at a glance...

Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Formed: 1985

Members:
Frances Gibson -vocals, bass
Gavin Butler -vocals, bass
Stephen O'Neil -vocals, guitar, trumpet
David Nichols -vocals, drums

Bands in the family :
Ashtray Boy, Nice, Crabstick, Blairmailer

At first glance, there's nothing more friendly than a Cannanes song. Each of this record's eleven tunes has a melody warm enough to melt an iceberg and catchy enough to hook a school of haddock with one cast. And for pure sonic beauty, there's no beating Frances Gibson's voice; if Australia doesn't retain her to sing at the 2000 Olympics' opening ceremonies you might just as well skip the games altogether and watch reruns of "Yan Can Cook." But those hooks are barbed with lacerating castigations of dim friends, clueless ex-lovers, and technologically fostered isolation. It's a great combination of sharp and smooth, like hot sauce on grits.

Long-time Cannanes watchers will know some of these tunes, which turned up on singles issued by K, Ajax, and Little Teddy between 1992 and 1994. The rest are of similar vintage; Arty Barbecue's release was long delayed by downsizings involving both the band and the label. The album features the talents of since-departed drummer David Nichols and multi-instrumentalist Gavin Butler; both take essential turns at the vocal mic (as does surviving guitarist Stephen O'Neil), and Butler's layered, trebly guitar parts give these performances a solid-state sheen unlike those on any other Cannanes disc.

If you like The Cannanes, check out:
Blairmailer Home of the Falcon
Lois Maffeo & Brendan Canty The Union Themes
Ashtray Boy The Everyman's 4th Dimension
Magnetic Fields The House Of Tomorrow

psst...you might wanna check out our indie rock abode for more features on (guess what) indie rock bands.

-- Bill Meyer