Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun
Shindig
by Mike Seate in Pittsburgh! Aug 14 - Aug 20, 1991
A few years back, there was a brand of music all over the college airwaves, a brash sound that combined the fast-paced energy and honesty of punk with a corny appreciation of music from the American West. Bands like X, Rank & File and Green on Red were once considered the great white hopes of the music industry, but have all but disappeared under the weight of changing tastes, and a constant influx of Seattle - based '70s revivalism.
Out in California where the cowpunk scene originated, the cowboy hats and combat boots are still alive and kicking. San Francisco-based Shindig records has released an album of monumental depth and proportion, unfortunately four years too late to recieve any major notice. Colorfinger's Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun is a firewalk through the heart and mind of a singer/songwriter Arthur D. Nation's troubled past, his recurring bouts with chemical dependency, and his problems growing up in the insanity of L.A.
The opening track, "Kill The Sun," begins with an immense wall of booming power chords and Nation's mean-spirited narration lamenting wasted years living on the streets in a drug-induced haze. "Carolea" is a Replacements-style thrasher with the rhythm section racing to a crescendo before flowing gracefully into "Culver Palms," and acoustic tearjerker where Nation explains in his throaty country roar, "I was just eight years old/they called my school to tell me my mother had a nervous breakdown." Heavy subjects, but the listener is drawn in, rather than distanced from the story.
Despite its serious nature, Deep in the Heart, is not all about anger and tears. "The Gay Bar Song" is a loping rocker about a man's suspicion of his woman's drifting sexual preferences, and "Kill Jerry Garcia" is a stop-start, funkthrash number that pokes some well-needed fun at a pop icon. The album doesn't get preachy or falter when delicate subject matter is approached, as on "13 Years" a rootsy powerwalk through a cemetary where Nation's brother, who died of a drug overdose, is heard to remind him of an unfortunate legacy: "Keep it up so you can die like me."
Deep in the Heart is all about survival, about seeing too much way too soon and one young man's ability, and sometimes inability to comprehend his predicament. Musically, it's powerful and often sentimental reassurance that the music of the American West, when interpreted by young and spirited musicians, is still a potent force.
