Sounding like a Midwest Gang of Four or a more muscular Pere Ubu, Madison’s Appliances-SFB seamlessly blended witty, informed lyrics with visceral, angular, driving music. Sadly, this reissue of the band’s 1987 album Them/Green Door coincides with the death of frontman Tom Laskin on June 15.
In performance, the bookish Laskin (who worked for more than two decades for Madison weekly Isthmus) seemed struck by lycanthropy as he morphed into a Tasmanian dervish, while the powerful rhythm section of Ed Feeny (bass) and Meredith Young (drums) kept the grooves on track. So imagine the thrill, when these folks began work in Smart Studios with three engineers who would form Garbage in a few years. The band seems to play the studio as another instrument, creating a sound burnished to a sheen.
They brandished their quirks like a badge of honor on “The Good Life,” Laskin’s bohemian homage to the Green Bay Packers (a recurring Appliances theme). Vocals recalled the vague birdcalls of a Boy Scout and guttural grunts. Musically inventive, the band’s twists and turns recall Australia’s Birthday Party. Among the highlights are “Man With a Plan,” which rides atop William Siebecker’s menacing guitar riff, and the crazed funk metal of “Ikentina” spiked with Bill Feeny’s synth otherworldliness. Kathy Tinsley’s appropriate cover art is timeless and creepy.
Bonus live tracks from a 1986 benefit gig at the Dane County Coliseum capture the band on a good night, firing on all cylinders and likely enjoying the big stage.
