The Wardells - Now (1988, Zulu)

According to the back sleeve of this disk, The Wardells, Jim on guitar and vocals, Jeff on bass, and Rich rounding out the trio on drums, all share the aforementioned moniker as their surname. One can't be sure if these Vancouver-ites are literally bound by DNA, or if they're simply feigning brotherhood a la the Ramones. At any rate, what really piqued my curiosity regarding The Wardells Now LP, more or less entailed a production/engineering credit by one Bill Napier-Hemy of the legendary Pointed Sticks. The resulting album paints a crisp portrait of a competent three-chord bar band, but if you're looking for the visionary genius of say, The Pointed Sticks, you might want to keep shopping. Nevertheless, Now is still fairly worthy for what it is, particularly much of side two. Interestingly enough, what little else I was able to absorb by the Wardells manifested themselves in a pair of 1986, local compilation appearances. As a bonus, I'm tacking on the better of these two songs, the chimey "Laughing Instead," hinting at how The Wardells might have turned out had they opted for a less pedestrian bent.

01. Breakout
02. Get You to Want Me
03. I'm in a Hurry
04. Nothing Grows Around Zero
05. The Last Word
06. I Want to Duke the Waitress
07. Breakwatch
08. Small Talk
09. Coming Back From the Dead
10. Be Stupid
11. Old at Heart
plus: Laughing Instead

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