From the perky handclaps to the final fade, Pas/Cal�s aural sunshine never finds a cloud. The subject of �Poor Maude� may be a garishly dressed granny with suicidal tendencies, but the band�s airtight pop seems to frolic through the narrative giddily. When they do wax misty for an Asian cutie with a �slurry curry voice�(how Anglo is that?!) in �What do the American Girls Have On Jennifer Jo Jo?,� the record is still on
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/review.asp?id=83154 Oh Honey, We�re Ridiculous Pas/Cal Le Grand Magistery by Nate Cavalieri 12/17/2003 Like every kid fueled by sugary cereals and social dysfunction, I sometimes had a hard time sleeping. Occasionally, I could talk my mom into staying up and watching the night dramas with her. It wasn�t just trysts of entangled lovers on �Dallas� and �Falcon Crest� that confused my preadolescent mind; the adult commercials were equally mysterious. The most memorable of these was for shampoo. A beautiful, floating head, larger than life at the center of the screen, softly offered a honeyed plea: �Don�t hate me because I�m beautiful.� And then � in a few seconds � she faded out and was gone. I didn�t have an inkling of such a concept at the time � one that made a beautiful thing into an object of hatred � but in the 20 years since, the idea has come into focus. When I try to justify my utter hatred, my curdling spite, my embittered repulsion at the music of Pas/Cal, there might be no other reason except that it is too beautiful. The darling Detroit outfit�s latest, Oh Honey, We�re Ridiculous, follows the blueprint of their tuneful debut with a cache of brilliant hooks, bookish observations and blissful sentimentality. Oh Honey springs to action with hands clapping a cheerleader�s cadence and vocalist Casimer Pascal�s falsetto posing the questions: �What happened to the sand? What happened to the men who would stay up so late?� Unable to contain themselves, it takes the sing-songers just over a minute to prance buoyantly into pitch-perfect �la-di-das.� The squeaky-clean playing and attentive arrangement are almost too perfect. Imagine their shiny pink faces! Imagine them jet-setting with designer attach�s! Throwing back highballs at the club with their legs crossed at the knee and an �80s cosmetics model on each arm! You almost have to hate it. the verge of exploding in a hail of happy pills. By the time the EP joyfully spins round a handful of times, Pas/Cal�s super-chic happiness proves itself just as addictive as it is immaculate. It reinforces the band�s place as one of Detroit�s most stylistically refreshing up-and-comers. In the end, maybe the only real reason to hate the 20-minute offering is that � like the floating head � it�s a beautiful thing that disappears too fast. Pas/Cal will celebrate the release of this record on Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Lager House (1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit). Call 313-961-4668. E-mail Nate Cavalieri at letters@metrotimes.com. contact PAS/CAL at www.pascalgoespop.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. http://photos.yahoo.com/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+