Johnquest- #15, 1987- 2X4 BY GUADALCANAL DIARY

2X4 | GUADALCANAL DIARY

No, this isn't the similarly named Neubauten album. And while I do love industrial, I don't think John Allison shares in that interest (as evidenced by (gestures vaguely)). I am still very, very excited for this one.

Guadalcanal Diary isn't very known to most people. But it is known to me!!! I have been hit with it by the internet time after time. I've listened to and LOVED Always saturday but that's still just one song. It was a great song. And this is a whole album? I'm being treated again. I knew reviewing what rounds up to a thousand albums and thousands of songs was a good idea. I'm a wise man, am I not? And I want to listen to Guadalcanal Diary. I have a long history of feeling offput by albums with pictures of children on the covers, but I will set those fears aside, for John Allison and the love of music. Why else do I even do anything.

As is the usual rule, I will not be reviewing bonus tracks.

OVERALL VERDICT:

HOOOOLY FUCK I'm in love with this one. It has a mathematically impossible higher % of Beatles than I expected and I am overjoyed. I came into this a GcD enjoyer and came out a fully fledged enthuiast. If any other fans would like to start a cult I would welcome it. This album is good. This album is so fucking good. Like holy shit. I gotta listen to more of these guys. Forever. I gotta get some kinda audio tattoo. They're great.

… oh and I'm totally gonna listen to those bonus tracks. Just for me, though. If you wanna know my thoughts you gotta bug me yourself.

TRACK BY TRACK:

1.Litany (life goes on) positively seeps 90s alt rock. But this is the 80s! What a delightful world. I can imagine the wonderful Canadians of 54-40 enjoying this one. Which is wonderful. Because I adore 54-40. And this does, in a few ways, sound like them. Maybe it's the slight philosophical bent, maybe it's the unapologetic belting or the pleasantly chugging guitar. Maybe it's those epic, stadium-sized drumbeats. Or the layered vocals. Or, or, or maybe it's just a really good song. It's a strong opener too! Brings you in with energy. Fills you with excitement. If I heard this track for the first time (which i am doing right now) I would assume it was the start of a great album. Because it is.

2. Under The Yoke brings a HARMONICA into play!!! A HARMONICA!!! and it reinforces my idea that these guys are ahead of their time. They're so good. Nigh-grungy! If they had less good instruments and sounded worse I might say it was actual grunge. Don't tell anyone I said that. It has some slightly awkward screams but they come across as charming. The lyrics border on uber-edgy sometimes (not a bad thing) but the vocal harmonies or whatever make you not even notice them. It feels badass? It feels badass. These guys know what's up.

3. Get Over It sounds 80s. I don't know how to put it. It's wonderfully 80s, however. But also, like, listen to the guitars and synth. That's authentic 80s shit right there. It sounds so good. Fuck, they're so good. And who doesn't love a good “Christ you're an asshole” song? Or maybe a self-flagellation song. Ehhh same diff it can be both. I'm gonna play this one the next time I get mad that nobody reads my hyperniche music review website. Stop being pissy, accept that you'll never have an audience and get over it. Hell yeah, wonderful singing men, I think I will.

4. Little Birds reeks of childhood fears. And I mean that in a wonderful way. It's a little bit relatably agonizing. I remember this shit… augh. That superstitious factuality that lurks in the corner of your minds and which doesn't always leave. Words of comfort mixed in with fear. I've never heard a song like this and I don't think there are very many bands which could pull off writing this. God. God. If I wasn't already sitting down I'd need to sit down. This one's good but it also hurts me. I had a paranoid childhood and all those other things. Maybe it hits less if you're normal.

5.Things Fall Apart has NOTHING you do with little pieces on the floor. This is not an Odds song. It has, again, excellent vocals. And dude, that bass… the BASSS!!! It's magnificently dark and leans a little more into power pop. Well, at times. It's delightful. Night TMBGesque on occasion, but less clever and more storytell-y. Maybe. More environmental? This song is a place you can be, that's for sure. And you don't want to live there but it sounds good. Really, really good.

6. Let the Big Wheel Roll is wonderfully driven. It's a little angry and a whole lot danceable. Slightly countryish? But delightful. Delightful! I love it. It sounds like a big wheel rolling. I also suggest you let it roll. God, it sounds good. I'm now realizing that I would probably be willing to kill someone in exchange to see these guys live. Wonder if they still tour. Or if they're still together. Christ, it sounds great. You are rolling down the highway in your work truck and the windows are down because you don't have AV on account of that not really being a thing in cars yet. What a delight. This one, this one goes on the workout playlist.

7 . And Your Bird Can Sing was the Beatles cover you didn't know you needed. It sounds great. These men can Beatle!!! Spare them a thought, o object of their affection, they're covering a song off revolver! Which is objectively the best Beatles album! Everybody knows this! Seriously, 80s alt-pop-rock is… perfect for the beatles. Everything is perfect for the Beatles. Covering them is almost always a good idea- just this time it's a really, really good idea. Imagine if those Beatles knew you could make a guitar flow like that. They'd be over the moon. Much like I am, right now, listening to this album.

8. Where Angels Fear To Tread returns us to the original Guadalcanal Diary songs. It's another one about crazy shit and places you don't want to be- well this one is more about a person you don't want to know. The religious overtones are present but I'm not entirely sure if they mean anything beyond “hey let's sing about some crazy shit” which is quite frankly what I expected from these guys. They're pensive but they're not that pensive. I like it a lot anyhow. Not my favourite on the album, not earth shatteringly new and interesting or earth shatteringly good- but highly enjoyable. A nice rythmn, good vocals… it's good!!! 110% good.

9. New Born is a song that sounds scary because it has an implication of babies, which are scary to be around. Luckily for all, it seems to be about something much less disturbing: the rebirth some kind of supernatural entity/deity/zombie/etc. It could also just be about picking yourself up after going through hell. All of these are wonderful topics for a song and this song depicts them wonderfully. The drums have a dryness about them that makes one think of “the woods” or something else natural. It's a powerful track. And it has fun imagery and it sounds good too. Truly we are blessed by GcD.

10. Winds of Change sounds like the wind. It sounds like being out working in a field. A grainfield. In Saskatchewan. Where nobody else has ever been and also where water tends not to rush and (in grainfieldy areas) tends to move at a slower pace. Except this year because jesus christ both the rivers are crazy high??? Some guy was out waterskiing and died from it. I think. Serves him right. For waterskiing. That's not really relevant here. But we have most of those other things. I know this song isn't EXPLICITLY about the apocalypse but I get that feeling. It's certainly about great societal upheaval- or at least anticipating it. And it sounds great.

11. Say Please has cowboy metaphors. I'm not even joking. It's about being the one in the relationship who makes everything worse. It's almost punkish? I like it, anyhow, not that I don't usually like punkish things. It's good! It's really good! Cowboy metaphors cowboy imagery. This shit is about cowboys. For whatever reason. It's good! And we could always use more songs about being a shithead who makes love go bad. It's cowboys. It's cowboys.

12. 3 AM goes back to gentleness. And it is delightful. It's a beautiful song, maybe even a ballad. Reminds me of R.E.M. well, a little. It's also its own thing a little bit. That's how bands work. For the second time this album I find myself thinking of vellarest- one of my favourite bands which you've only heard of if you already know me. Such is life. But none of that is about Guadalcanal Diary! Which is bad because they're the band I'm reviewing! The lyrics in this one are really masterful. They're so good. It's so good.

13. Lips of Steel goes back to rockin’! And it is wonderful. We are ending on the same note we came in on but something has changed. It's beautifully cyclical. This one reminds me a bit of the icicle works. It has that hard rhythmic drumming that always makes me, at least, think holy 80s, dude. It's a love song for cool people. I doubt experience romantic attraction and I'm kinda lame so It does little for me but it sounds beautiful. Just beautiful.

If you like this album, you might also like: FIGHT FOR LOVE by 54-40, or NEAPOLITAN by ODDS

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