Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow (disc 8) (2005)

Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow 

(2005, Fading Captain Series)

For a proper introduction to Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow check here, on Disc 5.

Disc 8

Madroom Assistance- 4 Recorded in 1996, this is fairly mid-fi song is reminiscent one from the mid-90s GBV era.  Heavy slow jam, with a cool stabbing lead guitar.  A welcome addition in the Suitcase 2 collection. 

Man of Dimension-  3 Early, pre-GBV Pollard recording.  Acoustic down stroke guitar plays out accompanied by vocals that are free of any remnant of a British accent. Pretty decent, steadfast demo. 

Nerve Gas- 2 Repetitive acoustic bullshit with warbled late night Pollard vocals over it for 47 seconds.  The line "I'm sinking and dying where the serpent proposes" is the only salvation in this short cut.

Do The Ball- 1 Nothing really going on here.  Shitty drum beat is the rickety spine for this shitty beginners lesson bass and/or guitar riff, all recorded into a boombox or something. 

The Issue Presents Itself- 2  Late '80s GBV recording.  Pollard contributes in a fairly safe and uninspired delivery.  Music recalls early, slower GBV anthems, but doesn't bring as much to the table as those songs did.

Leprechaun Catfish- 1  Okay...28 seconds, and the title says it all. I'm sure someone out there fucking loves these useless 28 seconds, I do not. 

Child- 3 An early, piano demo of the song "Ariel" that appears on the Choreographed Man of War LP.  Haunting, and enjoyable piano and electric guitar demo for a song that's pretty damn awful as a full band, but proves to be a thoroughly worthy listen here.

Invisible Exercise- 2  Listed as a Howling Wolf Orchestra track (Pollard's one-off, noise rock project; see band index above), and doesn't fail to offer HWO quality. Quality should be swallowed with a grain of salt.  Mystic reverb bullshit and weird noises while Pollard spills out some weirdo poetry, and Jim Pollard and Nate Farely make some more strange noises.  Kind of dig it second time around, but that's stretching it. 

All Around The World- 3 4/6 guitar strumming, while Pollard croons away alone. Upbeat, kind of lame, kind of enjoyable '50s rock song.  To be fair, the bellowed melody is pretty awesome.

Late Night Scamerica- 2 This song appears as a Psycho and the Birds song a year later, but with more production on slathered on it.  Not a terrible song, but like the Psycho and the Birds project itself, it's not terribly good, either.

A World Of My Own-  4 According to the liner notes, this is a live GBV recording from 1995, however this was later corrected to 1985. However, I suspect it's later than '85.  Another 4/6 song with swirling lead guitar that builds up into a steady, and catchy as hell tune.  Wish it had once seen the light of day on a genuine release.

She's The One- 1  56 seconds.  Pollard plays a crisp bare-bones acoustic and sings some lame stuff over about "She's the one I love the most..." that I imagine was recorded with a stiff upper lip. 

Daddy's In The State Pen- 1  Electric guitar, late-night biker bar song.  Says it was recorded in the late '70s, and that seems accurate. Seems to be an example of subpar radio rock of that time. I know, none of these remarks are positive. Interesting to hear though. 

Cox Municipal Airport Song- 4 Swirling guitar jangle and harmonica make this sound like a late '60s folk rocker.  Late '80s, mid-fi outtake. The lyrics to this song are fairly standard, but pretty honest, and beautiful.  Pollard's effort to dabble in a different terrain on this track has paid off as worthy, although done on some wobbly stilts.

Scare Me No. 3-  2 Pollard strums his guitar, and sings some words for just over a minute.  Skeleton of a song, that seems stunted, but could've had some potential if it'd been fleshed out.

Grope- 1  Lo-fi, doom bass song. Vocals sound like they're being delivered through a sci-fi modulator. It's not nearly as cool as that description makes it sound.  It's also 2:33 long.

Heavy Crown [Original Version]- 3  Demo version of what would eventually become a Boston Spaceships song on Planets Are Blasted. The vocal delivery is undeniably strong, but still sounds like a reworking of "Everywhere With Helicopter," off Universal Truths and Cycles. 

So Roll Me Over- 2 Harmless, acoustic demo from the mid-90s.  Short and sweet enough, I guess, but nothing memorable whatsoever. 

Home By Ten- 4 Pretty solid early '90s GBV demo.  Low end guitar picking, with a "go down easy" vocal melody.  A fine tune away from being a lost GBV classic. A welcome addition in nearing the end of this box set. 

Come Make Me A Shadow- 1  Pollard acoustic demo that is super lo-fi, and almost 2 minutes long.  Can't make most of this out. End scene.

Paper Girl [Demo]-  Early version of the same song of off Self-Inflicted Ariel Nostalgia, but without the surf rock intro that's present on that album. Average

Jimmy's Einstein Poster- 4  Short, fairly ridiculous, and rather awesome acoustic snippet song.  Worthy of tacking into a GBV mix you may want to create.

My Only Confection- 1  Drums take a random beating while Pollard bellows in the distant.  What the fuck?

Groundwork-2  Not much going on in this downer of an electric guitar lo-fi demo, that lasts waaaay too long for its own good.  It is an '80s artifact, however, that's where any real interest ends.

Bye Bye Song- 1 Another drunken basement wankfest. A repetitive bass riff plays over clanking drums, some fuzz guitar, and rambling nonsensical Pollard vocals. Nightmarish in the worst way.