SPILL
MAGAZINE, UK
October 2005
the black watch
the hypnotizing sea
pink hedgehog records
The label-hopping minstrels of indiepop storm onto the stage once again with
this new album featuring the bizarre ballad
"Buttercup Fairchild" and the elegant, delicious "Papercut."
There's a soft, guitar-driven country vibe on "Dylan, Dylan,
Dylan" while "The Hypnotizing Sea" is dark, poetic, moving and
intoxicating. The otherworldly edge entwined within the beats
is captivating; haunting to the extreme. A tad drab and sophisticated for the
fans of generic pop music, the black watch provides proof
that there just might be some hope left for the indie-lobby. Here, there's a
story in every song. Delight in the pleasure.
score: 90%
—Martin Drury
THE BIG TAKEOVER
January 2001
the black watch
lime green girl
Saltwater Records
Though I preferred the lucious, elegant textures and nicer, multi-instrument,
baroque arrangements of their last LP (the king of good intentions, which
sounded lovingly like America's answer to the Go-Betweens), the black watch
remain that most distinct of luxuries: extremely literate and cultivated, well-written
and produced, rainforest lush-pop.
On lime green girl, the LA quartet returns to the prominent, more hearty
ringing guitars they began with over a decade ago. Once again, they proffer
an organic but accomplished guitar/bass/drums/violin concoction for the beautiful,
spring-fresh tunes leader JOHN ANDREW FREDRICK composes.
This back-to-basics baring doesn't obfuscate his continued maturation as a tunesmith,
bringing out the deftly poetic qualities of his lyrics. And he wields his voice
as a confident instrument, cutting through the peal of guitars with real presence.
Meanwhile, his violinist/guitarist/singer partner J'ANNA JACOBY deftly fills
in the few spaces left with her typically sonorous refinement. Typical is the
hypnotic, throbbing "Seven Rollercoasters" (no relation to their older EP of
that name), a mid-tempo breezer that digs in like a houseguest you can't get
rid of and eats all your Doritos. Superb! Then, on the last third of the record,
the band suddenly, surprisingly turns up the throttle considerably. With Jacoby
at the vocal helm, the LP starts kicking with buzzing guitars and zipping, postpunk
indiepop wallopers: "Cellophane," "Summmerland," and especially the breathless
"Purple Milk and Yr Pink Sky." This is a side the black watch have only approximated
before, closer to vintage Wire, 1988 My Bloody Valentine, The Last, or 100 Flowers'
offspring than the Go-Be's or The Smiths. Excellent.
No matter what the disposition, this band is so badly, criminally overlooked,
you wonder how many of these modestly impressive songs they need to release
before the rest of the scene lavishes praise on them, instead of the overrated
flavors of the month. And because tbw tack on seven tracks from the previous
four LPs (don't miss good intentions' "Uncheerupable") to aid the curious
and unfamiliar, lime green girl becomes even more impressive listening.
Some people just know how to write...May they never break up.
—Jack Rabid
LOS ANGELES NEW TIMES
November 2000
the black watch
lime green girl
Saltwater Records
You might call the black watch the little pop band that could. The release of
lime green girl, the band's fifth full-length, finds these LA veterans in surprisingly
great shape for a group that's been together more than 12 years. They've gone
through six labels, outlasted peers like Downy Mildew and Clay Idols, and weathered
the turbulent personal interplay of mainstays John Andrew Fredrick and J'Anna
Jacoby and a revolving rhythm section—proving once and for all that whatever
doesn't kill you does indeed make you stronger.
Then again, the black watch seem to thrive on challenges and misfortunes. Like
the Cure, they create deceptively upbeat pop tunes that often mask dark emotions.
the tumultuous relationship between Fredrick and Jacoby works as a metaphor
for the music itself--interludes of sweet harmony interspersed with plenty of
dissonance. Still, the black watch appear to be settling comfortably—and
confidently—into middle age (even going so far as to tackle the Gordon
Lightfoot classic "If You Could Read My Mind" on the new record). Jacoby's taken
an increased role as vocalist and guitarist, and while her violin flourishes
set the band apart, tbw now sound relaxed enough to stop hiding behind such
embellishments and allow the songs to stand on their own.
The result is simultaneously more raw and more self-assured. While last year's
the king of good intentions was a barbed break-up album, lime green girl embraces
the confusion of being a jaded romantic in a roller-coaster relationship. Fredrick
could easily be talking about himself in "all the stars are jewel-bright" when
he sings, "the greatest fargone cynic you could ever hope to find/ has to have
some optimism somewhere in his mind." It's this delicate balance between skepticism
and hope that keeps the black watch from descending into predictable territory.
The album's second half is a miniature retrospective, displaying a sophisticated
simplicity that's surprising for a band featuring a Ph.D. (Fredrick) and a classically
trained violinist (Jacoby). Whether churning out upbeat jangly pop that recalls
college-radio pioneers like the Go-Betweens, the Jazz Butcher, or early REM,
or crafting mesmerizingly beatiful drone-drenched tunes that hint at Yo La Tengo
or the Velvet Underground, the black watch succeed in keeping the melodies as
uncomplicated as the emotions are complex.
— Barbara Mitchell
MEAN STREET
January 2000
the black watch
the king of good intentions
Over the past decade, singer?guitarist John Andrew Fredrick and the black watch
have gained a reputation for crafting darkly-hued, yet intoxicating slices of
alt-pop. The LA-based band's fourth full length is no exception. These tunes
often boast an ominous sound thanks to detuned electric guitars and inventive
noises from in-demand violinist/guitarist/vocalist J'Anna Jacoby (Rod Stewart,
Peter Himmelman). Fredrick's words can cut deep—particularly on the seemingly
giddy "Obligatory Blues," about a relationship gone sour: "I kinda remember
how she said/ Things'll get better when you're dead!" On the eerie and dissonant
"Parachutes," Fredrick recalls a gal who will "put you down just like a cup/
of coffee six days old" in his sad, monotone delivery. Fans of My Bloody Valentine
and the Cure will find this disc a welcome respite from what tops the charts
these days.
— George Paul
CMJ New Music Report
November 15, 1999
THE BLACK WATCH
The King of Good Intentions (Not Lame)
When your band is led by an English Ph.D. who enjoys playing oddly tuned, windswept
pop music, you're probably going to come up with some pretty uncommon songs.
The Black Watch's violinist, J'Anna Jacoby, and guitarist/vocalist, John Andrew
Fredrick, play the moody, slowly shifting melodies that gauze over The King
of Good Intentions. On the woozy zenith of the album, "The Wrong People,"
such punchy prose as "I wouldn't know love if it fucked me in the eye"
accents a graceful, melotron-backed tune. You might think lyrics as smart and
jolting as those of Fredrick would leave an uneven finish to such soothingly
understated songs, but they quickly become one of the album's most resonating
attributes.
— Glen Sansone
THE BIG TAKEOVER
Issue No. 45
the black watch
the king of good intentions (Not Lame)
It hasn't been easy for The Black Watch. If my count is correct, this makes
five LPs on five different labels over 12 years, one each on Eskimo, Dr. Dream,
Gotta Go, Catapult and now Not Lame. But like wandering the desert in endless
search of bountiful waterholes instead of mere drops of cactus juice, such wayward
struggles have just made this fledgling band more determined. Each album, three
years apart, has been better than the last, and if the quantum-leap The King
of Good Intentions finds a spot in the stereos of discerning pop fans, The
Black Watch will have found their oasis at last. (Supportive label Not Lame
might at least keep them watered!)
For this release, they've pared down to the two essentials, singer/songwriter/guitarist
John Andrew Fredrick and multi-instrumentalist J'Anna Jacoby. So they're aided
by a phalanx of L.A. underground musicians playing the other parts, and together
the assemblage has made a minor masterpiece. Enjoying by far the best production
of his career (someone send pie, cake, and ice cream to Scott Campbell for his
flawless job, a gigantic upgrade on their former passable sound), Fredrick seems
to have a Go-Betweens jones on such beguiling, handsome, fertile pop (like Tallulah/16
Lovers Lane) as "The Wrong People," "Hey Hey Hey," and the
more organic, skipping "Obligatory Blues" (more like Spring Hill
Fair and Liberty Belle). Like that Aussie/English group, only more
insistent and not quite so winsome, Fredrick piles one beautiful passage onto
another, and the instrumentation–ever their hallmark—is delightful.
For instance, the sounds range from the dirty guitar on the otherwise sweet
"Your Mary Janes" and the standout, deliberately chiming opener, "Uncheerupable"
(a triumphant starting shot), to meditative melotron, which is "Strawberry
Fields Forever" creeping on "Parachutes," and is 1967 Zombies-like
on "The Wrong People." Jacoby's exceptional violin used to save the
group's weaker work; now it adds translucent sparkle to a freshly painted canvas.
And the multiple times a piano drops in for coffee in the background, it's the
sort of ageless pop moment you spend hours in CD stores looking for.
As a result, the poet Fredrick finally has a backdrop to match his abilities.
Always a cutting wordsmith, he's full of acerbic disregard for those whose lives
have crossed his. "I suppose she'll go upstairs with anyone that mumbles
that he cares" he gibes at one point, typical of the austere subject matter.
(Sounds like the boy is disillusioned about relationships, even overstating
he "wouldn't know love if it fucked me in the eye." That's a rather
violent turn of a phrase, isn't it?) Such shrewdly-state pessimism over romantic
foibles is at odds with the care invested in the music.
Nothing happening in pop? No talent, no craft, nothing to say in pop today?
Buy this, then. (P.O. Box 2266, Fort Collins, CO 80522-2266; popmusic@notlame.com)
— Jack Rabid
MeanStreet
January 2000 Vol X Issue 7
THE BLACK WATCH
The King of Good Intentions (Not Lame)
Over the past decade, singer/guitarist John Andrew Fredrick and the Black Watch
have gained a reputation for crafting darkly-hued, yet intoxicating slices of
alt-pop. The LA-based band's fourth full-length album King of Good Intentions
is no exception. These tunes often boast an ominous sound thanks to detuned
electric guitars and inventive noises from in-demand violinist J'Anna Jacoby
(Peter Himmelman, Rod Stewart). Fredrick's words can cut deep—particularly
on the seemingly giddy "Obligatory Blues," about a relationship gone
sour: "I kinda remember how she said/Things'll get better when you're dead."
On the eerie and dissonant "Parachutes," Fredrick recalls a gal who
will "put you down just like a cup of coffee six days old" with his
sad, monotone delivery. Fans of My Bloody Valentine and the Cure will find King
a welcome respite from what tops the charts these days.
Grade: B+
— George A. Paul
LOS ANGELES NEW TIMES
October 21-27, 1999
the black watch
the king of good intentions
Not Lame Ltd.
Love lost is hell. When a serious relationship spirals out of control and into
the land of the irreconcilable, it can get awfully ugly. The meanness starts;
the language and postures turn sour; pots or telephones or even fists might
get thrown around until, finally, the carcass that was once a happy-loving couple
is left to rot on the side of the road.
Just ask John Andrew Fredrick, the singer-guitarist of the moody, Anglo-poppish,
longtime LA band the black watch. He certainly has some thoughts on the subject.
Early on in the king of good intentions he warns that "parachutes won't
bring you down/ half as well as she" on the appropriately titled "Parachutes."
A few songs later, on "Obligatory Blues"—a tune unnervingly buoyant
as if to suggest a sadistic smile—comes the former lover's reply: "I
kinda remember when she said/ Things'll get better when you're dead!" But
it doesn't stop there. Like any good battle, it only escalates: "I suppose
she'll go upstairs/ With anyone who mumbles that he cares," he sings. And
then: "I suppose she'll come downstairs/ With flowers semen spittle in
her hair." Brutal.
Coming from the pen of Fredrick–a Ph.D. in English and lecturer at Loyola
Marymount University and Santa Monica College–the king of good intentions
was supposed to be a companion to a novel of the same name. But when Henry Rollins'
2.13.61 pulled the plug on the printed version, the music became Fredrick's
prime testament. No problem–this is plenty poetic and emotionally charged
all by itself. In many ways, the addition of music makes it even more powerful.
Appropriately self-described as akin to "Nick Drake with a fuzz box, an
angrier Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine unplugged, or the Red House Painters
without all the wistful nostalgia," the king of good intentions
is gorgeous aural gloom that feels like London during one of its countless overcast
days. Fredrick delivers the various edgy guitar textures while longtime cohort
J'Anna Jacoby helps color the album elegantly with violin, viola, and piano.
(Former Velouria bassist Scott Taylor and ex-Medicine drummer complete the quartet.)
Coupled with Fredrick's wordsmith brilliance and lilting melodies (he actually
does let the sun shine in a bit on the album-closing "Hey Hey Hey")
the king of good intentions is one helluva breakup album, scarred with harsh,
personal lessons. Or as Fredrick sings in the lush, acoustic "The Wrong
People": "Underemployed but overly savvy I/ Wouldn't know love if
it fucked me in the eye." This is one to listen to when your significant
other says "goodbye."
— Neil Weiss
OPTION
May-June 1997
the black watch
seven rollercoasters
I suppose it's possible to consider the black watch's latest a little like seven
rollercoasters. Each song is different enough to have its own style, but the
same materials go into building each separate track: guitar, drum, bass, vocals,
and a little violin here and there. The opening track, "I Feel So Weird,"
follows the metaphor, with delicious guitar haze and lush femme vocals interrupted
by queasy bursts of pretentious art rock. The following "Steve Albini"
is more of a lazy river than a rollercoaster, however. Gorgeous, throbbing violin
washes over vocals that beg, with indie simplicity, for "Steve's ring."
The remainder of the CD degenerates into more of a monorail tour, with lyrics
and production that slips all too easily into brooding mope rock. The standout
is the inappropriately-named "Palindrome"–as the final track
on the CD, it's preceded by 30 minutes of space, and consists of the first six
songs played in reverse. So why is "Palindrome" a poor name? Because
this track, with its churning vocals and still-beautiful guitar doesn't sound
the same backwards as it does forwards; it sounds better.
— Drema Crist
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Los Angeles Times Calendar
February 10, 1995
New Pick of the Week
The Black Watch
amphetamines (Zero Hour/Gotta Go)
The album title notwithstanding, the Black Watch is—figuratively speaking—addicted
to downers. The Los Angeles band's latest independent release finds it luxuriating
in all the many shifting currents of romantic melancholia. John Andrew Fredrick,
the band's founder and main songwriter, was an aspiring novelist and UC Santa
Barbara literature instructor before he launched the Black Watch in 1988. The
band's third album offers an almost Proustian catalogue of lovelorn wretchedness,
but, like Proust, Fredrick and his Black Watch sidekick, singer-violinist J'Anna
Jacoby, know that the subject has enough facets to bear close and extended scrutiny.
The album's primary theme, its layered but occasionally edgy and propulsive
musical constructions and its pervasive Anglophilia make it a worthy companion
piece to "Condition Blue," the fine 1992 album by the Jazz Butcher.
"Condition Blue" interrupted its sorrowful wallows with a couple of
offbeat, wittily acerbic satiric rockers, and the Black Watch might have done
well to avail its album of similar comic relief. But, while there is nothing
here that hasn't been done before by the early R.E.M., the Smiths, the Cure,
the Go-Betweens, Cocteau Twins and numerous other melodious thrummers and janglers,
the Black Watch managers to sustain musical interest. Songs that lesser bands
might let murmur away inoffensively in lullaby land have streaks of fuzz-tone
abrasion coloring the edges. In "Letter," for instance, Fredrick treats
himself to a delicious, soothing soak in pretty melancholy. But a faint touch
of guitar distortion scrapes beneath the placid surface, a harbinger of acute
pain thatıs ready to pounce when the narrator's temporary dosage of anesthetic
sentimentality has worn off.
Jacoby's superb violin work can similarly tinge conventional sweetness with
more complex feelings in the caressing passages. And when the Black......
STROBE MAGAZINE
Back in 1991, The Black Watch was creating quite a stir. They made music both
ethereal and gritty, mesmerizing and energetic, fueled by John Andrew Fredrick's
wry vocals and J'Anna Jacoby's expressive violin. Local press was throwing around
exclamation points about their Doctor Dream album, Flowering, while its
sing, "Terrific," was in heavy rotation now-defunct MARS-FM. They
seemed primed to break into the big leagues. Then, suddenly, not a peep. What
happened?
Well, they didn't drop off the face of the earth. After a mutual parting with
Doctor Dream, they took most of last year off to record their new album, Amphetamines,
with producer Joe Chicarelli (American Music Club, Stan Ridgeway), and are currently
looking for a new label to release it. John, J'Anna and drummer Randy Leasure
recently talked with us about the [potential] new record and the benefits of
a healthy cynical outlook.
STROBE: Your music sounds very Englishdark but with a pop influence.
JOHN: I wouldn't deny that one bit. I listen mostly to English pop. Robyn Hitchcock
and The Jazz Butcher are my two favorite artists. It's absurd for musicians
to claim they've never heard what they're compared to. You try and hide it if
you're artistic enough, but to deny your influences isn't being artistic at
all. You're just being a cowboy.
STROBE: Is songwriting a democratic process?
J'ANNA: John writes the songs and then uses me as a sounding board. I have the
last word.
STROBE: Does J'Anna run the band?
JOHN: Yeah, she points her violin bow around the room and directs everyone!
STROBE: Your songs have a trance-like aspect to them, yet there are great choruses
and definite hooks.
JOHN: You have to go back to your Beatles songbook on How To Write a Song, How
To Form a Bridge, Where To Put In a Chorus... Without that you turn into something
atrocious like Helmet. Working with Joe Chicarelli really helped us to see how
important the chorus is. It's those dumb, sing-song choruses that people remember.
STROBE: The chorus of "Whirl" on the new record is great. It really
stays with you.
JOHN: It's stupid, and that's good.
STROBE: How else did working with Joe Chicarelli affect you?
J'ANNA: It was like having our own personal trainer.
JOHN: He worked us to the bone! Everyone bitched about it, but it was definitely
to our benefit. We worked with a click track for fifteen days straight. We did
nineteen takes on "Come Inside" until we finally got one he felt was
right. Also he insisted I take singing lessons. I have more of a "go with
it" attitude toward singing, but the lessons really helped with technique.
Maybe when this is all over we can go on Star Search.
STROBE: What else do you foresee in The Black Watch's future?
JOHN: I predict more bad luck. We should have mental horseshoes hanging over
our internal doorways.
STROBE: What do you mean?
RANDY: The things that happen to us are right out of Spinal Tapwe lost all
of our equipment in an elevator at the University of Arizona...
J'ANNA: We're not visualizing greatness because we're too cynical...
JOHN: It's a great record and we're proud of it. We hope to go on to yet another
album and, in the process, make this one completely obsolete. But positive thinking
gets you nowhere at all. Contemplating your navel won't make your stomach any
smaller...
— W. Colter
ALTERNATIVE PRESS
April 1994
the black watch
amphetamines
When considering the black watch, the cliche "Don't judge a book by its
cover" has never been more aptly applied. The quartet's leader used to
be an English professor, the band prominently features a violin/viola player
named J'Anna, and the band's moniker sounds pretentious/silly. This record had
"it sucks" written all over it. As it happens, I was dead wrong. amphetamines
is a smart, catchy, guitar-driven pop gem.
Fears about English-prof preciousness and the violin/viola player are unfounded:
the lyrics are basically unobtrusive, and the strings are used sparingly, and
effectively. What's heard most are jangly, tuneful guitars embracing hook-filled
songs; noise merchants stand clear. Vaguely REMish (Cure comparisons are somewhat
valid too), there's just enough dissonance and psychedelia to give the album
an edge that supplements the sometimes sweet, though neve cloying, vocals. "Whirl"
and "See You Around" are the best of a good lot.
Preconceptions are sometimes correct, and they help to weed out dross. Beware,
though: while you may find better single songs scatter on other albums, amphetamines
the most enjoyable record overall I've heard this year, misconceptions be damned.
— Matt Hickey
BILLBOARD
November 14, 1992
Declarations of Independents
The Black Watch is among L.A.'s most intriguing club acts, and the quartet offers
a typically tantalizing taste of what it does on its "Come Inside"/"Just
Last Night" 45 from Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based Eskimo [Records]. Check
the B side first: It offers a fine example of the instrumental spell violinist
J'Anna Jacoby works in live performance.
THE BIG TAKEOVER
No. 34
The Black Watch
"Whatever You Need" 7-inch (San Jacinto)
Second straight lovely, dripping, yet zipping pop 7-inch from one of L.A.'s
and America's little-known but strongly coming quartets. Leader, John Andrew
Fredrick, has really arrived, stringing together lasting melodies and ambitious
arrangements to match his well above-average, observant lyrics; the rhythm section
(Roger Butchers, bass; Randy Leasure, drums) is starting to really cook where
before it was merely competent; and this writer remains convinced that the violin
playing of sometimes second guitarist J'Anna Jacoby is the finest you'll hear
in forceful guitar-pop landhere her outro on the A-side is another dose of
sonorous, unique beauty. Why don't more bands try strings? These folds make
it seem almost essential. The B-side, "Television Addict Kid" is more
of the same walloping, cool, sighing but supple, uptempo, hook-laden pop, only
with a brief skip beat to give it identity and a well-conceived structure that
makes use of catchy male/female harmonies and a sampled voice near the end (a
funny tag-on too). The Black Watch used to make good records. Now, it seems
they effortlessly make great ones. Tat makes a good deal of difference, doesn't
it? This is what 7-inch records should be.
— Jack Rabid
THE LOS ANGELES READER
Tuesday, July 2
The Black Watch. Local indie-rock survivor The Black Watch celebrates its declaration
of independence from Zero Hour Records with the new, Pepto Bismol pink 45, "I
Feel So Weird"/"Steve Albini" (Eskimo Records). The A-side finds
the quartet in its usual spiky-jangly mode, while the flip is a lovely (and
extraordinarily sarcastic) ode to everyone's favorite alterna-producer. When
J'Anna Jacoby croons "I just wanna wear Steve's ring" against a swelling
string section, you realize we've entered a whole new ear of postpunk irony—and
there's no turning back...
CAKE
The Black Watch
Amphetamines
I can see this pleasant-sounding tape being picked up by a major label—because
a lot of the necessary elements are in place. Good songwriting, arranging, and
careful production that puts a good foot forward in each unique song. Similarities
to Lush, the Church and Galaxie 500 come to mind here. Excellent vocal harmonies
between John Fredrick and J'Anna Jacoby, backed with a veritable guitar shop
of various 6 and 12 string acoustic and electric's, viola, violin, and a sturdy
bass and drum give The Black Watch a full sound, but in a widely measured context.
Listening to these songs I can visualize them being performed live without much
difference beyond the extra bonus of the live setting. Twelve songs worth writing
them for—winter's coming!
— J.T.
CAKE
The Black Watch
Amphetamines (Zero Hour)
With its blurry cover-art close-up of half-licked, multi-hued lollipops, Amphetamines
is a tribute to truth in advertising. For indeed, within its laser-etched CD
surface you'll encounter music made with no undue sweetness, yet not without
its share of sweat, too; meaning the L.A.-spawned Black Watch may employ that
candy to signify its proud use of honey-smooth harmonies and treacle-y melodies,
but not at the expense of pleasurable raggedness. The lead-off trio of tunes
are killers. "Come Inside" has one of those simple, insistent axe
riffs and a dandy, chugging bass line that makes an instant impression, giving
way only to periodic catchy choruses as sung by vocalist John Fredrick and violinist
J'Anna Jacoby. Jacoby then grabs the reigns in "See you Around," both
vocally and with a blazing, un-Jean Luc Ponty-like violin solo, proving herself
to be a fine singer as well as an accomplished musician—"Whatever
You Need" is an aching ode to unqualified devotion set to a neo-psychedelic,
feedback-tinged backing track—the Black Watch trademark. Nicely, Jacoby's
violin is an integral part of most songs on Amphetamines, adding oodles of character
to the proceedings (not to undermine the other bandmembers' contributions –
bassist Darin Danford and drummer David Walkama ain't no slouches, either) which
are, by and by, happily quite tuneful.
— Larry O. Dean
BOSTON ROCK
#146 Boston Rockıs Best of 1994
The Black Watch
Amphetamines (Gotta Go)
On Amphetamines, jangly and razzy guitars mix with sweet melodic vocals.
Together, they swirl around loopy melodies in a textured mess, all within quirky
pop forms. In the veins of the Cure, XTC, The Smiths and the Velvets at their
moodiest (well, not quite "Heroin," but "I'll Be Your Mirror"
anyway) the Black Watch crafts a collage of sounds and images. A warm, natural
instrumental sound is enhanced by the sweet strains of a violin.
Occasional plinks, plunks and chirps of the strings set off shadowy lyrics;
"In a haze of nicotine/I wrote this letter to myself/to see how I was getting
on these days..." Each song is unique in form and delivery. The band can
first sound like the Carpenters (strangely enough singing "Kill, kill,
kill the one you love," like a lullaby,) and then turn around and swamp
you with a maelstrom of guitars and ragged vocals, conjuring images of John
and Exene.
Take "Just Last Night," which starts off innocently enough, but right
where you would figure the second bridge should be, instead, the vocals go from
sweet to sour and the melody works itself into a jumble of distorted guitars,
voice and violin, and ends in a melodic car crash. The diversity of song and
sound throughout this record shows clearly that someone here has a gift for
writing and performing.
— Michael McCrary
ALBUM NETWORK
No. 817
November 11, 1994
The Black Watch
Amphetamines (Zero Hour)
Time has been good to The Black Watch. In 1991, the Los Angeles group released
its debut, flowering, and made a sizable impression on the college charts. Now,
three years later, The Black Watch tick-tocks into the hearts and ears of programmers
with the solid sophomore effort amphetamines. Originally released last year
on Gotta Go Records, the album has been re-released by the upstart East Cost
indie label Zero Hour, and it bolsters a wide range of intellectual pop time-pieces.
"Come Inside" starts things off on a driving note, with John Andrew
Fredrick inviting the listener to "think about the last time you were this
down." "See You Around" melts a cacophony of feedback with the
luscious, vulnerable voice of J'Anna Jacoby, who adds touches of her electric
violin to the pop landscape. But for the picky programmers, the finest radio
song on amphetamines, "Whatever You Need," capsulates The Black Watch's
musical direction, layering introspective harmonies with melodies as thick as
honey.
BAM
No. 369
October 18, 1991
But there's more to the local scene than the joyful noisemakers–and one
of them is the black watch. This sweet, cerebral pop band's new album, flowering
(on Dr. Dream Records), is strangely compelling, a lot like the band itself.
Songwriter-guitarist-vocalist John Fredrick can easily be accused of purveying
often hilariously inadequate lyrics, yet I play this tape a lot. It's just that,
for all its nursery-rhyme simplicity, the music can be incredibly moving, especially
when powered by J'Anna Jacoby's expert, emotional violin. Her sound is staggering–so
mannered, yet so effortless; so graceful, yet so visceral, lending weight to
Fredrick's sleepy voice and undeniably catchy melodies, and making the whole
much more than the sum of its parts.
Consider, for example, the brief, KROQ-oriented ditty, "A Better Way,"
featuring lyrics that are exactly three sentences long, but which are borne
into the ether by Jacoby's delicately powerful embellishments. Or "Tear
the Sky," on which Jacoby's twinklingly bucolic riffs contrast with Fredrick's
funked-up guitar lines. Among my favorites are the sunny lullaby, "This
Is for Chandler," a soaring, playful instrumental, and–contradictorily
enough–the heavenly "Humming," on which Jacoby wears her other
hat as second guitarist, plinking out minimal, chiming accents that are as charming
as they are resonant. But mostly what works for me is how unfailingly human
this band is–there's a sensation here that comes from behind the lush arrangements
and silly words, and ends up resting, oddly enough, in the heart.
THE BOB
The Black Watch
Flowering (Doctor Dream Records)
The Black Watch are a fine alternative-music test case. They have all of the
elements in place: A mixed-gender lineup, a moody autumnal sound courtesy of
violin and subdued guitar playing, coolly detached singing, and minimalist song
titles like "Terrific," "Jaded," and "Room." I
don't know exactly what alternative music is, but I know what it sounds like—The
Black Watch sounds like alternative music.
And the Black Watch sounds good, too, if not spectacularly so. Like the work
of many a young band, Flowering is uneven, with too many songs merely
striking the right pose and not achieving much distinction. But there are some
very good tracks which are fully realized and memorable, with lyrics that range
from ironic to bitterly sarcastic.
The failed songs are either awkward or half-baked, but those few missteps ultimately
detract but a little from what is, all in all, an appealing effort from a promising
band. Here's hoping that the title Flowering proves to be prophetic.
— Bruce McClelland
ALTERNATIVE PRESS
No. 44 Jan-Feb 1992
The Black Watch Flowering (Doctor Dream Records)
Ex-English professor John Andrew Fredrick may be American by way of LA, but
he carries over both the literacy and the pure bardio fervor of an Englishman.
So the Black Watch sounds more like a Cure/New Order/Go-Betweens mutation than
a latterday R.E.M. But there's no strain or affectation to Fredrick's vision.
It's all natural.
A budding, obviously talented band right from the start, Flowering extends
Fredrick's reach as he varies his quartet's sound from track to track, avoiding
the over-jangling, near monotonic cast of past releases. "Jennifer Jennifer"
is a stark folk-pop gem, anchored by a muted rhythm section and adorned with
violin as Fredrick's quotes rip a page from the Sgt. Pepper songbook ("and
we'll be lucy in the sky with diamonds/lucy in the sky between your eyes").
"Humming" utilizes a New Order-like bass as all the instruments gather
around the low end as the chiming guitars and off-center melody close in.
John Fredrick and band have grown a lot since their debut album (St. Valentine,
1988). The addition of J'Anna Jacoby on violin has proven to be an evocative,
sublimely inspired move. She does for the Black Watch what a great lead guitarist
often does for a rock band. Fredrick himself only improves both as a singer
and songwriter. Maybe the Black Watch will finally turn gold.
— Brad Bradberry
