White Hot Peach by Primitive Radio Gods privy magazine
Primitive Radio Gods is essentially the creative vehicle of Chris O'Connor,
following his departure from the I-Rails in 1991. At that time, inspired by
Public Enemy 's incendiary hip-hop work, he purchased a sampler and elected
to 'go it alone' as an artist working outside conventional rock music.
His debut album, Rocket, was finally released in 1996 by Sony Records UK.
The money track was, 'Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In
My Hand', which got serious play on MTV and put O'Connor on the musical map,
as it were.
His voice is a dead ringer for Tommy Keene, which we at Privy really appreciated.
There are also Big Star inflections. My favorite track is First Alien Photo.
It's lo-fi quality brought back many a great Guided by Voices memory, circa
Tobin Sprout. You can even hear Bob Pollard singing back-up... ah, those
were the days. When the song goes from simple guitar licks to experimental
build-up it gets really powerful and comes to a haunting end. God, it's
great. Track 8, Wayward Pilot's Mission, continues this Tobin Sprout
sound, and it's beautiful. The simplicity is stunning, giving the vocals
and lyrics the spotlight. This what alternative should always be.
About the lyrics and music. It's rare to find such gems in the piles
of cds we get.
Get through the first two songs, which I thought was reminiscent of too many
80s bands, because this album renews the faith in alt-rock.
-Ty Wenzel,
Privy Magazine
(5 discs: MASTERPIECE).....(4 discs: 5+ GREAT SONGS).....(3 discs: 1-4 GOOD SONGS)....(2 discs: D is for Download).....(1 disc: This was torture)
