Something Blew - s/t (1989, Kept)

Ugh. Why do I keep making blind record purchases?  Typically, '80s titles are pretty easy to gauge by sleeve art, and doubly so of the band shot invariably adorning a good portion of the back cover. I assumed that Metairie, Lousiana's Something Blew would be no exception, so upon examining the bouncy font gracing the front, and the vaguely bratty visages on the reverse, I walked away thinking this quintet had something punky, or at the very least lively to extol.  Within seconds of queuing up the lead-off "In Dependence" I hear...flamenco guitars?  Nothing heavy handed mind you - a very minute flourish in fact, but talk about being thrown for a loop.  I was soon faced with the sobering realization that S/B were about as edgy and provocative as contemporaries An Emotional Fish and Nuclear Valdez, if those names mean anything to you.  More center-left than left of center (not to mention intermittently unplugged) these gents do toss us a couple bones with a modicum of selections that approximately befit their image, namely "Mistake" and "Losing Track."  Elsewhere, the goings are notably innocuous, but despite my harshin' this platter is at the very least endurable.  If anything else, check out Something Blew's prescient musings regarding climate change in "Talk TV," offering quips like "Lets think about Alaska as a tropical retreat."

01. In Dependence
02. Mistake
03. Losing Track
04. Creating Happiness
05. In the Dark
06. Talk TV
07. Your Day
08. Beauty Waits

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