In the years following the 1981 arrival of
R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe" single, a healthy American scene bubbled under the surface invisible to all but the most dedicated trawlers of record shops and the pages of magazines like the BOB. Less psychedelic than the Paisley Underground, more melodic than the punk groups crawling away from hardcore, and also heavily influenced by the twitchy,
Beatles-y approach of
the dB's, the bands were typified by a love of jangling guitars, rich vocal harmonies, and
the Byrds. The
Captured Tracks label does an impressive job of gathering up the best and brightest of the scene on
Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987. The influence of
R.E.M. runs through much of the album like a low-voltage current; it's impossible to downplay the impact that group's success and patronage had on many of the bands here: the big chiming guitars, plangent vocals, and melancholy melodies they favored can be heard everywhere. That said, what makes the collection great is how far bands strayed from that template while still retaining the core elements of strum and thrum. There are groups that verge on garage rock (
Crippled Pilgrims' "Black and White,"
the Ferrets' "She Was Unkind") or power pop (
the Reactions' "Tomorrow's Time Today"); some that crib from the U.K. (the very
Postcard-sounding "Misery, Me & You" by
the White Sisters, the
Factory-inspired "Essential Things" by
A New Personality) and a few that don't stray far from the peppy ("Change" by
Holiday) or mopey (
the Darrows' "Is it You') side of New Wave. Nobody here threatened to have much of an impact beyond their tiny scene, but some of the songs here are either classics or selections by bands who had some real impact within their sphere.
The Reverbs' jumpy, almost painfully sweet "Trusted Woods" is perhaps as close as anyone here came to being part of the British indie pop scene, apart from
the Springfields, whose "Sunflower" was actually released on the legendary
Sarah label.
The Windbreakers' heartbreakingly pure "All That Stuff" is a fine example of the style that endeared them to fans of power pop,
Salem 66's "Seven Steps Down" twists and bites like proto-Riot Grrrl, and
the Sex Clark Five -- represented here by the irresistibly hooky "She Collides with Me" -- feel like the prototype of the
Elephant 6 collective. There's not a bad apple in the bunch, and even the most plugged-in fan of the era might discover some new favorites to investigate further. The
Captured Tracks team did an exemplary job of excavating and presenting the bands and songs like the lost gems that they are. This is a scene that hadn't really been examined in such a thorough way and it's done so perfectly here that as soon as the last notes of the final song begin to fade, it's easy to start thinking about another volume. ~ Tim Sendra
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