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Volume CXXXII, Number 10 |
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Not the average drag
MATT LAJOIE
STAFF WRITER
Desperate for money for the upcoming Senior Prom, my friend Adam sold Superdrag's 1996 album Regretfully Yours to me two years ago-for five dollars. It was an album we frequently listened to when making mixed tapes in junior high. I loved the fierce, driving guitars and drums that accompanied the sweet and catchy melodies. "Sucked Out" was the quintessential alternative rock song to me-one of the first MTV Buzz Clips that I ever remember seeing.
However, when I acquired the album two years ago, I had no idea what had become of Superdrag. I hadn't heard of them releasing an album since Regretfully Yours, so I naturally assumed they had broken up.
Later that summer, I met up with an old friend who had just seen Superdrag in concert in Florida. He said they were amazing live and suggested I buy their latest album-In the Valley of Dying Stars-which I promptly purchased a few weeks later. I couldn't believe how great the album was-it actually reminded me very little of Regretfully Yours. Just over half of the album's tracks were punk-laced power-pop, but songs like "The Warmth of a Tomb," the Beatles-esque "Unprepared," and the album's title track pushed the envelope with lush, beautiful arrangements.
The songs also included some of the most creative and intelligent lyrics I had ever heard in pop-rock songs, complete with songwriter John Davis' use of such unconventional words as "reciprocity," "euthanizing," and "beholden." In the Valley...soon became one of my favorite albums, but I couldn't understand why it was only released on an independent label. I later learned that the band had left Elektra Records in 1999 after the label didn't see their ambitious Head Trip in Every Key as a hit album and thus under-promoted and under-toured the band. Superdrag, sick of the pressure the major label was putting on them to write "hit songs," left Elektra and signed with the independent label Arena Rock Recording Co. in 2000.
In the summer of 2002, Superdrag released their fourth full-length studio album, titled Last Call For Vitriol. It debuted at the 18 spot on the College Music Journal albums chart, and moved up to number five a few weeks later. Many of the songs on Last Call sound like they would fit in with the band's earlier albums, but there is certainly more of a "southern" feel on a few songs. "I Can't Wait" and "Drag Me Closer To You" sound like Southern rock songs from the 70s, and "Way Down Here Without You" and "Safe & Warm" could be classified as alt-country. However, it is Superdrag's brand of power-pop n' roll that still dominates their sound.
Superdrag is recently coming off of tours with Phantom Planet, Guided By Voices, and the Donnas. On Friday, November 22, they will be performing a free concert in Morrell Lounge in Smith Union. Cambridge, Massachusetts based rock band Dragstrip Courage will kick off the show at 8:00 p.m., with Superdrag hitting the stage at around 9:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Bowdoin College Campus Activities Board.
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