The Fauntleroys are a new
group made up of folks you’re likely already quite familiar with: Alejandro
Escovedo, Ivan Julian, Nicholas Tremulis and Linda Pitmon. Alejandro Escovedo
has a nice long solo career, and you might also know him from his work with
Rank And File. Ivan Julian was a member of Richard Hell And The Voidoids and
The Outsets. You heard Linda Pitmon on the new Steve Wynn disc, Sketches In Spain, which was
released earlier this month. Last year, Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra released For The Baby Doll. These
excellent musicians have now joined forces on a new six-song CD, Below The Pink Pony, which features some
nice raw rock music with a ton of energy. This is mostly original material.
Below The Pink Pony opens with “I’m In Love With Everything.” The
main line is “I’m so in love with
everything, and everything loves me,” but the tone of voice leads us to
believe otherwise, especially as we hear “I
was watching a crowd, trying to make it bleed/You were thinking aloud, trying
to pretend you were talking to me.” The sounds of the music are like that
of a love song, turned and twisted and arrived at from some bizarre angle.
Yeah, I totally dig it. It’s a cool and slightly odd rock tune to kick off the
CD.
It’s followed by “Chinese
White,” the album’s one cover song. It was originally done by the Incredible
String Band. The Fauntleroys give it a harder, kind of darker edge, and a great
intensity.
“Suck My Heart Out With A
Straw” is a tune that Ivan Julian apparently had in mind for years, but to
which he only now added the lyrics. It’s a fantastic rock song with a punk
edge. Where was this song when I was a teenager? It taps into that undirected
but very potent energy, and is a song you just want to turn up loud enough that
you lose yourself in its strength and attitude. It’s funny how it works that exact
way even though I’m far from my teen years. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Like something dying in the fridge/Like
someone jumping off the bridge/Just like Myra Breckinridge/Why can’t you just
suck my heart out with a straw.”
“Worry Doll” is a rock tune
bristling with attitude, but with something of a sense of humor. I mean, this
is a song that has the phrase “machete wrapped
in blue chiffon.”
“(This Can’t Be) Julie’s
Song” brings to mind some of the work by the Velvet Underground, particularly
on the chorus. It’s a delicious track, with some darker tones and some
interesting drumming by Linda Pitmon. Also, I love her backing vocals on this
track. “In your eyes I see what’s
supposed to be/When your loving feels like everything/’Cause when you touch me
I get swept away.”
Below The Pink Pony concludes with “Take You Far Away,” a song
written by Nicholas Tremulis and Alejandro Escovedo. At first it feels a bit
mellower than some of the other tracks, but before long this one has gathered an
excellent energy and urgency, particularly on the repeated line, “I want to take you far away.”
CD Track List
- I’m In Love With Everything
- Chinese White
- Suck My Heart Out With A Straw
- Worry Doll
- (This Can’t Be) Julie’s Song
- Take You Far Away
Below The Pink Pony is scheduled to be released on September 16,
2014 on Plowboy Records.
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