Heatmiser Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Heatmiser was an indie rock supergroup of sorts, featuring songwriters Elliott Smith and Neil Gust (No. 2), as well as Sam Coomes (Quasi) and the multitalented Tony Lash. The quartet's finest and final album, Mic City Sons features a decidedly more pop feel than its predecessors and marks Smith's maturation into the role of the band's visionary. From the opening notes of the swaggering, bass-heavy "Get Lucky" to conclusion of the album with a soothingly soft hidden track, Mic City Sons is an outstanding collection of diverse and invigorating tracks. Songs like "Plain Clothes Man" and "You Gotta Move" exhibit the interplay of soulful, smooth vocals over gentle guitar strumming that has been so evident in Smith's solo work. The Gust-penned tunes, like "Cruel Reminder" and "Eagle Eye" are more rugged and aggressive, but complement Smith's songs brilliantly. There are no weak tracks here - in fact, "Pop In G" and "See You Later" are two of the best indie rock songs of the '90s - and the album flows incredibly well. Despite the success Heatmiser's members have achieved since their disbanding, it's unfortunate that this collective decided to split up just when they had reached such a creative peak. ~ Michael Frey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
1994's Cop and Speeder takes a few steps away from the hooky orientation of both the Yellow No. 5 EP and 1993's Dead Air -- the dark and only vaguely-indierock constructions is explores have the blues- and soul-based edge of bands like Afghan Whigs, lending a sense of depth and sophistication to the record that's occasionally preferable to the more punchy sound of other Heatmiser releases. ~ Nitsuh Abebe, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Elliot Smith likely cringes to remember that before his all-too-precious reinvention of himself he was trying to rock out in a Fugazi/Helmet vein. It's not because it's bad, though -- if derivative, Dead Air is still a mighty fine debut album, though arguably more credit goes to the band's true creative touchstone, fellow singer/guitarist Neil Gust. Openly gay but not making it his creative raison d'etre like, say, Pansy Division, Gust and company tear things with full-on energy, while the coproduction on the part of the band and Portland legend Thee Slayer Hippy is crisp and focused. There's a perhaps inevitable casting of grunge over everything given its 1993 genesis, but instead of sprawl the emphasis is on tautness, vocals rough but not whined, more Hüsker Dü and Mission of Burma, say, than Black Sabbath or Black Flag. Gust's knack for anthemic, empowering choruses infused with open emotional passion make the Fugazi comparison in particular appropriate, almost as if on his own he's fused Ian Mackaye and Guy Picciotto in one body. At one point, on the wonderful "Can't Be Touched," he even sounds like an aggro Michael Stipe. The songs don't waste time -- 14 in 37 minutes -- and steer away from easy sing-along approaches in favor of slightly more complex headbanging with a brain and heart. "Stray," re-recorded from an earlier single, sounds fantastic, just brawling with fierce energy and close-to-the heart empathy both, not to mention a great chorus. "Bottle Rocket" is a definite winner, with some great call and response vocal work and a steadily building verse into chorus structure that's fierce without falling prey to incipient emo clichés. Every so often there's some great flash on the guitars -- check out the solo on "Dirt" -- while the rhythm section does well enough (drummer Brandt Peterson in particular does the business well). ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
