Wolverton
Brothers Reviews and
Comments Page
CITY BEAT June 24, 2004
A BETTER PLACE: The Wols
are one of Cincinnati's most enduring groups -- about two decades and
still going strong -- and they're certainly one of the more unique and
innovative bands ever to call the Queen City home. The group's latest
release, A Better Place (only their fourth long-player), is its most
experimental and eccentric yet (which is saying a lot), as the group
employs a wider variety of tools, getting into warped samples and other
electronic gurgling on tracks like "So Beautiful" and "Brood X Nymphs."
On the alluring "Sky Trails," the Bros. (with Culture Queer/Fairmount
Girls' Dana Hamblen on guest vocals) play over a withering vinyl
recording of children singing a "love chant from North Africa" to
dizzying effect. The band's trademark art-damaged Post Punk is still in
play throughout the majority of Place, maniacally scurrying between
droning buzz ("No Panic Trip") and noisy soundbursts ("Give Me Some
Lightning"). The lysergic, slanted guitar interplay between Billy Wol
and Tim Schwallie sounds almost telepathic at this point, while
Schwallie's impulsive, stream-of-conscious vocals and lyrics surf the
music like a drunken sailor confidently keeping his footing on deck
during a tsunami. Eclecticism radiates on tracks like "Wintry Mix (Opus
No. 3)," an ambient whir that builds and mushrooms into a punkish
fervor, and "Hay Days," which alternates between a narcotic sway and
full-on Glam Rock boogie. There's no "blueprint" for the Wols' music --
structures blissfully defy expectation, and sonically the band knows
few boundaries. The Wolverton Brothers are the kind of band that should
make you proud to be from Cincinnati. (Mike Breen) Grade: A
FORCED
EXPOSURE #17
Sucking
Hind Tit......another
matchless rec from these Midwestern whompers. The combination of
elements they come up w/ is still as bloody and indescribable as it was
on their debut, and the more I hear this the more I hear.
Y'know? There's not
(nor is there ever) any way to tell how much that I (the average
listerner) am "reading into" their attack, but the Wolvertons always
sound like a buncha hicks who moved to San Francisco to play music and
discovered psychedelics instead. But there's nothing really retro
about the way they play or organize their stuff. It's just that
there's a stumped-n-achin'-but still-havin'-fun quality to their stuff
that seems like it woulda been the perfect thing for a lotta bands
to've backed-into about 25 years back. Of course, listening to
tapes of the period demonstrates that nobody was doing anything v. much
like this then (esp. Bill Stuart's (sic) (he
means Tim's
- BW) vocals, which are
as contempo in texture as John Petkivic's or Jay Tiller's – meaning
they aren't striving for suavity, mystery or standard-issue
goodness). This is totally great drug-playing, however, and I'm
afraid that the people who'd love it (and hundreds of millions besides
them) are gonna miss out on these gents altogether. If you have
any interest in hearing weird kindsa roots-shit taken to the tops of
high bldgs. and then kicked the fuck off, you really oughta purchase
this record. You'll thank me for pleading. I swear. –Byron
THE
BIG TAKEOVER #44
The
Wolverton Brothers:
(reissue) A reissue of the Wolverton Brothers' long out-of-print,
self-titled debut (with five bonus tracks), this disc captures the
Brothers' hillbilly-sludge punk in its most undistilled state.
The Wolvertons show they already had a clear idea of what they wanted
to do, however, serving up a handsome helping of discordant Appalachain
blues in a vein similar to fellow Ohioans the Gibson Bros., but without
the guffaws. There is indeed Midwestern witticism, but the
Wolvertons' view is not so eschewed. On songs such as "Fishin'"
and "Paycheck," they make humourous, firsthand commentaries on the
particulars of small-town life. The band has since refined their
sound somewhat, and this release is appreciable for representing the
raw twang of their early work. – Stephen Slaybaugh
CREEM
Vol. 2 #12
from
an article about the Afghan Whigs and other Cincinnati bands:
.......Tim
Schwallie (is the) driving force of the Wolvertons, Cincy
shockablilly madmen who make innovative, conceptual post-punk rock.
–Brad Balfour
In
same article, an endorsement from Greg Dulli: "..one of the finest
bands in the country. They are the VU and Big Star of their
generation. They are a truly outstanding band. They were
really inspirational to me."
YOUR
FLESH #16
The
Wolverton Brothers: Okra
Records are a solid two for two at the plate. This second set of
siblings hail from Cincinnati and like the Gibson Brothers they wallow
in the deep muddy compost that spawned the whole rock thing. The
Wolverton Brothers come out shooting on a wave of guitar noise that
plain whumps anybody else selling this roots revival stuff. Seems
to me like this band takes more from "White Light White Heat" than
"Rust Never Sleeps" and the resultant merger of feedback to loping
off-center country and rock rhythms is mighty satisfying. They
must be pretty invigorate with a few beers under your and their
collective belts, and the inclusion of a live version of Charlie
Daniels' "Long Haired Country Boy" seems to prove it. This
hiss-ridden, echoey production perfectly captures the bands's obvious
strengths; raw vitality, a sloppy looseness and commitment to hazy
melodies if at all. This band has been working in comparative
anonymity combining Sun Resonance with Chess grit. Let's hope we
can see them work it out live. – Bruce Adams
YOUR
FLESH #21
Sucking
Hind Tit: I
had
originally planned on writing that the Wolverton Brothers were way
ahead of the competition, but realized that if any other band even had
an inkling of what the Wolvertons were up to, I'd be surprised
indeed. The fact that this band works within the boundaries of
what other bands hack away at (post-Velvets drone, post-Marty Robbins
c&w) only serves to underline the emotional poverty 90% of all rock
bands–indie or major–are working with. At a time when every other
band carefully choreographs their moves (see the Velvets Heaven
& Hell
complilation) the Wolvertons don't hesitate to slap together a fiercely
idiosyncratic take on the past 30 years or so of white popular
music. Sucking Hind Tit saunters, sashays and staggers around
like a drunk in love. Best of all, for all their understanding of
the fundamental fuckedupedness of the progenitors (Jimmy Rogers to Lou
Reed) at no point does this band fall into a hushed reverence.
This LP is placed firmly in the present, with guitars colliding off of
each other in a way that can be atmospheric or abrasive. A
welcome casualness surrounds the proceedings. These days are
cursed by flocks of bands reaching under rocks to bring up the slimiest
entrails of rock's rich tapestry. Too many people are going for
the easy moves, but the Wolvertons are proof positive that the old
chords can be taught new tricks and that actual sincerity of feeling
pays dividends. – Bruce Adams
PUNCTURE
#30
Liar
Man: Very
Ohio. Though less abstract than Pere Ubu, the Wolverton Brothers
share with their predecessors a profound sense of horror and
powerlessness, driven by the rhythms of urban blight that fill their
waking hours. There is nothing beautiful to soften the grim
landscape. "Started to smell this town thirty miles away,"
vocalist Tim Schwallie shrieks in "Our Town." The music is tense
and cold, like David Thomas (or David Vanian) fronting the
Smiths. Power, but no warmth..... –John Chandler
OPTION
#57
Liar
Man:
At 26 minutes, this seven-song collection is technicaly a
mini-album. Yet those of us who once complained about short CDs
and now recoil at bloated 78-minute symphonies will find both irony and
solace here as not a nano-second is wasted. The Wolvertons' prior
releases ('87's self-titler, '92's Sucking Hind Tit, and several
singles) hinted at a certain breed of rootsy aplomb germinating.
Now, produced by Mekon Jon Langford, the band caroms woozily and
lustily off every "rock" in sight, minus any revivalist
mannerisms. Instead, you hear a double-naught spy theme filtered
through Nick Cave’s
bowels ("Max Gomez Love"), surf-funk for bong-huffin’ fans of Dick Dale
and the Jon
Spencer Blues Explosion ("Vampyre," "Tornado Bomber"), even some
twangy, echoey shit ("Xanadu," "Tornado Bomber") that point the
riffs to the heart of the sun without necessarily bringing to mind a
tired term like "psychedelic." In just about every Afghan Whigs
article this year, Greg Dulli has touted the Wolvertons as being his
town's finest musical offering. Judging by the band's
versatility, musicianship and humor, he's probably right. – Fred
Mills
ROCKPOOL
The
Wolverton Brothers:
Imagine early gun club veering off into interstellar overdrive. –
Reyne Cuccuro
TROUSER
PRESS ROCK GUIDE
Glad:
The five-song Glad EP continues the band's progression in much the same
vein, calming some of the combo's manic attack while ripping some of
its previously rigid structures wide open, particularly on "Cold
Spring." The Wolverton Brothers have maintained the invigorating
blueprint proposed on their debut while transforming themselves into
something less obvious than the rootsy twang of the early days. –
Peter Margasak
CITY
BEAT
Glad:
A five-song EP issued by Chicago's Atavistic Records, Glad marks the
band's 10th year in existence. With this release, the Wolvertons
stretch even further the elastic sheets of off-kilter shockabilly and
warped post-modern Art-Rock that have become their trademarks. On
tracks like "Cold Spring" and "West Texas Highway," the group manages
to use elements of twang, expansive and ethereal space and dissonant
darkness all at the same time. Like the Birthday Party, the Bros.'
music is a high, intangible and twisted art. One note of advice: Don't
go by someone else's description of the Wolvertons, because their sound
is next to impossible to describe. Get Glad for yourself, and it'll all
start to make sense. – Mike Breen
CMJ
The
Wolverton Brothers: ....another
decade or two before Guitar Player Magazine figures out that Wolvertons
Bill Stuart and Tim Schwallie are geniuses and should be gracing their
cover instead of Eric Clapton............. (guess
time's about up – BW)