AR: Pacer

The Amps - Pacer (1995)

A primo example of mid nineties lo-fi indie fuzz garage rock, Pacer is more or less a solo effort by Kim Deal, she of the Pixies and later of the Breeders. The album was a bit of a disappointment sales-wise: the Breeders has just delivered with that super-catchy "Cannonball" single, the Pixies were known for their hooky surf-punk melody-driven ditties, so all signs pointed to a radio-friendly unit-shifter. Alas, what the masses got instead was a lot of questionably-in-tune rockers with endearing melodies often buried beneath a throbbing bass and Bonham-booming drums. So the disc met its fate in a bunch of bargain bins, which is precisely where I picked up my copy for $5 in the early '00s.

After a few spins of letting the leads filter up through the bassy silt, those hooks do eventually sink in. The great thing about Pacer is that the tracks that work sound very little like anything else out there - sure, there's a passing resemblance to Deal's other bands, but really, Side A sounds like a 1960s girl group with a murky four-track distorted amp backing band. The Ronettes as backed by Guided By Voices. Okay, I hate it when reviews do that, too, but it's striking, there's something lulling about the drag-along slow beat harmonies coming from full female voices that smacks of Spector. But the edge behind it, is obviously, a lot harder. The highlights of this effect are the opening title track, "Tipp City," "Mom's Drunk," and "Bragging Party."

The other highlight tracks come in the third slot ("I Am Decided") and the album closer ("Dedicated"). The former rounds out Side A - all of those previous highlights come on the first half of the album - so we once again have a disc where the best material comes up front. Side B, excepting the latter, is a slew of less thrilling tracks that sounds a whole lot more like Breeders/Pixies retreads. So we're left with an album with a really cool, slacker-draw voiced sound that sounds utterly original. It doesn't succeed across the board because of the lackluster B-side, but that first half contains some work that sinks in and in just endearing, charming, but in a visceral way. I would never thought that would have worked - raspy, small-range apathetic girl group vocals over basement rock - but it really does. Definitely worth a spot in your collection.

Status: Recommended (solid)
Nyet's Fave: "I Am Decided"