"Once I was born to be leaving
Once I was cruel to be kind
But lately I've been dreaming
Of things I left behind..."So begins the third installment of Minibar's rambling
trek across the back roads of Americana, 'Desert After
Rain'. It's a landscape littered with "posters of
bands I once played with", "snap shirts" and "books
full of words underlined", the detritus of years spent
playing on the margins of mainstream USA. And yet, as
the title suggests, this album is full of certain
rugged resilience and the feeling that somehow their
dogged determination is finally coming to fruition.Nowhere is this upsurge more apparent than in the
sound of this record. The rhythm section of Malcolm
Cross on drums and Sid Jordan on the bass have
developed a startling muscularity over the years,
providing guitarist Tim Walker with the perfect canvas
for his sweeping delay and heart wrenching pedal
steel. In the song 'Wide Open', for instance, the
trademark husk of Simon Petty's vocals is sweetened by
soaring two, three and four part harmonies reminiscent
of Teenage Fanclub, while Rami Jaffee of the
Wallflowers adds B3 organ to the celebratory feel.
'Crime Scene Ribbon' opens with battering drums and
B-bender guitar, the chaotic urgency suggestive of the
song's depiction of a whiteout snow storm in New York.
Even the break up songs refuse to look back in
anything other than upbeat righteous anger; 'Can I
Call You a Cab?' has to rank up there with some of the
most furious kiss-off songs around, sample lyric "it's
your turn to learn, someday you're going to crash and
burn". There's a directness and cohesion here that
only comes from night after night of playing together
for years, whatever the size of the stage.Survivors of transatlantic relocation, major label
incompetence, radio indifference and eleven years of
carrying their own amplifiers, Minibar deserve to be
heard. They have toured with The Wallflowers, The
Jayhawks, Wilco, Teenage Fanclub and The Old 97's.
Their music has appeared in 'Shrek 2', 'Jay and Silent
Bob Strike Back', 'The OC', 'Nip/Tuck', and most
recently in 'Men in Trees'. Out on tour until April
2007 with Pete Yorn, both as his support band and his
backing band, they continue to make records and play
them regardless of the downs and downs of the music
industry. Catch them while you can. Go to minibarfans.com for dates and photos.
Minibar - Desert After Rain
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