Bluetip

Editor's Review:

Blue Tip, with a well crafted, hyper-driven indie punk sound, exemplifies everything that's right about the scene around Washington, D.C., a city with a strong tradition of music as powerful as the finance and politics that go on in the very same metropolis. The latest offering from this D.C. quartet, Hot (-) Fast (+) Union, is a five-song EP that showcases the band's new material and the ability of producer J. Robbins (Burning Airlines') to enhance the sharper edges of this kind of rock music without sacrificing the intelligence behind the music; Robbins complements the song construction by pulling out distinct highs and bottom-heavy lows, keeping the mid-ranges free and clear of tonal entanglement.

It is, first and foremost, Blue Tip's stellar musicianship and elegantly forceful approach to indie rock that really grabs the ear and demands attention. The title track opens the EP with a tight, crash-bashing entrance that leads into a revved mid-tempo gait, disrupted only by odd time changes that nevertheless flow seamlessly. "Spit Up Kid," while it's a rocker for sure, is a more structured, bass-anchored tune that is slightly more schizophrenic in its timing, but still catchy as hell. High-pitched guitar lines follow vocals here and there on "Persistent," then wander into short, noodle-y passages that are neither pretentious nor precise enough to be considered wankery. Part of the phrase "indie rock" is the word "rock," and Blue Tip emphasize that aspect on "Anti-Pope" (a Damned cover) - screaming guitar solos, blasting cymbals and rough-and-tumble bass packed by rock 'n' roll percussion with plenty of gusto. This is simply indie rock that rocks.

- Max Sidman


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Record Label Slowdime Released June 2000

Tracks 1. Hot(-)Fast(+)Union 2. Spit Up Kid 3. Persistent 4. Compliment the Negative 5. Antipope