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Phillips Head down to bare essentials

 

By Matthew Sturdevant

The Post Star

 

Reduction does not mean loss of expression - at least not in the case of Picasso, poetry and Phillips Head's newest album.

 

The localpost-punk rock band Phillips Head released a compact disc that is bereft of a lot of things that were present in the band's second CD, "II," which came out in September 2001.

 

The new disc is titled "Unscrewed" because it's an acoustic album. And the band does well by tossing aside its amplifiers, wires, and distortion pedals.

 

That's not all.

 

Phillips Head is now a duo, after performing as a trio for the last four years. Lead guitarist singer Jason Irwin is joined by the singularly named Benny on drums. Bassist Steve Graves doesn't perform on "Unscrewed." It's the second time the band has dwindled in numbers since beginning with four members in 1994.

 

In addition to the sparse number of musicians, and the absence of an electric shroud over the music, the band performs in a narrower range in "Unscrewed" than in "II." Irwin's voice varies between notes within about one octave, and even his guitar playing is kept to the repetition of a few chords.

 

It's a raw display of Phillips Head peeled to their core - a solid rhythm with succint poetic lyrics.

 

Benny and Irwin have recorded the ultimate in simplicity, but still maintained a lot of artistic integrity because they took away some elements that gave them their trademark style.

 

It unveils a sincere desire by the band to make something artistic, and they've succeeded.

 

They have become a sort of haiku version of their own band - a pared-down rendition of punk music with a carefully chosen beat to match the poetic meter of Irwin's lyrics.

 

What's left is Benny's drumming and Irwin's ability to convey his usual laments of night life and women.

 

Irwin's lyrics are comical as always - a mix somewhere between Charles Bukowski and Robert Frost. Because, of course, Irwin sings about meeting girls, fantasizing about girls and hanging out at bars with girls.

 

Benny is the mainstay - providing a solid backbone with his natural talent for percussion.

 

Reprinted from The Post Star, Saturday, February 16, 2002

 

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