Thursday, March 1, 2012

Gunbunnies - Paw Paw Patch (1990)

For a record produced by Jim Dickinson, who twiddled the knobs for the likes of the Replacements and Rolling Stones, I was hoping the Gunbunnies would've packed more of a punch.  Then again, I encountered this CD for the first time last year, so I suppose my expectations weren't that high.  Virgin Records no doubt marketed this Memphis by-way-of Little Rock quartet as "alternative," if only in the loosest connotation.  Paw Paw Patch is the sound of Guadalcanal Diary had that band made a concerted effort to mainstream themselves, and it's not far removed from Matthew Sweet's pre-Girlfriend solo records to boot.  "Stranded" kicks up a decent dust cloud, while "3 Days Behind" and "Drinking Days" are plenty catchy, but I'm hearing way too many bunts that could've been RBI material had the Gunbunnies and/or producer Jim Dickerson not applied so damn much polish.   A much more thorough assessment of the Gunbunnies, plus an interview with frontman Chris Maxwell can be read at Pop Dose online.

01. Put a Tail On Your Kite
02. Down in the Dark
03. Stranded
04. Big Talk
05. The Killing Frost
06. Can I Follow You?
07. 3 Days Behind
08. Break My Fall
09. Little Drops of Water
10. Drinking Days

Hear

1 comment:

Michael Toland said...

Loved these guys. Was fortunate to see them once in Austin toward the end of their lifespan, though I didn't know that at the time. They played most of this record, of course, but also a lot of soul covers ("Let's Stay Together" is the only one I remember for sure). Imagine my surprise when Chris Maxwell turned up in Skeleton Key a few years later.