Do you think Pinkerton was Weezer's last good album? Are you burnt out on Mom Jean's incredibly limited discography? Were you disappointed in the new PUP record despite your devout love for big distorted guitars and indulgent, sad lyricism?
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The independent rock and roll music of Harrison Gordon, Illinois' self-aware indie-sleaze champion, may be the solution for you. Gordon's first full length, "The Yuppies are Winning" sets him as a strong contender for the biggest sleeper in indie rock right now. The album's front half is a reverberating, mucinex-fueled rampage, opening with the mid-tempo title track, building to a thrash of drums and a beleaguered vocal round, repeatedly exclaiming "Did I ever really burn that bright?"
That drops out from underneath listeners in proper trapdoor fashion directly into "BLEACH", a song about anime and wasting your time in bed watching TV - it's standard emo fare, no complaints there. The real strength here, abundantly clear even two songs in, is the varied song structure, with a slush of loud guitars giving way to strong, ever-changing grooves time and time again. things will get worse is possibly the strongest song on the record, sporting a blink-and-you'll-miss-it tempo change at its midpoint followed by a snap back into acoustic guitar and echoing backing vocals, then a smashing return to the song's opening feel. It's a one-two followed up by a full-circle kick, with no frills or artsy instrumental bridges.
"SNOT" follows into i am happy, a fully unplugged midpoint of rest for an otherwise catastrophically emotive album. The fun chirping backing vocals from things will get worse persist, and it's a much-needed momentary reprieve from the broken-glass guitar work across the record. "The Next Great American Spirit Strikes Back!" drags the listener by the ankles back into Harrison Gordon's regular fare, a form he's all but mastered by his first album's halfway point. cigs inside? into "Kirby Down B" is a song pairing that more than justifies the rest of the record's back half, and things stay strong until the closer, ginger ale - another unplugged song, much in the vein of beloved favorites like Modern Baseball and Worst Party Ever.
To everyone who reccomended me this album, I would like to formally apologize for not listening to it sooner. Hopefully this write-up saves you the same embarassment, dear reader, especially because it won't be long before Harrison Gordon is much too critically-acclaimed for you to get in the old "I knew 'em before they blew up". Check out the record now while you're thinking about scoring those points.
Epic Gordo
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