Geezër
Geezër
Geezër
When I see the letter “e” with an umlaut I think “Metal Band” but here the use is an ironic typographical twist for a band that focuses on good time covers and few original pieces. The band name, the album and the label are all the same so assume a low budget operation, complete with a fakey K-mart price tag on the label. The opening track “Geezër Nation” starts out like a Surf Punks song: full of energy and attitude, light on musical inventiveness, and a promise to “set you free.” Free of what is never elucidated; I assume whatever is dragging you down. Add a cheerleader chorus and a fuzzed out guitar, and it’s not a bad surf metal tune complete with guitar solo. Track two “Let Go to the Beach” offers up an Orange County punk intro; then lead vocalist “Harvey” tackles the straight forward lyrics of a synthetic beach tune complete with the line “Golden bodies blistering in the sun.” Another interesting original is “Silly Putty;” here the scraggly lead vocals sound like a professional wrestler singing a love song; its simultaneously attractive and off-putting- Think of The Crusher covering Carole King.
Off in cover land I’ll give honorable mention to “Down by the Lazy River;” it’s an Osmonds tune stripped of all its slurpiness that recreates itself as an invitation to a teen make-out session. The well-known “California Sun” may be the Geezër’s strongest cover; it’s a popular tune with over a dozen other well know versions from Tommy James to Bobby Fuller. Will this album change rock and roll? I doubt it, but it’s not a bad disk to track while heading to the beach or a show. It’s full of teen age angst re-imagined by a vocalist that sounds like he’s tuned his voice to the geezer side with a diet of smokes and Mad Dog 20-20. Rock on, all you Geezër!
