LOMAX MONK
Back On The Burnout (Creampuff)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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There once was this great band called Filmstar from Costa Mesa, Cauliflower. Filmstar were an underappreciated, almost space-rock four piece outfit that were more interested in the moody atmospherics of their songs than in coordinating cheesy Pennywise style "okay everyone leap right now with your wallet chains!" accenting and other jock-ish douche-isms that pervade the Orange County up and coming music scene. Filmstar inexplicably called it a day after releasing two superb albums. If their catalog wasn't so obscure quite a number of Radiohead's fans would leave them in droves and come to where the flavor is. Was.

Back on the Burnout throws a familiar spanner into the works, as vocalist/keyboard player Geoff Harrington and James Fletcher (drums/percussion) were Filmstar alumnus to the end. Matt May (vocals and guitar), and Darren Morris (bass) make up the other half of the newer band, which appears to have been little more than a one-off project. Sadly. Regardless, the songwriting is there, and they take Geoff and Jamie's old band a step further. Filmstar had just acquired an ace new bass player, and some of this could have wound up on the follow up to 1998's "Tranquil Eyes".

James Fletcher's drumming has a distinct jazz feel to it (see "Five - M.E.O."). His control of the phrasing of the drum parts (playing conscious, subtle yet solid notes, as opposed to sheer Thor pummeling) helps the songs inhale/exhale audibly, and be spacious like I'm sure they were intended to be. Dave Grohl (Nirvana) is one of my favorite drummers, but he couldn't even touch these songs, which sound best played in near darkness.

Good luck finding this album. I got lucky. Contact the label for a copy. Or wait two years and perhaps Amon Tobin, Madlib, DJ Spinna, Coldcut, or DJ Shadow will find it first, cut this up and use bits of it on some new stuff (like the intro to "Where Did You Go"). I could see it happening. A) it's that good. B) no one really knows about it but you and me.

Purchase this album on the creampuff website.

© 2001 - Jason Thornberry