at a glance...

Hometown: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL
Year Formed: 1995

Members:
Anthony Nozero -drums
Craig McCaffrey -guitar
Paul Newman -bass, guitar
Edward Robert -bass VI, voice
Guest:
Brian Tomlin -double bass

Bands In The Family:
Drums and Tuba, Cyrus Rego, Taking Pictures, The Rhythm Of Black Lines, Hurl

Notes:
Paul Newman formed as a trio in Austin, Texas at the end of 1995, and played their first show in January of 1996. During the summer of that year, Edward Robert was invited to join Craig McCaffrey, Tony Nozero, and Paul Newman in the band. After spending almost a year playing and writing music as a four-piece, Paul Newman decided to record a full-length in the spring of 1997. Their first LP Frames Per Second was released in January of '98 on Trance Syndicate. The second LP for Trance, called Only Love Can Break Your Heart, was completed in May and released in September of '98. During that summer Tony moved to Chicago. In February '99, a CD5 came out on Austin's Trustworthy record label (who also released the long out-of-print first Paul Newman 45). Craig McCaffrey moved to Chicago in July of 1999, leaving 50% of Paul Newman in Texas and the other half in Chicago. The third full-length, Machine Is Not Broken was once again recorded with Jason Ward in Austin, and the songs are mostly instrumental, continuing in the "Paul Newman tradition," but there is some singing... when it's appropriate.

This is mostly instrumental. Good. Now that we have that out of the way... Machine Is Not Broken is music, as Hegel would say, with a dialectic. This isn't one of those records which feels like it isn't going anywhere, but a winding, developing dialectic weaving its way toward the surface. There's definitely a trajectory here, a self-expression in movement, so much so that it makes me feel as if I am travelling. I was so sure that this would prove a great album for a road trip, that I tried it - and biking down the side of the highway with Paul Newman blasting through the headphones was a visceral affair.

When I first listened to this, I liked it. By the end, I was thinking to myself, "This is kind of lukewarm." When I listened to this for the second time, I really liked it. On a third listen, I swung back and forth. My conclusion: it's a changeable record, which swings with your mood. After my first listens, several of the hooks have taken up permanent residence inside my skull. You start to wonder if any of these guys are visual artists, because there's definitely that type of sensitivity applied to the nuances of sound here.

It's quite obvious that the musicians of Paul Newman have a math-rock past, but the feel of the record is prevailingly pleasant, somewhat in the vein of June Of 44's more Carribean-influenced melodies. The more I listen to Machine Is Not Broken, the more it stands up against criticism. These tunes weren't written in a single afternoon, I can assure you.

If you like Paul Newman, check out:
Paul Newman Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Paul Newman Frames Per Second
Hurl We Are Quiet In This Room
Rodan Rusty
June Of '44 Tropics & Meridians
Chavez Ride The Fader
Shellac Terraform
Dianogah Old Material, New Format
Tortoise Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Slint Spiderland

-- Lars Rosenblum-Sorgenfrei

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