101 Damnations - Carter USM > Reviews > Unstoppable, Maybe... Invincible, No

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Black humour
Disadvantages:	Not subtle musically

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine have always been a guilty pleasure to me. I'm too young to have seen them play live (or see the historic Philip Schofield-punching moment on TV...) and I'm too young to have taken part in the scene they sprung from. To the ears of my peers Carter are cheesy and dated. In my opinion Carter are... Ok, they *are* cheesy and dated (this album's approaching its 15th birthday) but that doesn't stop me from loving them.
Carter USM were essentially the blackly humourous rantings of Jim-Bob Injustice sung to the accompaniment of Fruitbat Carter's "punk guitars", over-the-top keyboards, and faithful drum machine. Their songs lampooned social injustice, championed the underdog, and had the power to make you laugh out loud as well as sit down and think. RIP Carter USM, we won't see your like again...

1. The Road To Domestos
The album opens with this instrumental track - sampled singing from Everyman C of E service, interrupted by a hail of bullets. Carter are here, and they're giving you all the finger. Let the madness begin...

2. Everytime A Churchbell Rings
One of my favourite all-time Carter Songs, with lyrics about suicide and urban claustrophobia... Not the most obvious pop-song material, but Carter always did like to take an oblique look at things.

3. 24 Minutes From Tulse Hill
Classic Carter pun in the title ("24 Hours From Tulsa") This time Jim-Bob takes a quick tour round London's more unsavoury corners ("where skins and angels fear to tread") The verse is mainly (I hesitate to say) rapping... But this is early nineties white-rap.

4. An All American National Sport
Another favourite of mine, this is the story of a homeless drunk "underneath the Cardboard City lights." The song's opening is slow and staid, but the music crescendos and the vocal become more empassioned until we reach the concluding scream of "IN HELL." The melody line is reminiscent of childhood nursery rhymes, and contrasts beautifully with the raw subject matter.

5. Sheriff Fatman
Carter's big hit, and the first song of their's I heard. The chorus is amazingly catchy, with a sing-along refrain of "ba ba-ba-ba ba ba ba." Jim-Bob's lyrical mastery is shown to the full in this exuberant song about slum landlords and dodgy flats.

6. The Taking Of Peckham 123
This is a strange little number - all fairground organs and jangly carnival noise at the beginning, leading to a mid-paced, melancholy tale of murder with lyrics like "and they left him there bleeding on the pavement to die / and he went to that great high-rise block in the sky" building up to a roughly sung "la la la" refrain and vocals full of mock-religious furvour.

7. Crimestoppers A' Go Go
A brief musical interlude, written as a theme tune to the Tour de France...

8. Good Grief Charlie Brown
A true indie classic, with a wonderful melody line and poignant lyrics. This is an imagined correspondance between Charlie Brown and his father; "There's no time for love Charlie Brown." A true gem of a pop song.

9. Midnight On The Murder Mile
I feel this song is a weak link on the album... Fairly unmemorable.

10. A Perfect Day To Drop The Bomb
Carter paint a bleak picture of "tiny children sniffing glue" and "the wino in the cardboard box."

11. G.I. Blues
This downbeat number starts with the lines "Both my arms and legs are torn to shreds," and it doesn't get any cheerier. Tinkling piano builds up the feelings of pathos in the protagonist's story. The song builds up in classic Carter style - heavy handed keyboards, crashing power chords, Jim-Bob seething with fury - before suddenly dropping back to a near-whispered "Oh God I wish I was in Dixie... In Dixie with you... I'm a GI and I'm Blue"

"101 Damnations" is packed full of classy pop songs, indie melodies, cutting and witty lyrics, a huge dose of black comedy and some dodgy early-90's sampling. Carter USM show that all you need to make a record is a bucketful full of attitude. They believe they're the best band in the world with infectious conviction. Sadly not infectious enough - some tracks on this album fall short, and in others the musical arrangement is too heavy-handed, detracting from the lyrics and replacing a genuine emotional response.

I personally really enjoy listening to most tracks on this album... but locked in my bedroom with a guilty smirk on my face.