Come Albums (4)
'Gently, Down the Stream'
Release Date 2/9/1998
Tracks 12
Label Domino
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What The Critics Say
Come's music has always been a bit difficult to come to terms with, but it rewards repeated listens immensely. Nowhere is that more true than on their fourth album, Gently, Down the Stream. Although it's a lengthy, dark album, it's arguably their most accessible, since the rage that flowed throughout Don't Ask Don't Tell and Near Life Experience has turned into a resigned bitterness, and that means there aren't as many all-out sonic assaults. Instead, the guitars intertwine perfectly, creating cathartic, sometimes atonal, sometimes bluesy sheets of sound. Similarly, the individual songs of Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw are woven together seamlessly throughout the album, making this Come's most band-oriented effort to date. It's not as immediately bracing as Don't Ask Don't Tell, but it's worth the extra effort to deal with Come's ambitious, difficult music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Come's Near Life Experience covers both old territory for the band as well as heading in new, exciting directions. Singers/guitarists Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw weathered the departure of the band's original rhythm section a year ago, to be replaced by 11 different musicians for the recording of this album, including bassists and drummers from groups like the Jesus Lizard, Retsin, Tortoise, and Rachel's. Whoever's playing on the tracks, it's clear from the opening of "Hurricane" that Come is a re-energized, even more powerful band than they used to be, and that Near Life Experience is their most concise and affecting release yet. Come's trademark bluesy-punk sound is still apparent on songs like "Hurricane" and "Bitten," but the group stretches in different directions with gentle ballads like "Weak As the Moon" and "Slow Eyed." Zedek's voice is as gravelly and emotive as ever, and with the different song styles on Near Life Experience, has even more room to express itself. Brokaw also sings lead (a first) on two of the album's more accessible tracks, the single "Secret Number" and "Shoot Me First." Though it's only eight tracks long, Come packs more musical experiences into Near Life Experience than most groups do in an entire discography. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Don't Ask Don't Tell'
Release Date 9/30/1994
Tracks 10
Label Matador
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What The Critics Say
Marginally brighter than their oppressive debut Eleven: Eleven, Come's second album is pretty heavy sledding regardless. Although the core duo of singing guitarists Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw has pure art-punk credentials (Zedek in Boston's Dangerous Birds and Uzi, Brokaw in New York slowcore pioneers Codeine), Come is basically an exceptionally intense blues-rock band. They aren't simply lifting old Chess Records riffs in the manner of theJon Spencer Blues Explosion, though; their music is basically a neurotic-'90s urban take on the roots of the blues: guitar music as catharsis. Zedek's lead vocals have the sensuous drawl of a blues mama, but her lyrics are expressions of alienation, pain, and general pissed-offedness that are more than matched by the dual lead guitars, which play intertwining lines that bounce off of each other at unexpected angles. The combination of those two elements and the extended song lengths -- nearly half of the ten songs are over six minutes -- makes Don't Ask Don't Tell a particularly intense and emotional experience. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One couldn't throw a brick around rock critics and college rock types in 1992 without hitting somebody who would talk about how Come was the new incarnation of the blues, often loudly and at great length. As in other cases where good bands were overburdened by hype, this both set up the quartet with impossible-to-realize expectations (Come plays anything but straight blues purism or revival à la Alligator Records) and wrote out Zedek's own unique artistic skills from the equation. To be sure, the CD version includes both sides of the "Fast Piss Blues" single, the flip being the Rolling Stones' own "I Got the Blues." But it's the Stones and acts like Patti Smith and Black Sabbath, not to mention the confrontation of no wave and other punk-inspired acts, that provide more of a touchstone to what's going on than Robert Johnson. It's a uniquely sludgy, electric, and strong fusion of sounds and styles, combining extreme angst and commanding power. Zedek's often twangy singing is both harsh and cool, the sound of someone burnt out but not crushed, and her guitar work suggests something more of bruised majesty -- consider the steady, despairing flow of "Brand New Vein" -- than anything else. Her introduction to "Submerge" may be "Now we sing so softly," but her voice cuts through the dark chime of the music even while talking about sinking to the bottom as things fire up even more. With Brokaw contributing equally strong feedback blasts (and vocals on the searing "Sad Eyes") and a sometimes lumbering but still good enough rhythm section rounding things out, Come takes things directly to a listener on Eleven: Eleven with fine results. Other good numbers include the lengthy drive of "Off to One Side" and the concluding surge of "Orbit," confronting demons with a roar. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
