Helms - The Swimmer
(Kimchee)
Naming your band after America's biggest opponent of the arts is a risky
endeavor, even if Helms actually is the last name of your drummer. Not
risky in that people will think the band is a bunch of right wingers who
agree with Jesse Helms' views, but risky in that people (for instance, me)
will think the band is a bunch of smarty pant ruffians looking to shock you.
Helms (the band) is neither of those things. In fact, they are pretty much
the opposite of "a bunch of smarty pant ruffians." Helms are two brothers
and a girl they know (Ms. Helms) who are not concerned about the state of the
world and who is and is not a hypocrite; they just want to make you feel
like you're 8 years old again.
To do that, the band incorporates all the pop culture references they
remember from when they were 8 years old: G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Pac-Man,
Three's Company, etc. Sound bites of talking action figures and Galaga's laser
guns are incorporated into the music, as well. The effect of all these
kiddie references is unsettling at first, as it seems to counteract against
Helms being a rock band. Perhaps a twee pop group could get away with this
easily, but when musically you are more closely related to The Van Pelt
or June of 44, hearing about G.I. Joe's plastic scars doesn't seem to fit
with the music, at least on first listen.
Any concerns about the childhood references fade after a handful of listens as
it is all a part of the imagery of the album. Helms aren't trying to relate
much emotion with their music, they are just trying to evoke imagery of a time
or place they've been, whether that's sitting on the floor playing with Star
Wars action figures, sitting in a Venice bus station, or playing rock music.
But perhaps those places and things are the purest emotions music can relate.
When Helms relate the joy of playing music in "The Smallest World in the
World," it comes off as a musical call to arms, urging everyone to take
their amps outside and just play (maybe they are political provocateurs after
all).
Perhaps it's a good thing Helms the band could care less about who shares
the name. We get enough dropout propaganda from Helms' direct predecessor,
Chris Leo. Compared to their predecessors, Helms' sound and style is solid but
unspectacular: steady bass with loose guitar and prominent drums. However,
somehow they manage to transcend any limitations in their sound, as The
Swimmer is an album that can be listened to over and over. Much like those
great old video games they sing about, there's no flashy graphics, just pure
game-play.
File Helms between Transformers: The Movie DVD and Tropics & Meridians.
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