GORDON GANO’S ARMY:
Self-titled: CD-R
The first time I remember wanting to go to a show was when Violent Femmes were playing at the University of Maine about an hour from my house. I was in fourth or fifth grade and my mom absolutely refused to let my brother and I go to a college without supervision and she wouldn’t take us because she absolutely detested Gordon Gano’s vocals. They were the only band banned from the car when she was driving. After all those years of battles, I feel a kinship with Gordon Gano’s Army. They sound nothing like the Femmes though. The guitar meanders between Dead Milkmen and some of the more typical Plan-it-x fare, which the vocals fit well with. The lyrics are sometimes nothing more than “Ba ba da da,” which is actually a good thing to me. Overall, it comes together to feel like the perfect band to play to a living room full of dancing, smiling friends. One song took its lyrics from A. A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh and When We Were Very Young to name a couple), whom I adore. I can’t think of an album more seemingly made simply for the purpose of winning me over. Originally recorded in one day in 2005, I’m so happy this was re-released so it could find a way into my heavy winter rotation to lift the winter blues. –Megan Pants (At The Library)