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Tom Dyer — Beautimus and Other Sounds of the Nineties
(Green Monkey GM1074, 1999/2020, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-07-14

Beautimus and Other Sounds of the Nineties Cover art

I’ve covered previous reissues of Tom Dyer’s work of the 80s with The Colorplates and solo, and now we move along to the 90s with four different groups: Beautimus, Gravy, B.L.O.G. I, and B.L.O.G. II. These tracks date from when Dyer was an instructor at the Art Institute of Seattle and were recorded at the school’s studio. Beautimus featured Dyer with former students and other musical cohorts who got together and learned rocking tunes in a 90s post-punk, not-quite-grunge style that had elements of experimentation as well. “Life Is Perfect” and “Saturday” are fun slabs of energetic rock, but it’s “The Prize” where things get really interesting. This tune dives into warped territory a little like a New Wave Frank Zappa, with an angular melody and mallet-like keyboard sounds. It’s definitely the stand-out of the set, though several of the other tracks are memorable as well. Gravy was a one-off project that resulted in two songs, spontaneously written by a trio in the studio, with a guest singer on one. These venture into Beefheart territory, albeit more rocking on “Zig Zag Red” and more funky on “Satellite.” They had fun making these songs, and it shows. The two incarnations of B.L.O.G. (Bunch of Lame Old Guys) represent what AIS faculty and staff did during the breaks between quarters. Did they jet off to Hawaii or the Bahamas? No, they hung around in the fully functional studio making music. Once again, fun is the name of the game, with a bunch of talented (not lame) not-so-old guys with an extensive knowledge of how rock works laying down some tracks that bring together Thin Lizzy, Ramones, The Kinks, and (again) Frank Zappa. One constant is the creativity shown in the chord progressions, venturing beyond standard I-IV-V stuff into all sorts of jarring jumps of tritones and whatnot. They’re not aiming to produce hit singles, and the nonchalant attitude leads to music that is (probably) as fun to hear as it was to make.

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases, 1999 recordings

Related artist(s): Tom Dyer, Jeff Kelly

More info
http://greenmonkeyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/beautimus-and-other-sounds-of-the-nineties

 

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