The Jesus Chords

The Jesus Chords
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The Jesus Chords vs. Log Hog "It's the Music"
Loner Records

Format Reviewed: 7"

The phrase "opposites attract" was never so applicable before It's the Music was pressed. Log Hog's hip-hop stylings, reminiscent of early A Tribe Called Quest, begin the set. This is the honest stuff about struggling to make it, paying the rent, putting food on the table for the kids and giving back to the community, without any talk of who dissed whom or how many bullet scars they're wearing. "Inprog" demonstrates the quartet's (Seed Verb, Blandow Charizmium, Sloe T and Nervous) ability to rhyme with the best. One moment they might offer a commentary on social class ("you got your lords, your peasants, your knaves") and the next they're paying homage to Blondie with talk of "cars", "Mars" and "chocolate bars". "Money" begins with a sample of Kermit the Frog lamenting his lack of dough as he promises his lender, "My friends and I will be rich and famous soon". Much in the style of Mr. Lif, our protagonist's autobiographical tale explains "I got a child that's almost two and another on the way / I don't get high everyday / making beats is how I play"; maybe he'd be taken seriously if he "had dreds", but his fate probably lies in the factory. If you need another reason to respect these guys, note "Money"'s use of a sample of -- wait for it -- Cyndi Lauper's "Money Changes Everything". Who knew her contribution to music would ever swing over to the positive?

Flip the record over and you're on the other side of the tracks, broke as a joke, but this time you're huddling around a campfire with a bunch of hobos, contemplating which boxcar to hop. The Jesus Chords' three-song contribution comes off as a mix of Bob Dylan, Dead Milkmen and Camper Van Beethoven, vocally speaking. The music is a sloppy, jangly neo-Californian hippy blend (read: CCR, Crosby Stills and Nash). The JC demonstrate real talent in terms of songwriting and performance -- they turn the limits of their guitar/drums/bass aesthetic into clear advantages through simple ebullience.

Whoever decided to team these two Washington acts deserves a medal; chocolate and peanut butter ain't got nothing on them in the "going well together" stakes.

-- Dave Madden

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