Bis
Intendo
[Grand Royal]
Rating: 7.5
If Manda Rin, Sci-fi Steven and John Disco (aka Bis) opened a candy shop, they'd
probably stock it exclusively with bright colored, high- energy sugar goods. We're
talking Nerds, Skittles, Pixy Stix, Chewy Sweetarts, and the like. Only minors
would be allowed into the shop; college kids would have to be accompanied
by their baby brothers and sisters. In fact, a trip to the Bis sweets shop
wouldn't be much different than listening to one of their albums: an
exuberant, childish, stomach ache of a sugar high-- but in a good way.
This Scottish trio burst onto the American scene in 1997 with the infectious
This Is Teen-C Power EP, six songs of disco- inflected, punky pop
proclaiming the advent of the Teen-C Revolution. The sing- along choruses
("Kill your boyfriend/ Yeah yeah yeah!"), killer riffs and back- to- elementary
school bounce gave the band instant street cred. And signing with the Beastie
Boys on their coveted Grand Royal label didn't hurt, either. Unfortunately,
most cool cats in the U.S. had moved on to the more "mature" post-rock scene
by the time Bis released The New Transistor Heroes, a high- fructose
long- player that showed the band spreading out in new directions with varying
degrees of success.
Intendo collects nine tracks of demos, b-sides and rarities recorded over
the last two years, sandwiched between two cracks at the intro/ outro "Grand
Royal With Cheese." The first proper track, "Statement of Intent," makes it
known that Bis aren't about to settle for Tootsie Rolls; the song is as immediate
and melodic as Bis' music has ever been, but not quite as fun to sing along to
as their previous call- and- response anthems. "Clockwork Punk" rectifies this
with an addictive chorus:
To all the people in the east, Clockwork Punk!!!
To all the people in the north, Clockwork Punk!!!
To all the people in the west, Clockwork Punk!!!
And all the people in the south, Clockwork Punk!!!
Think Kraftwerk covering R.E.M.'s "Stand" and you'll have the idea.
Elsewhere on the sampler you'll find Bis trying out new musical terrain.
"Famous" and "Automatic Freestyle" border on ska, while "Kid Cut" recalls
Blur at their "Chinese Bombs" punkiest (or for you Japanophiles, Melt
Banana). The only track that falls flat is "Cookie Cutter Kid," which
outlasts its stay, clocking in at a whopping four minutes.
In the end, sheer musical and songwriting competence sets Bis apart from
other progenitors of the Teen-C Revolution such as their American
counterpart, the Donnas. If you only pick up Thrill Jockey releases, this
probably isn't for you. (Why are you reading this?) But for all you kiddies
with sweet tooths out there, don't hesitate to snatch this up. Watermelon Nerds
never tasted so good.
-Zach Hammerman