October 11, 1998

Strange But True

Any music that might be described as both 'whimsical' and 'improvisational' generally causes the kind of toxic reaction that necessitates nine days in an oxygen bubble and regular salt baths....

6 / 10 ANY MUSIC THAT MIGHT BE DESCRIBED AS BOTH 'whimsical' and 'improvisational' generally causes the kind of toxic reaction that necessitates nine days in an oxygen bubble and regular salt baths.

Add in a concept built around a series of fake National Enquirer headlines and a singer shouting randomly like a lunatic in a kids' playground and it's going to take a very special strain of charm to act as a palliative. Luckily, for US underground heroes Yo La Tengo and Half Japanese's Jad Fair, it's not just their inner child they wear on their sleeves. Try 'Irritatingly Quirky Americans In Endearingly Fey Record Shock' for the 32-point headline, then.

Recorded piecemeal between 1994 and 1996, the songs on 'Strange But True' are, at their best, gentle parables from a parallel alt-rock universe. The Pavemental strum of 'Ohio Town Saved From Killer Bees By Hungry Vampire Bats', the bratty squall of 'Shocking Fashion Statement Terrorizes Town', the sinister metal skulk of 'Principal Punishes Students With Bad Impressions And Tired Jokes' - this is a tribute to the noble art of marginalia.

So meet the Nevada man who invented a 21-key piano and the grocer sculpting Mount Rushmore from cheese. Jad and Yo La Tengo understand the obscure forces that drive them all too well. When they were told to get a life, they bought in bulk.

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