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"A punk rock Exile on Main Street with shades of The
Stooges, riot grrrl, Pere Ubu, and even The Doors."
– Magnet Magazine
"If Spivey sounds spacey, she's not. Her songs range from aggressive,
screaming punk to beautifully melodic rhythm and blues, the very definition
of garage-rock. Like Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill -- Lucid Nation
has opened for both -- her band's music is raw, poetic, sloppy and infectious,
and Tacoma Ballet is simply a bare-bones, kick-ass rock and
roll record."
– Rolling Stone
"100 Bands You Need to Know 2002"
– Alternative Press
"Early Patti Smith trapped at a Godspeed You Black Emperor rehearsal."
– L.A. Weekly
"Though Spivey's soft, pale features and casual demeanor sharply
contrast bewitching dark-haired progenitors Patti Smith, PJ Harvey,
and Diamanda Galas, she appropriates the same reckless autonomous spirit
and hard-fought freedom these highly individual renegades do."
– Aquarian Weekly
"A vivid portrait of conservative America from the point-of-view
of a politically aware youth culture that still can't quite get over
itself. And, most importantly, Tacoma Ballet is a great rock
record that's not afraid to stir up a little controversy."
– All Music Guide
"The jaw dropping one in a million talent of this band is poet/vocalist
Tamra Spivey. Her squeals, punk howls, growls, and soft cajoling steal
the spotlight. Like a Marianne Faithful full of wild abandon or a Courtney
Love with more soul and a wider variety of tonal deliveries, she sounds
like she's wringing out every pore and gland to get her visceral message
across. Wailing through angry, sultry, mournful, demanding, accusatory,
she sounds like a demented street sage baring her soul with wide open
screams while hiding angel wings of delicate beauty under a shabby,
dirty raincoat."
– Tangerine Magazine
"Tacoma Ballet marks one of the year's strangest and most
fulfilling releases. In an age in which karaoke-spouting no-talents
from an imbecilic TV show top the charts, we need all the Lucid Nations
we can get."
– Fort Worth Weekly
"Lucid Nation locks into some grooves on Tacoma Ballet
that remind me of The Standells, and others that remind me of Brix-era
Fall records, and any group that can do both is aces with me."
– Ink 19
"In spirit Tacoma Ballet straddles closer to the Rolling
Stone's Exile on Main Street. Both weave dense, murky long-range
affairs requiring effort to maneuver, but that reward in droves. Kim
Shattuck and Kurt Cobain birthed a baby, named her Tamra and watched
her unleash an ungodly guttural growl. No serene tea-party melody from
this girl, just a wondrous, primal voice to behold. Tacoma shifts a
kaleidoscope of moods mainly, a rumbling, crashing cacophony at times,
others, as haunting and esoteric as muffled snippets caught in the breeze."
– Girlpunk.com
"Gems are sprinkled throughout - the rawking "Seven Stringer";
the pensive "Fall"; the spacey "Mr. Slow"; the atypical
but inventive K Records stylings of "Problematic." Throw in
some clichés and a liberal Stones cover set to the chords of
an old Cure song, and you have a double CD which doesn't quite sound
like anything you've ever heard before."
– Inkblot Magazine
"Tacoma Ballet is double CD set of 30 stellar anti-punk,
post-rock, quasi-jazz songs that ironically are astonishing examples
of what works in punk, rock and jazz. The music is comprised of instrumentation
blessed with wanderlust and spontaneity but is anchored with Tamra's
gritty and visceral vocals. At their worst, Lucid Nation crafts top-notch
bursts of distorted bliss. At their best, they join artists like Pete
Townsend and Frank Zappa (with a hint of The Germs) as architects of
"literary rock."
– Extreme Music
"Some raw shit. Loved it."
– Billy Picture, San Francisco Examiner
"That squeak - that little jump right off of a cliff right off
the bat - on Tacoma Ballet’s "Favorite Star"
rubs me the wrong way too. But it feels like the right way. All over
me it sets off a rush of chills. Is this whole goddamn thing a satire?
A parody? A joke? Hell, it's two discs so full of smiling menace that
it seems to want to hug you while quietly trying to yank your molars
right out of your fucking jawbone."
– BangsSheet
"... a big ol' whopping double CD set chock full of experimental
noise and loose, out-of-control, sassy rock music. Members of this band
have either played with or were in bands such as Hole, Ministry, Unseen
Force, L7, Debbie Harry. Singer Tamra Spivey is definitely the focal
point. Her loose and intense vocals remind us in many ways of Johnny
Rotten. She's got attitude in a bucket and enough balls and guts to
spit out whatever she feels like with cool convincing urgency. This
stuff certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone ... but the folks
who dig it are going to REALLY dig it. Definitely a word of mouth act
at the moment, we could see BIG things happening for Lucid Nation.
– (Rating: 4+++)" LMNOP”
By Tacoma Ballet’s final track (significantly entitled
"Shelter") I felt like I had just heard rock's first novel.
But to describe these CDs in literary terms is to do a disservice to
the fact that Tacoma Ballet is above all a genre-hopping journey through
country blues, Ramonesesque punk, dark psychedelia, electronic sound
collage, with a very strong nod to the Rolling Stones, including a loopy
deconstruction of "Happy" off Exile on Main Street,
and, perhaps most of all, a blending of the aggressive, menacing bass
sound of Peter Hook at the height of Joy Division and the band's general
enthusiasm for all things Pere Ubu. “
– For Immediate Release
”Sponge up the drippings of Nonpoetic Rain: Live on KXLU’s
blues/jazz/funk/punk hybrid. I guarantee you'll be disarmed when you
hear how fluidly Tamra is able to shift from velvety kitten, to whispery
breeze to snarling banshee without sucking in a breath. And I'm just
as confident you'll fall in love with the noisy, saxy, beautiful wailings
keeping perfect step with her as she stomps her way through 10 seamless
tracks of feedback and improvisation. There was so much flow on this
album I had to hang onto my headphones to keep from being swept away
by the rowdy musical tides.”
– Coolgrrrls.com
‘Could I love Lucid Nation any more than I do? Like P.J. Harvey
on acid with a sense of humor.”
– Voice Media
“The mescaline afterglow of The Doors,”
– Neil Perry
"Lucid Nation's Suburban Legends combines Rid of Me era
P.J. Harvey with wry spoken lyrics/prose poems reminiscent of Patti
Smith. The tone is angry, humorous, literate, sarcastic. Suburban Legends
tackles a variety of subjects, from the plastic appeal of Las Vegas
to the politics of being in an all-girl band to poseur punk rockers.
A far cry from the homogenized pop/punk currently flooding the airwaves,
Lucid Nation seethes with gritty images and dissonant guitars."
– Suite101.com
"One of the best chaotic rock bands on the planet."
– In Music We Trust
"...a stunning display of eclectic, enigmatic and esoteric punk
power."
– Slug
“I was incredibly impressed by The Stillness of Over and you will
be too.”
– Jersey Beat
"The Stillness of Over is edgy, with nicely raw guitars, great
haunting bass lines... lyrics that make me care...that ultra cool/dark
LA sound which put early Cali punk on the map... naturally creepy feel,
sinewy guitar leads with great chord changes, rumbling floor drums and
a quick snare."
– Skratch
"...some of the rawest, grittiest female vocals I've ever heard.
To describe the band is quite a chore as they aren't the typical sort
of music that many others play. Dark and moody vocals spill over heavy
sounds leaving listeners with a feeling quite like an acid trip. It's
hard rock with a 60's sort of appeal to it. Like Janis Joplin, The Doors
and Patti Smith all had one giant orgy and produced a baby named LUCID
NATION. It took me awhile to get used to it, but once I did, I was enchanted
by the surrealistic feelings it induces."
– Gothicvixen.com
"Tamra Spivey has this smoky voice, you know you shouldn’t
trust her but you do anyway. The band has a no nonsense blue-collar
get-the-rock done work ethic. Solid tunes on DNA like "Natural
Selection" are built on Ronnie Pontiacs innately rich guitar lines
and egged on by Spivey urging, "2000 and its still too slow. Lets
go, lets go lets go! Shake it off and get it out." Pontiac inserts
some surf bending to secure the Americana status. I was worried when
I saw the title "Pimpin," but this hilarious story has nothing
to do with white boys with no street cred posturing in Adidas wear.
It’s similar to the paintwork of The Falls "Cruisers Creek"
narrated by an oddly familiar crank-brained schemer.”
– Hybrid
“Possibly the best band in America right now.”
– The Music List
“In the midst of a musical era where everything is about rage
and testosterone, I found DNA to be a remarkable breath of fresh air.
The whole album is about bringing rock and roll back to rock and roll;
one bangingly fun jam session, where poetically surreal images ricochet
in the quiver of Tamra Spivey's throaty vocals. There's a little bit
of everything here. Tracks like Bleed are rife with the bluesy sounds
of the desert - Natural Selection reverberates with jangly guitar that's
angry enough to be my next empowerment anthem - and Pimpin is urgently
self-deprecating; telling the story of a sellout with rolling drums
and motor-mouth lyrics. I'm so excited about this band, I don't even
know if my words could do them justice. So I'm just gonna say buy this
record and keep your eyes propped open with toothpicks, because you
just may be looking at the next big thing.”
– Coolgrrrls.com
“Two parts Sonic Youth, one part Stone Roses, and one part Concrete
Blonde. Lucid Nation's raw, Warhol-Factory-visits-Manchester sound is
individual and driving. Expert production adds to the listenability,
certainly. But their sophisticated music really speaks volumes, accenting
well-crafted lyrics, well-managed feedback, and a soul that demands
it won't be ignored. Cut to the chase. Don't waste time. You WILL love
this band. Get off your ass and buy the DNA CD."
– SnapPopMag
“TOP TEN PUNK CD 2000.... DNA is a masterpiece”
– Crass Menagerie
“...it’s been a long time since I've heard such incredible
lyrics and raw energy spewing from the same band. This is not your ordinary
pop punk group with cheesy lyrics and commercial hooks, but a real band
that kicks ass like few others.”
– Globalmuse.com
“Another gem from the bowels of Los Angeles.”
– Angry Thoreauan
“Lucid Nation is one of the more complex rock outfits on the scene
today. On their latest 11 track disc, sheer brilliance shines through
in many different forms...Imagine Sonic Youth's cacophony meshed with
the spirit of The Doors and the rhythm section of Soundgarden, and yes
Dr. Frankenstein, a monster is born... DNA is a masterpiece.”
– Under the Volcano
“This band blew my hair back!”
– Grassroots Entertainment
“VOTED BEST ROCK ALBUM 2000. If you ever thought the mid-60's
great rock act The Doors could team up with 70's punk Patti Smith, then
you'll be pleasantly surprised with Lucid Nation's DNA....Our new rock
poets have arrived ”
– Girlmedia,com
"Musically, the post-punk floodgates are opened up enough to allow
Lucid Nation a lot of flow, moving laterally through energetic, tense-filled
punk-pop, brooding rockers and some psychedelic grunginess. Everything
has a tough edge that accents Spivey's message and singing, both of
which are brutal and captivating. Her vocal presence is part Patti Smith,
part Polly Jean Harvey, and a lot of Marcy Mays of Scrawl."
– SwizzleStick
Tacoma Ballet’s hybrid concoction of garage rock, grunge, psychedelic
jamming, lush ambience and overall bewilderment is akin to watching
a kaleidoscope; always changing shape and form, but consistent with
colors. The colors which Lucid Nation chooses are earthy and a bit on
the dark side of the spectrum, almost recreating pain through art in
a number of instances, such as the Doors-esque trip of "Welcome
To America". Constructively destructive and jarring to the senses,
by unlocking some of Spivey's demons for all the world to hear, Lucid
Nation have opened a proverbial Pandora's Box of musicality.”
– Plaid Skurt zine
"American Stonehenge is a dichotomy of dense ungratuitous cacophony
on the one hand and melodic minimalism on the other." -- – Suburban
Voice
“Kinda puts some of The Doors to shame. I love this stuff. They
are spooky and half baked in the sun, half held under water by the powers
that be, and pissed.”
– Musesmuse.com
“Lucid Nation have made a very "L.A." record. I don't
mean that as a slag. On DNA they've captured the essence of the city
of Los Angeles. It's similar to the way Kyuss records exude that desert
vibe. From the con artist story of "Pimpin'" to the 'killer
in your room' narrative of "Night Prowler" to the mellow cruising
vibe of "Coyote." They take you out and drag you into THEIR
city... The guitars seethe.”
– Stoner Rock Rules
“Goddesses of rock.”
– Impact Press
La bella Tamra Spivey è un personaggio di culto dell'underground
USA: artista, poetessa, vegetariana e musa dei Lucid Nation, creatura
musicale nata per dimostrare la possibilità "di essere ispirati
sia da Guy Debord che da Ronnie Van Zandt". Avversa ad ogni regola
dello show business al punto di rifiutare qualsiasi prospettiva di un
contratto discografico e pubblicare i suoi dischi per la minuscola Brainfloss
Records, Tamra incarna meglio di chiunque altro un ideale: quello dell'artista
puro e indipendente, in pieno controllo delle proprie creazioni e non
disposto ad alcun compromesso, fosse anche quello di dover concedere
un'intervista alla radio contro la propria volontà.I Lucid Nation
sono una sorta di collettivo indipendente fondato sul suo genio, liricamente
e musicalmente basato sulla libera improvvisazione, tanto sul palco
quanto in studio.
Per registrare "Tacoma Ballet", quarto album in nove anni
di attività, Tamra si è chiusa in studio con la fida Ronnie
Pontiac, unico altro membro fisso della band, ha reclutato uno stuolo
di musicisti tra cui spiccano Patty Schemel (Hole) e Greta Brinkman
(Unseen Force) e in soli due giorni ha partorito 32 canzoni per oltre
due ore di musica che assomigliano ad un flusso ininterrotto di coscienza.Un
album che vive in un mood perennemente sospeso tra il depresso e l'incazzato,
popolato da ansie continue. Come per le riot grrrls che spesso le hanno
accompagnate dal vivo, anche per i Lucid Nation il messaggio sembra
essere più importante della musica, ma questo non impedisce ai
135 minuti di questo doppio album di esercitare un perverso fascino
sulle onde cerebrali: un fascino dai connotati quasi tribali, avvolto
da suoni rigorosamente lo-fi, e sempre sottolineato dalla voce ai limiti
della gradevolezza della Spivey, la cui foga graffiante non conosce
pause: parte dalla critica ai massimi sistemi di "Welcome to America"
ed approda ai dilemmi personali di "Happy" come in una lunga
jam session, senza mai perdere in lucidità.
La musica è una sorta di fluido magmatico, debitore più
ai Pere Ubu che alle Bikini Kill, che fonde con naturalezza punk e post-rock,
melodia e blues, in un accumulo inesauribile di energia. Un approccio
tipico del free-jazz ad una materia fondamentalmente (indie-)rock, talvolta
più aggressivo (il grrrl punk di Seven Stringer) o dilatato sino
ai confini della rerefazione (Fall). Tutti i pezzi si presentano in
fade, iniziano a musica già in corso, e invitano ad entrare nelle
logiche di album diverso e "contro", ad abbandonarsi al flusso
ininiterrotto di parole della Spivey ed a scoprire gli inquietanti sottintesi
di "Welcome to America", feroce critica ai modelli di vita
occidentali ("we've got everything you can possibly not need"),
la reazione nazionalista all'11 settembre di "Manzanar Recess"
(dal nome di un campo di concentramento USA per prigionieri Giapponesi
durante la seconda guerra mondiale) o le libere associazioni Lennoniane
di "Big Dog", che ruba qualche accordo ai Beatles di "Come
Together".E man mano che l'incazzatura di Tamra si stempera, anche
la musica si addolcisce, in un secondo CD che abbraccia atmosfere più
convenzionali e risulta un ascolto più facile ma non meno abrasivo:
ci sono struggenti ballate (Livia), qualche incursione di campionatori
che fa pensare alle Le Tigre (Problematic) e persino un raggio di sole
pop con la sincopata 30 states, 30 days, per basso e ritmica saltellante.
Ed anche se non vi posso garantire che riuscirete ad ascoltarlo tutto
d'un fiato (inutile lamentarsi della mancanza dei testi dal booklet:
come tutto il resto, anche le liriche sono improvvisate), Tacoma Ballet
ha una consistenza prodigiosa: è un album sfaccettato e massiccio,
che riscatta tutte le sue apparenti inconsistenze con una solidità
strumentale ed un affiatamento tra i musicisti fuori dal comune, invitandovi
ad annullarvi nel flusso surrealista di suoni e voci. Come una lunga
seduta di autocoscienza.
- Musicboom.it |
