Green Apple Quick Step is a band from Seattle, and the music they play can be termed as "grunge", assuming you're into that whole music labeling thing.
There, now that's out of the way. But before you write GAQS off as just another group of Pearl Jam wanna-be's, take a listen. There's something going on their sophomore effort, Loaded that we haven't heard in a couple of years coming out of Seattle. Mainly, they actually sound like they're having fun.
Despite its often dismal lyrical content, Pearl Jam's Ten was an album that you could crank up and sit on the hood of your car drinking beer to, but everything that followed from Vedder and Co. has been anything but for the most part. Loaded is the same kind of album that Ten was. While there are some pretty intense statements made on this album, GAQS don't forget that they're actually a rock n' roll band, and like it or not, fun is what is at the heart of all rock 'n roll. This is an album for parties and the occasional period of deep introspection, something which is incredibly hard to achieve for musicians, with most opting for one or the other.
Of course, part of the reason for the likenesses to Ten stem from the fact that Loaded was produced by Stone Gossard and Nick DiDia. But the production here isn't what is intriguing about this group. What is important is the music and GAQS are one of the best bands out right now, and Loaded is one of the best releases of the year.
The album opens with "Hotel Wisconsin", the name of the hotel where the band was robbed of all their equipment on their last tour. At almost four minutes long, it may seem like a little much, considering that it's ninety-nine percent instrumental (think "Up the Beach" of Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking album and you've got the idea). But the track is like the calm before the storm, as the album launches into "Ed #5" and "No Favors", which both remind us what punk was about in the first place, but without drowning us in nostalgia.
One of the more interesting musical aspects of GAQS is the vocal pairing of Ty Willman and vocalist/bassist Mari Anne Braeden. On "T.V. Girl" and "Lazy", Willman and Braeden blend together perfectly, their voices mixing to take the songs to levels that simply couldn't be accomplished by two male or two female vocalists working together. And when Braeden takes the mike for "No Favors", I found myself grateful that she wasn't doing her best Courtney Love impersonation, and doing it well.
On tracks like "Dizzy" (which is featured on the soundtrack to The Basketball Diaries) "Los Vargos" and "Halloween", the band shows off its knack for a good hook. These songs are incredably catchy, and "Dizzy" should go over well on radio (it would already have been a hit if The Basketball Diaries had done better in theatres).
The rest of the band (guitarists Danny K and Bobby Ross and drummer Bob Martin) all shine on this album, and rumor has it that they ain't bad live, either. Their "residency tour" will take them to various points in the country for about a month at a time, with the band playing essentially the same venues for that time period. It's an interesting experiment from and interesting band, and certainly something you should check out.
Source: http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/07.14/revgreen.html
