June 16th, 2008
Smart Growth
I’ll come right out and tell you that I am a Genesis fan. No, not as in the “first book of the Bible” Genesis, nor the “Project Genesis” which brought Spock back to life in Star Trek III, although I did own a Sega Genesis… no, I’m talking about the band, Genesis, specifically the incarnation fronted by Peter Gabriel in the early 1970s. To this day, Foxtrot and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway are among my favourite albums, and I will always respect the guys back then for having used “Heracleum mantegazzianum” as a line in one of their songs.
So, of course, like any Gabriel-era Genesis fan, I have a strong dislike for the Collins/Rutherford/Banks era. Yeah, I’m one of those costumes-and-makeup theatrics purists, finding the trio’s ongoing material contrived, uninspired, and safe (except maybe Mama, which sort of shines clearly throughout all that murkiness). Don’t talk to me about how Land Of Confusion is sharp global criticism; there’s more social commentary in the two minute-fifteen second Harold The Barrel than in Land’s interminable 4:45; and it’s much much cheekier, too.
See how worked up I get?
So when I listen to Immigration Reform by Baltimore’s Dennis Patrick Bowen, aka Smart Growth, I can’t help but smirk complacently at how relevant and fun Phil Collins’ voice sounds in this re-hash of Illegal Alien. Bowen, a drummer himself, gives more than enough sonic space to crashing percussions, pounding bass drums, and Collins-signature machine-gun drum pads, thunka-lunking frantically like it’s 1981. There’s more than enough synthwork to go around, from crystalline notes glinting celestially to punchy, snarling chords escalating the groove to searing levels, all accompanied by an animated, pep rally-worthy chorus of “It’s no fun/Being an illegal alien” cheers. I swear, the chorus works on so many levels.
And if you’re privy to Smart Growth’s Immigration Reform (which I am thrilled to have permission to host) and you’d like to hear more of his Genesis-inspired concoctions, you might want to give a listen to his EP, Surrey, which is offered up completely free for your listening, and my post-Gabriel vexation, pleasure.