Consonant - s/t
(Fenway)
There are two metaphors about riding a bicycle. One is that once you learn, you never forget. Getting up on a bicycle again—even after, say, a 19 year period of never being near one—you will instinctively remember how to build momentum, move forward, and keep your balance. The other metaphor about riding a bicycle is that once you fall off, you should get right back up and try again.
Only one of these metaphors applies to Clint Conley, bassist of early 80s post-punk pillars Mission of Burma. Conley fell off the proverbial bicycle 19 years ago, or, rather, the bicycle was taken away when Burma guitarist Roger Miller's severe case of tinnitus led to the band's all too early dismantling. And, aside from a few production credits, Conley was ne'er to be heard from again.
Until now. Nineteen years after his previous band broke up, Clint Conley is back on the music scene, joined by local Boston luminaries Chris Brokaw, Matt Kadane, and Winston Braman (Fuzzy), to create Consonant. The natural assumption is that Conley will get back on that rusty old bike and wobble around, looking slightly foolish but doing enough right to give a warm and fuzzy tingle to those looking to recall the good old days when they first heard Burma.
However, here is where that other metaphor about riding a bicycle rings true. Consonant debut album is everything you would ever want from a rock and roll record. Conley has managed not just to avoid making a fool of himself but to reestablish his mastering of the craft of punk songwriting. Like Michael Jordan with a guitar and no risk of knee injury, Conley has come back into the game with a new focus, a filtered down approach to songwriting that more cleanly references the same touchstones that Mission of Burma referenced while still creating the same complex, textured style of music that made Burma great to begin with.
It's obvious that Conley has spent much of the last 19 years listening to those classic rock records that got him interested in making music in the first place. Top on the list is the Kinks, who seem to be a major influence on the many more pop-oriented songs on the album. In "John Coltrane's 'My Favorite Things,'" Conley's vocals are high-pitched, floating on top of the lilting guitar and drums, creating a lite and easy pop song, as pretty as a field full of daisies. "That Boston Life" packs a little more punch while still giving off a Kinks-like feel, its bridge rumbling the song forward at a quick pace, and its chorus swinging with a retro vibe while still using strong punk-sounding guitars.
Clearly, Consonant is more of a pop band than Mission of Burma ever was. Burma would never have made a song like "Post-Pathetic," which sounds almost like early REM with its rough-edged jangle (as a side note, make sure you catch the plug for Newness Ends). However, the album does have some darker moments. For example, the influence of Led Zeppelin is most keenly displayed in the change in "Who Touches You Now." The songs starts off low, dirty, and angry, simmering and simmering. Then, the almighty guitars summon power from above to crash down on all who've done us wrong, huge power chords creating the widest of brushstrokes. A pure Zeppelin moment. "Call It L---" is also darker and less pop, perhaps the song most like a Mission of Burma song. "Call It L---" is a dirge for the cheated, as a lover's Clinton-esque abuse of language leads to confusion and anger perfectly mirrored in the thick distorted moan of guitars, Conley singing in prose, creating a one-ended conversation.
While lost love, new love, and sexual love are not by any means exclusively a young man's game, imagining any number of 20 year rock veterans revisiting those themes seems laughable. There's a reason why Mick sings about how "God gave me everything I want" and Bowie sings about how he's "afraid of Americans." Yet somehow Conley is able to jump right back into these hormone-driven themes, approaching it with honesty instead of just posturing for the old fans, which perhaps is why his lyrics are so successful.
Perhaps that honesty explains why the whole album is so successful.
This is just a direct, honest rock record.
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