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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Alex Sniderman
Alex Sniderman\r\n(Real O Mind Records)\r\n
By Ken Shimamoto
Philadelphia-based Real O Mind is the brainchild of former band manager and All Music Guide scribe Geoff Ginsberg, a man with an enthusiasm for basic rock, whether it’s high-energy Detroit jamming or rootsier, No Depression-sounding stuff. On this reissue of a hideously rare Y2K release, laden with bonus tracks, the two strains meet and get friendly.
Alex Sniderman, a Tennessean singer-guitarist-songwriter transplanted to Noo Yawk City, recorded the bulk of the tracks in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (any Civil War buffs in the house?) with ex-MC5 guitar terrorist and latter-day boho solo artist Wayne Kramer on the boards. The four bonus tracks were recorded in Brooklyn with a band that included onetime Rolling Stone “songwriter of the year” Kevin Salem on guitar, ex-Television drummer Billy Ficca, and bassist Scott Yoder from legendary NYC roots-rockers the Blue Chieftains (whose Real O Mind release ... That’s All is worth seeking out).
Sniderman has a workaday rock voice that’s too musical to be classified as “punk.” His songs combine Stooge-like guitar damage with singalong hooks a la Paul Westerberg in his sloppy-drunk Replacements days or megaplatinum industry boat-rocker Tom Petty (see: “Every Day”). Their lyrics betray a somewhat skewed sensibility in lines like “I wanna be someone, but I can’t remember who” (“I Need a Life”), “All the duct tape in the world can’t mend my heart” (“Combat Boots”), and “My heart burns for you like a burning cross in a Klansman’s dream” (“Jodie”).
The best hooks belong mostly to the new tunes. Besides the opening “She’s Emotion” (a blast of raunch reminiscent of the Stones when they were still alive), the ‘Mats-ish “Stranded” and “Can’t X-plain,” and the bittersweet “Golden Boy” (an ode to a ladies’ man on the way down) demand the most repeat plays.
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