Linda?" is almost a complete statement in itself. It's packed to the gills with hand claps, corny transistor radio samples and more back-up harmonies than a Color Me Badd album. And as if that weren't nerdy enough, the lyrics are an ode to braces -- you know, the teeth-fixing kind from junior high (though suggestive lines like "Silver capped towers, She's fresh as a flower" leave me hoping our heroine, Linda, is well past the seventh grade).
All these formulaic devices thrown together in one pot could produce a mighty messy stew. But drummer Miyuki Furtado barks out his vocals with such enthusiasm that you think he'll surely burst a blood vessel, and the gimmicks quickly fall into place. Any good cook knows that a top-shelf soup starts with a tasty stock, and Gerty brings some of the heartiest pop songs I've heard in months. So hearty, in fact, that it can sustain the dozens of spices the band gleefully sprinkles in without ever consulting a recipe.
Adding to the fun, the Gerty kids swap roles on almost every song. Starting a trio with equitable distribution of songwriting and singing chores is just asking for a colossal collision of egos -- or at least a schizophrenic end product. But the Gerty kids don't miss a beat; their voices merrily intertwine until the whole thing sounds like one big slumber party.
-- Jon Carson
carson@outersound.com
