Gordon Gano and the Ryans
Under the Sun
Yep Roc
by Al Kaufman
In 1983, when the Violent Femmes put out their self-titled debut album, they changed music. Their folk-punk sound, Gordon Gano's staccato whine, and his lyrics that mixed sex, violence, humor and God equally spoke to almost every alienated (read every) teenager. The Femmes didn't really split-up until a few years ago, when band members started suing each other over whether or not their songs should have appeared in a Wendy's commercial. But by then, few people noticed or cared.
Meanwhile, brothers Billy and Brendan Ryan were in a U2/Talking Heads inspired band, The Bogmen. They realized they lived near their childhood hero, Gano, in New York City, and a relationship was formed.
The songs on Under the Sun do not have that same adolescent conceit that often permeated Femmes songs. There is still some humor here, but nothing as dark as the Femmes "Country Death Song," about a man who throws his daughter down a well. This is an older, more mature Gano, who asks questions such as "Why do I wonder/Why do I roam/So far from my home?" Biblical imagery abounds. In fact, "Oholah Oholibah," which name checks the prophet Ezekiel, could easily replace "Hava Negilah" at Jewish weddings everywhere.
There is some of that old Gano humor on the rockabilly-tinged "Way That I Creep," with lines such as "I was sleepin' at the meetin'" and "I was crappin' and a-nappin'," but there is a lot more of stuff like the ominous, Nick Cave-sounding "Here As a Guest."
Fans expecting the Femmes may be slightly disappointed by this CD, but those who want to hear some good melodies that are just a little left of the mainstream will be satisfied.
