From the Elephant 6 collective setting off a torrent of
Beach Boys-inspired tunes to Woodstock 2000, and of
course that lame bell-bottom resurgence, the last
ten years have seen a return to all things '60s. It was
only a matter of time before Andy Warhol permeated
some aspect of twenty-first century culture. Named
after the Warhol hanger-on who frequented the Factory,
drum and bass duo Edie Sedgwick attempt to capture
Warholian aesthetics through songs named after
and written about celebrities. Whether their entire
existence is just ironic schtick or they're
actually attempting to formulate some erudite societal
criticism has yet to be determined, but in either case
their music has a distinctive allure.
First Reflections melds two-minute songs with
structured punk improvisation to form a sound not
unlike a Fugazi practice-session.
In Edie Sedgwick's case, rather than ebulliating
emotional strife to the listener, the lyrical expression
of feelings comes in relation to celebrities. Singer
Justin Moyer delivers absurd lyrics like "I don't want
to grow up in pampers, jockstraps, condoms/with Wendy
Tinkerbell/in Never Never Land" with such unassuming
zeal that it's easy to get lost in the energetic
throes of the music, completely losing track of the
fact that he's actually singing about "Tom Cruise" or
"Christina Ricci".
Although the band would never admit it, at times the
album seems to slip into parody mode, mocking the
Dischord sound. On "MacCauley Culkin" (sic), for instance,
Moyer suffuses the dynamic bass/drum interplay with
his own mouth-noises -- "Boom! Boom!" -- and on more than
one occasion gaudy arpeggios hang on a little past
their welcome.
If this all sounds a little
preposterous to you, take comfort in the fact that
even drummer Ryan Hicks finds Moyer's "motion picture
starlet" montage a bit far removed, claiming in
various interviews "I just love it for the music. The
ideology comes from Justin pretty much 100%." What
makes this album work is precisely that balance between the
absurd and actual musical substance. It gives the music
a lasting impact...and if nothing else, it's a funny
thing to play for friends.