Pulse of the Twin Cities
Local record guy, Mike Siddall, has done it again. His label,
doubleplusgood, has brought the driving strains of H.chinaski
to the Twin Cities, and now he heas brought the oppressive
sludge of the Spiveys (pronounced SPY-vees) from Chicago.
Thematically, V is similar to Radiohead’s latest offering,
Kid A. Both albums serve as a reminder that things are only
as good (or bad) as you make them. But while Radiohead wake
you gently, the Spiveys crash into your bedroom wall like
a runaway freight train. And where Kid A likes to explore
the recesses of the inner self, V is the sonic equivalent
of a pure energy blast coming from one singular point somewhere
deep inside. Or the way it would feel to be sloe gin drunk
on a roller coaster. The Spiveys exhibit the same brutal-yet-playful
energy of the Cows, and yet the whole record sneaks in under
the wire at just short of 30 minutes.
These guys have to be in great shape: this music must hurt
to make. A shower of musical magnesium sparkles a listener
with white hot sonic embers, and the album even shakes some
of the same snotty power in which Neil Young occasionally
indulges.
Delusions of Adequacy
I knew the Spiveys as one of the best live bands in Chicago
and probably the most underrated. I couldn't understand why
more people weren't hip to what these guys were up to. By
the same token, I also secretly loved the fact that I could
go to a party, and there would be a good chance that the Spiveys
would be bashing away in the corner, two guitars and a drummer,
making half of the crowd's collective jaw drop and scaring
the living shit out of the other half. They're one of those
rare breed of bands that just really jelled well together.
These guys all knew what moves their bandmates would make
before they even made them. They shared a brain. I once heard
the band make jokes on stage about not being able to find
a place to practice for weeks before that show. The crowd
laughed (mostly in disbelief, because it was a really tight
set), but I think the band was being serious. I don't think
they needed to practice much, the same way you and I don't
need to practice breathing. It just came naturally for them,
and I was lucky enough to catch them often. ...more
Maximum Rock N Roll
Spiveys- By Caesarian
A very strange record, this one. Comes off indie rock in
intent, no patches or Mohawks for these boys, mixing it up
with equal parts 90s Ohio scene guitar squeal and almost emoesque
vocal inflections. The songs ain’t dumbo, but they aren’t
intellectual like so many pretentious sweater-weather wall-hugging
bands of today. They have a sound I really don’t expect
to run into here at PRU, so I could fall back onto comparisons,
but I fucking hate doing that to new bands. Uh, here’s
a new guitar band writing cool sounding non-cliché
rock workouts that might remind you of something off that
recent Troubleman Unlimited comp. How’s that? Fuck it,
try VSS without the electronica.
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