LEAVES

I’ve just received the new single from Sean O’Brien And His Dirty Hands. ‘Leaves’ is a long, beautiful, country-tinged ballad about parting and upheaval; there’s keening pedal steel from Max Butler, and O-Lan Jones and Chris von Sneidern providing vocal support. It’s going to be followed by a new album entitled Future Harvest. O’Brien is a veteran of the Paisley Underground. He was in Davis in the late 70s, which also spawned the Dream Syndicate, and he played in the origin line-up of True West. Recently he’s put out a couple of cracking solo albums, as well as a career retrospective The Drug Of Memory which does go back all the way to Davis days and The Meantime with Russ Tolman. The song can be heard on his MySpace. – Nick West – Bucketful of Brains Blogspot – June 2010.

THE DRUG OF MEMORY

This 23-track retrospective spans nearly thirty years of mostly unreleased material from Kensington musician Sean O’Brien through his work with the Meantime, True West, Denim TV, Cottonmouth, and the Mariettas. His songwriting and production improved markedly over the years, but rarely strayed from a distinctive blend of New Wave and American underground. (First Cold Press) – Nate Seltenrich – East Bay Express – 11-17, 2009.

GOODBYE GAME

Sean O’Brien & His Dirty Hands
goodbye game
(First Cold Press)
Having dug (in issue 59) O’Brien’s last LP, 2006’s Seed of Mayhem, it’s good to see he’s back for more full-band flavor (his debut solo LP, Too Personal, was acoustic), now with strong, permanent players. The 25-year vet and former member of Paisley Underground stalwarts True West again has ex-original Leaving Trains bassist Tom Hofer guest, along with cameos from that group’s original keyboardist Sylvia Juncosa, The Sneetches’ Chris von Sneidern, and others. But it’s the Bay-area singer/songwriter calling the tune again, and he and his Hands recall everything I liked about the above and albums such as the immortal Warfrat Tales compilation. It’s a spot where jangle-pop, ‘60s garage-pop, and soft-psych collide, a la Gun Club, X, Pontiac Brothers, and The Black Watch, with a few country-ish ballads and other curveballs tossed in. Nicely done, again. (myspace.com/seanobrienandhisdirtyhands) – Jack Rabid – The Big Takeover (#64)

Twenty-five years of musical career is back. Have militated in different formations as diverse as Meantime, where he gave free rein to their power-pop side, True West, psychedelic flavors. Denim TV and then came after his departure to Los Angeles to form the recording Mistaken Triple X. Machac punk pop with The Marietta. Continues to impede but now publishing its own name. The continuation of “Seed of Mayhem” comes replete with a collection of sounds that have populated his music career: power pop, punk pop, american … A disc full of great moments and melodies.

Rafael Garcia-Moreno – Sonicwave.com – Spain

Powerpop with both poppunk and countryside in the pot. Disarming simple / clean production without in any way be lo-fi.
Goodbye Game is a rough strong favorite. In addition, a very nice disc. Listen!

Anders Carling – Skivrecensioner – Sweden – February 2009

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sean O’Brien was in an early incarnation of True West back in Paisley Underground days. For the last few years he’s been playing around San Francisco and last year released the splendid solo record, Seed of Mayhem. Now with a regular band, he’s wasted little time in getting together another release.

Goodbye Game is a dandy little package with something of an Eastern theme, and contents that roar along very nicely. What’s endearing about O’Brien’s work is his ability to take elements of recognizable influences, such as Nick Lowe, Television and Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles but never let them overwhelm. That’s partly down to his rich voice – little like John Cale but not so Welsh – but also to the strength of his songs.

The fine, arresting guitar intro to “Take Your Pills” makes for a corking start, followed by the raucous ride of “Warm & Sane” in tribute to Sleater-Kinney. “Aftermath Fears”, in more sedate time, with Julie Wolf’s strident organ, shows his political colors. The keening country song “All That I Don’t Know” and the wacky skank and dubby vibe of “Get Over Tunis” show yet more facets. And any record that employs the glorious voice of Chris Von Sneidern should always find favour.

Nick West – Rock ‘n Reel magazine (Jan./Feb. 2009) – United Kingdom

SEAN O’BRIEN is the very epitome of the seasoned campaigner. His 30-year CV includes stints with bands such as Meantime (who would later mutate into Paisley Underground contenders True West), Denim TV and The Mariettas. This latter also featuring ex-Leaving Trains and Baby Lemonade/ Arthur Lee & Love personnel.

So it’s undeniable the Californian-based O’Brien has been around the block a few times, but his experiences have rubbed off favourably in artistic terms. His current buncha honchos, His Dirty Hands – bassist Bill Davis, drummer Matt Shelley and fellow guitarist Jeff Kane – do a consistently good job in bringing his tough’n'tender, garage-tinged power pop to fruition and while ‘Goodbye Game’ would certainly sit easily on a shelf with the likes of Steve Wynn and Paul Westerberg, O’Brien has a distinctive delivery of his own and a desire to experiment which provides some unexpected successes along the way.

The opening brace of tunes, including the anti-depressant, self-help pop of ‘Take Your Pills’ and ‘Warm & Sane’ give you some idea of the ballpark we’re in here. The former has tinges of ‘Pleased To Meet Me’-era Replacements, while the zig-zagging guitars of ‘Warm & Sane’ brings Steve Wynn’s ‘Melting In The Dark’ favourably to mind. The sound on songs like these and the barely-suppressed angst in ‘Bones Snap’ (“split me open…pull out my black intentions”) is finished and well-rounded, but never too polished, and there’s plenty of room for windmilling power chords to detonate.

Add songs like the cranked’n'fractious ‘Walk There Too’ and the sharp, Television-influenced ‘Home To Penelope’ to the stew and you’ve got a respectably nourishing power-pop dish to savour, yet Sean & His Dirty Hands are equally keen to lob in some less-easily recognizable spices to the pot too.

The first of these comes courtesy of ‘Aftermath Fears’. Opening with a snatch of what sounds like a Middle Eastern radio broadcast, it initially sounds like a clunking, Bad Seeds-style sea shanty, but gradually weaves a glorious web of widescreen drama all its’ own. It’s only the first head-checking moment, too, for ‘Goodbye Game’ also finds room for country-flecked beauties like ‘All That I Don’t Know’ and the Brinsley Schwarz-ish ‘New Home Tonight’,where the superficial jauntiness and killer, Albert Lee-meets-Billy Bremner guitar solo only barely mask the sadness felt by a man looking to answer his relationship problems online.

The one place they arguably bite off more than they can chew is the bizarre ‘Get Over Tunis’, which seems to think an ill-advised blunder down Jamaica’s Maxfield Avenue to the dub heart of Studio One is a good idea. It’s oddly endearing, but stands out the proverbial sore thumb here. Thankfully, the no-nonsense ‘Home To Penelope’ steams through in its’ wake and the final strait is populated by the sinister, psychedelic-tinted ‘Bad Faith’ and the showstopping title track, which is as anthemic as they come and throws in a little ‘White Album’-era Beatles and Costello-style bile for good measure.

Honest, intelligent and unafraid to get a little egg on its’ face, this is a decent album with enough mystery and allure to tempt the discerning. Sean O’Brien could very easily be categorised as a veteran, but there’s plenty of life in him yet and, as such, ‘Goodbye Game’ is merely a fond adieu until the next quality-stuffed installment.

Rating: 8/10 – Tim Peacock – Whisperin’ & Hollerin’ – Ireland

Sean O’Brien And his Dirty Hands is, as you might expect, Sean O’Brien and his band, here releasing their second album “Goodbye Game,” the theme of which is the many ways people say goodbye to one another. Two bright and breezy openers rattle by in indie style (think Dave Edmunds meeting Dodgy), but the mood does change through the album. “Aftermath Fears” is a lugubrious rock’n'roller in 3/4 time – one of the best cuts on the album – while “All That I Don’t Know” has a country and western feel to it. O’Brien is a veteran of The Mariettas and Denim TV, and his quarter century of music biz experience shows in the confidence of this work. All the songs are written by him, with one exception, and interest levels are kept throughout by change of mood and tempo. “Get Over Tunis” is a mildly bonkers faux-reggae stomper, while “New Home Tonight” is the sound of Dave Edmunds with a hint of Shaking Stevens’ “This Ole’ House.” Great track! The closing cut “Goodbye Game” is a return to pacy indie, with bittersweet lyrics and rocking guitar accompaniment. An album of solid entertainment. – Terrascope – UK

http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Review.aspx?id=6275

Sean O’ Brien and His Dirty Hands: Goodbye Game

Reviewed By: Andrew Carver
Label: First Cold Press
Format: CD

Hot on the heels of the re-release of ‘Seed of Mayhem’ comes Sean O’Brien’s ‘Goodbye Game’.

Like its predecessor it’s a robust serving of post-Paisley Sound roots rock in the vein of Steve Wynn’s work after the breakup of The Dream Syndicate and Green on Red – not surprising given that O’Brien was weaned on the same sound around the same place.

Like ‘Seeds of Mayhem’, much is not right with O’Brien’s world on ‘Goodbye Game’ – that’s why he’s advising a mental patient to ‘Take Your Pills’ on the album’s opening track and telling someone else on ‘Aftermath Fears’ that although he knows “They are stressed out!” they should get in line. It’s a place where probing for personal truths is as painful as breaking a limb (‘Bones Snap’).

At the same time flickers of domesticity peep out between the dirty jangle of guitar. On the resigned country weeper ‘All That I Don’t Know’, O’Brien lets slip that perhaps intimacy doesn’t demand knowing every little secret. Is homelife all that it’s cracked up to be? There’s the offspring starting school next week and “barking orders for food”on the ‘Odyssey’ – referencing ‘Home to Penelope’ which seems to conclude that Odysseus should have spent 10 years doing something else instead of trying to find his way home. The protagonist of rockabilly-influenced ‘New Home Tonight’ doesn’t seem to think so – even though he’s trying to find someone new to shack up with.

Once again a capable cast of musicians flesh out O’Brien’s tunes with tasty guitar work along with flashes of organ and pedal steel, even chipping in an almost dubby instrumental ‘Get Over Tunis’.

The dozen tunes on ‘Goodbye Game’ should easily endear themselves to fans of Nikki Sudden, Oz rockers like Brian Henry Hooper and Spencer P. Jones, the aforementioned Wynn or the acerbic side of Lou Reed.

Californian veteran returns with new backing band and impressive results

Sean O’Brien has had a career as a lead singer in several Californian bands stretching over the last quarter of a century. “Goodbye Game” is the first album featuring his backing band ‘The Dirty Hands’ Jeff Kane – Guitar, Bill Davis – Bass and Matt Shelley – Drums. The majority of this album was recorded live in the studio which is beneficial as it gives a raw, fresh feel which is really appealing.

Sean O’Brien is at his best when at his rockiest and there are plenty of up tempo tracks to keep both old and new fans happy. “Warm and Sane” is a tribute to Sleater-Kinney while “Bones Snap” is an unusually upbeat song about celebrating your birthday alone and is reminiscent of mid 80’s era REM. The themes explored by O’Brien are quite diverse and range from antidepressants (”Take Your Pills”) to Middle Eastern war (”Aftermath Fears”) and Greco/Roman mythology (”Home to Penelope”) with plenty in between. When the tempo drops as it does for “All That I Don’t Know” the results are equally impressive.

If you are a fan of some of the great American ‘Indie’ bands of the 80’s such as The Replacements and REM, and enjoy some of the grittier moments of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, then there is plenty to love on “Goodbye Game”. Highly recommended.

Steve Willis – Americana UK – Rating 8/10

For nearly a quarter of a century, Indie Rocker Sean O’Brien has been unsettling the west of the USA. In all this time, her has kept the joy of rocking and the love of unpolished Indie sound, so that his new work sounds as fresh as if it were his first (which was, in fact, a disk of his first band True West, which he founded in the 80s with his colleague Russ Tolman). Time and again Sean is accompanied and inspired by like-minded musicians like Sylvia Juncosa, Julie Wolf or Chris von Sneidern, which gives his songs an unpretentious, timeless quality. In many respects, O’Brien resembles colleagues like Steve Wynn or Frank Black in their phase after the first band, inasmuch as his songs are orientated more on punk or rock as on classic guitar pop. But as Sean has an ear for melodies, hook lines and riffs, this disk is not without pop appeal. Sean O’Brien stands with both legs left of the middle. But he stands there very well.

-Ullrich Maurer- Gaesteliste (Germany)

If I were in the mid-80s early in the morning for a clock radio turned on, then to “John Peel ’s Music on BFBS” to hear. Über die Hälfte der Bands waren mir gänzlich unbekannt, was mich nicht davon abhielt, die komplette Sendung auf Tape aufzunehmen und danach rauf und runter zu hören. About half of the bands were completely unknown to me what I am not satisfied, respectively, the entire consignment to tape record and then up and down to hear. Die Musik war zwar irgendwo vom Punk beeinflusst, aber ganz selten war es mal Punk im klassischen Sinne. The music was influenced punk from somewhere, but it was very rare times punk in the classic sense. Es war Musik der 80er, aber eine ganz andere, als sie heute im Radio in Dauerbeschallung läuft und die damals schon eine Qual war. It was music of the 80s, but a completely different than it today on the radio in duration and runs sound at the time was already a pain. Es war Musik wie die von Sean O’ Brien, Musik die meinen damaligen Musikgeschmack sehr geprägt hat. It was like the music by Sean O ‘Brien, the music was my taste in music has very marked. Sehr poppig, sehr melodiös, mit viel Hymnencharakter und doch mit so unterschiedlich verspielten Einflüssen, wie sie heute fast niemand mehr aufnimmt. Very poppy, very melodious, with lots of character and anthem but with a playful influences as diverse as they are today almost no one takes up. John Peel hätte seine Freunde daran gehabt, ich auch. John Peel would have had to his friends, I am too. (8) (Claus Wittwer) – Ox Fanzine – Germany

At first glance, this looked like Sean O’Brien a bit of a strange bird and a history in a variety of alternative rock and popbands including Mean Time, Denim TV and The Mariettas only increased the feeling I had about this musician. That was before I even dignify by his biography and had taken his first CD with His Dirty Hands on a solid listen carefully examined. These include Sean O’Brien is friends with Russ Tolman (see also True West) and sat in his previous bands include ex-members of The Leaving Trains, Baby Lemonade and Arthur Lee and Love. This CD with His Dirty Hands is a colorful patchwork of various rock, pop, new wave, powerpop and punk songs that have their roots mainly in the 70s and 80s have. After each listen, more and more and more references and names pop up: Richard Thompson, Squeeze, The Recplacements, Television, The Members, REM, Love, Nick Lowe, Talking Heads … The list is with the longer listening. In Take Your Pills and Bones Snap, with the singer Chris von Sneidern, you hear something of a rocking Richard Thompson. The beautiful, a bit of a maverick on this CD, New Home Tonight is a beautiful country billy Nick Lowe song in true style, in which von Sneidern again as a singer. I had to immediately Nicks Love Without thinking. There are a pack of 80’s powerpop and popsongs including Aftermath Fears, a sailor song with a waltz rhythm including the organ of Julie Wolf that including the Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco toured, Hope Fill Up with delicious backing vocals, Goodbye Game whose intro of a Gepikt Beatles song and then turns into pure powerpop from the 80s, and Hot & Sane currently poised at the border of pop and punk. In Bad Faith, a mix of 60’s psychedelia, 70’s rock and’80 ’s new wave à la Talking Heads, may Sylvia Juncosa guitarist, well known in the alternative rock scene, another can show her. All That I Do not Know finally is a ballad that lies between pop, country and Springsteen. Goodbye Game is an excellent retro trip to the new wave, powerpop and alt-rock of the 70s and 80s but one from the year 2008. (BV) – MazzMusikas – The Netherlands

Being active in the music scene for more then 25 years does have some advantages! For Sean O’Brien a man who played in a dozen of bands in and around California, it surely helped him to shape his own sound and vision on song writing. 2006 was the year “Seed Of Mayhem” saw the light, the critically acclaimed solo of Sean O’ Brian. An album he put together with many old friends mostly from the different bands he once featured. Today Sean is back with his own band the Dirty Hands.

The tunes on Goodbye Game are simply said good rocking tunes from the San Francisco area. With influences as far as sixties psychedelia, American protest songs and the Middle eastern this album is best classified under “Rock”. Opener “Take your Pills” is an ode to both Paul Westerberg and Booker T. Anti-depressives can do a lot of good, you know. “Aftermath of Fears” is technically a waltz but thanks to the psych organ of Julie Wolf (Ana Di Franco, The Indigo Girls) the tune does get a total lift up. “All That I don’t know” throws in a little Merle Haggard, while on “Get Over Tunis” the man goes instrumental using some experimental techniques and the aforementioned Eastern influences. Somehow it ends up being somewhat of a ska tune as done in the early days of ska. If “New Home” sounds like Rockpile to you then that’s not by coincidence. The tune was build around Nick Lowe’s “Without Love” and throws in some country / Americana atmosphere. Totally different is “Walk There Too” that comes with an Arthur Lee flair and to round things up title track “Goodbye Game” has some dear Prudence in it.

Maybe it’s to historical for you with to many names and references! In that case I can only advise to pick up the Goodbye Game upon release on October the 27th and get indulged in a little piece of musical history. As his previous one this piece of work is not your standard Americana or Roots Rock album but is quite an effort that is worth you attention and does focus on the music instead of the looks, and that my friends is what I love about records!

Mr Blue Boogie – BillyBop (Belgium)

If I were in the mid-80s early in the morning for a clock radio turned on, then to “John Peel ’s Music on BBC to hear. About half of the bands were completely unknown to me what I am not satisfied, respectively, the entire consignment to tape record and then up and down to hear. The music was influenced punk from somewhere, but it was very rare times punk in the classic sense. It was music of the 80s, but a completely different than it today on the radio in duration and runs sound at the time was already a pain. It was like the music by Sean O ‘Brien, the music was my taste in music has very marked. Very poppy, very melodious, with lots of character and anthem but with a playful influences as diverse as they are today almost no one takes up. John Peel would have had to his friends, I am too. (8), Claus Wittwer – Ox Magazine – Germany

Sean O’Brien has amassed a wealth of experience in dozens of bands in the California area over the past 25 years, so it’s only right that the man becomes the band and that’s exactly what O’Brien has tried on Goodbye Game. Together with his group, the Dirty Hands, O’Brien has created an album that is altogether cleaner than their name would suggest.

To tell the truth, there’s little to get excited about on “Take Your Pills” for songs should not be instructional and “Aftermath Fears” sounds like a Television demo interrupted by a massive organ but it does give the first real sign of the album’s direction. “Get Over Tunis” sounds unlike anything on the album. Being an instrumental track, the band has clearly put total emphasis on the music and, as such, it stands as one of the most interesting tracks on the album.

More Television vibes are felt on “Home to Penelope” and, while O’Brien may not be on par with Tom Verlaine lyrics-wise, he has certainly learned from his influences. For good measure, there’s even a sniff of country twang on “New Home Tonight”. Variety is the core of this album – they are certainly not just another bog standard San Francisco rock band.
Whilst inconsistent, O’Brien’s album – and this is his first with the Dirty Hands – is nonetheless a competent effort from a seasoned pro. Simply put, it’s just not the album you’d expect given the group’s name.

Review by: Peter McGee – Bluesbunny website

It’s simple fresh & the second album from Sean O ‘Brien and his band.
According album for Sean O’Brien and his band, the Dirty Hands. ‘Goodbye Game’ is composed of a handful of songs are more direct and immediate precedent of ‘Seeds Of Mayhem’. The band seems to be more together and songs, while petting various genres from rock, the melodic punk to Bad Religion, to the beautiful country of ‘All That I Do not Know’, have a unifying effect offered by the voice of O ‘ Brien.
A disc by the strong flavor “live” with few sovrancisioni and arrangements essential that accentuate the immediacy of songs like ‘Take Your Pills’ and’ Fear Aftermath ‘but also the leakage of psychedelic’ Get Over Tunis’ and sudden turns toward the mainstream of ‘New Home Tonight’ perfect stomp country rock song.
‘Goodbye Game’ is a disco light, in its most noble: easy, no surprises, but made with heart and dedication.
Jacopo Mille – lpopolodelblues.com – Italy

SEED OF MAYHEM

MY YEARLIST 2007 – Johanna J. Bodde (RadioGirl, Insurgent Country/Radio Winschoten) #1 Album of the Year – Sean O’Brien, “Seed Of Mayhem” (First Cold Press) -www.myspace.com/seanobrienandhisdirtyhands

The real shame of Seed of Mayhem is that it’s creator is one of the band of musicians that you’re unlikely to discover unless you’re either lucky or look very hard. A veteran of numerous Californian bands, including one described as “psychedelic cowboys”, he has enjoyed a 25 year career making the very good, very solid rock that underpins Seed of Mayhem. He is a talented, insightful writer and a skilled and honest performer, best of all Seed of Mayhem is completely without pretension. There is a relentlessness about Sean O’Brien, he hits you with the power pop of This Could Hurt and then proceeds to hit you again and again. If nothing else, Seed of Mayhem will keep you on your toes. But within the framework of energy O’Brien throws up some very interesting shadows, Cleaner That Way is a dark and dank look at the world while Torn Sweater appears, at first, to be little more than whimsy, but in truth is a soulful hymn to growing older. As for Possum Ate The Cat Food (another meal) nothing else needs to be said. It would be easy to bracket Sean O’Brien as one of those musicians just too ‘honest’ to ever really court major success, but the way Seed of Mayhem develops beyond first listen, makes him an artist worth investigating further. Undoubtedly, Seed of Mayhem could have been nothing more than a fond nod to the past, that it is much more is testament to Sean O’Brien’s talent. – The Berwick Advertiser / Berwickshire News (UK)

Sean O’Brien has a long history stretching back to the early 80s days of Davis, CA. He was the original singer in True West but was gone before they started recording. Since then he’s been in a fair number of bands: Denim TV, The Mariettas – before settling down in the Bay Area in 2001 and making solo records. Seed of Mayhem is the second such, though it calls on the talents of a handful of excellent West Coast luminaries. The raucous opener “This Could Hurt”, featuring the guitars of Russ Tolman (True West) and Manfred Hofer (Leaving Trains), sets a benchmark of fine playing, but this is truly varied record both instrumentally and stylistically. O’Brien takes all the guitars himself on the wicked, early-Sonic Youth-like “Stumblebum.” “Dough See Dough” is a jaunty ska tune with horns and accordions, “The Bottom of The Toy Box” a gentler song with Cale-like vocals and cello embellishments from merlin Coleman. ‘Damned Either Way” with pedal steel and the voice of Kim Martini is country-hued, while “Possum Ate The Cat Food”, with tabla and tampoura, gives a nod to “Tomorrow Never Knows.” O’Brien’s a committed songwriter too. The strong, precise, neo-con-damning “Cleaner That Way” and the final “A Bee’s Tale” show an exploring intelligence that’s been waiting for a wider audience. – Nick West – Rock ‘N Reel Magazine (UK).

Seed of Mayhem features 14 gritty tunes from the land of late-night losers wrapped in a rough-and-tumble package of hard-edged music. O’Brien’s roots lie in the California rock scene. He got his start in Davis, Calif. combos, including True West and its precursor Meantime – a moodier step brother to Paisley Underground bands like the Dream Syndicate. Indeed, ‘Seed of Mayhem’ is as good as anything Steve Wynn has done lately – which is to say it’s very, very good. O’Brien’s worked with ex-Angry Samoan Greg Turner, and served alongside members of Baby Lemonade, the Leaving Trains and in The Mariettas and Denim TV. A few of them appear on the album, providing ace (and deceptively diverse) instrumental and vocal support. O’Brien’s tense vocals set the mood for ‘This Could Hurt’ a sharp tune distinguished by the guitar work of O’Brien, True West’s Russ Tolman and Leaving Trains axeman Manfred Hofer (Trains alum and Hofer brother Tom plays bass). The grumbling lyrics of ‘This Could Hurt’ can keep company with the Hold Steady’s and the Flaming Stars. After a trio of coiled and gritty tunes, O’Brien changes the pace with a series of detours, starting with the acoustic number ‘The Bottom of the Toybox’ featuring nicely fingerpicked guitar and cello. ‘Damned Either Way’ adds some country flourishes, including pedal steel courtesy of Red Meat’s Max Butler. The choogling scree of ‘Tranny Ignored’ gets points alone for the timeless couplet “I don’t care how you piss/ As long as you do”. ‘Dough See Dough’ takes a playful twist with its accordion and trumpet. ‘Possum Ate The Cat Food’ unleashes some more of Tolman’s distinctive leadwork, backed by flavourful Indian percussion and strings. A winner from start to finish, ‘Seed of Mayhem’ is recommended to anyone who likes the tougher side of powerpop, or the solo work of artists like Steve Wynn and Kim Salmon. – Andrew Carver – Pennyblack music (UK).

In the first instance the name of Sean O’Brien didn’t mean anything to me. After some searching on the Internet it turned out that O’Brien had sniffed around the edges -if not right in the middle- of the Paisley Underground Scene. Then a bell rings in my head for sure and names of notable bands from the eighties, like The Bangles, Green On Red, The Long Ryders and The Dream Syndicate pop to the surface. O’Brien has been hiding out in San Francisco’s Bay Area for the past years. Sometime in 2001 his solo debut album “Too Personal” was released. Polly Klemmer (The Mistaken) and no one less than Russ Tolman did a few guest appearances on that album. Between the lines I also read that you can assume O’Brien is on good terms with Steve Wynn. On O’Brien’s second album “Seed Of Mayhem” (2006) he gathered a working band around him. The Dirty Hands are Jeff Kane on lead guitar, Bill Davis on bass and Matt Shelley on drums. I read that they are all pals from the past and it sounds like… Yes, indeed Paisley Underground. “Seed Of Mayhem” is not an easy to understand record for beginners. To put it mildly, at first even this dinosaur had a little trouble comprehending it all. This West Coast pop and garage rock duels with sixties countryrock, from the Byrds up to and including the sturdy rattle of Crazy Horse. Not all tracks speak to my imagination, looking back I have to confess that. But the others bring back old memories and that’s something else indeed. So it seems that O’Brien sings off-key but in songs like “Eyewear” and “Cleaner That Way” everything falls into place and the good old days are cherished. When it comes to the lyrics, O’Brien raids the streets and scores a free newspaper from a streetbox every now and then. He wants to shout from the rooftops about all the injustice, but nobody hears him. All of it is typical and it is all rebellion from the eighties. In short, O’Brien honors with the release of “Seed Of Mayhem” the Paisley Underground genre and in that the alleged founder, Michael Quercio (The Three O’Clock). But you have to learn and understand it first, otherwise you will sadly miss the essence of this psychedelic rock record. Actually, I am already curious how the successor “Goodbye Game” will turn out later this year. (Jan Janssen)- Real Roots Cafe – The Netherlands – translated by Johanna Bodde.

A solid collection of songs (with great cover art!) from a seasoned likable Californian – Sean O’Brien has been knocking around in bands in California for the best part of a couple of decades. He has released solo efforts before, as well as been part of records by The Mistaken and The Mariettas. His style is rooted in early 80s alternative, so think ‘Murmur’ REM, but, oddly enough, with a hint of prog thrown in, so there’s rather more noodly guitar than you might expect from an REM comparison. Though the performances and the writing are not exactly ground breaking, there is something likable about Sean. He’s got a groove that he’s good at, as proved on ‘Stumblebum’, or the poppy ‘The Good Fight’, but he’s not afraid to venture a long way from it to explore different ideas, not that they always come off, but the willingness to try is an admirable quality. Oddest venture is ‘Dough See Dough’ which sounds like a German omm-pah band playing ska, not one that’s scoring heavily on repeat plays so far! Other songs, according to Sean, are variously influenced by Nick Drake, Charlie Mingus, the Beatles and Television (as in ‘Marquee Moon’), that’s a fairly large pool to be fishing in! This is a decent record of solid if slightly retro songs. He is currently working on a new record with his working band, the Dirty Hands.(While this is a music review, as an aside to the main topic, the painting used as coverart for this CD is by Sean’s brother Liam, and it is really something. It’s a picture of the O’Brien’s grandparents painted with nods to Edward Hopper, and Grant Wood’s iconic ‘American Gothic’, but with very much its own life, and a haunting, slightly Hitchcockian, atmosphere. Even though this is a portrait of sorts, as happens with Hopper, it’s the sort of picture to which you start to add your own narrative, as if it’s a film still. Extraordinarily impressive.)- Patrick Wilkins – Americana UK – 7 out of 10 rating.

This Bay area singer/songwriter apparently spent time with now-reunited Paisley Underground favorites True West; in fact, their guitarist Russ Tolman stopped by to contribute some backing vocals and guitar. But what drew my attention was the presence of the Hofer brothers from the first-two-albums Leaving Trains. Tom basses on roughly half of Seed, and guitarist Manfred appears twice and cowrote another. But this is really O’Brien’s show, and unlike last year’s acoustic Too Personal, Seed is full-band, fully arranged pop and rock. The rock stuff is what I prefer; it’s like the aforementioned mixed with Rolling Stones and Green on Red. The light pop stuff is less edgy. But whatever the style, O’Brien has a tangy voice not far from John Doe’s, and the guitars of the better songs, such as ³Tranny Ignored,² do the business. (firstcoldpressbiz.org) – The Big Takeover – Issue #59

Sean O’Brien is a veteran in the land of independent music. For the past twenty five years he played in a whole lot of Californian bands, like power pop quartet Meantime, psychedelic True West, Denim TV and at last powerful punkpop quartet The Mariettas. For a few years now O’Brien is going solo (with accompanying band The Dirty Hands) and he released a second solo record, “Seed Of Mayhem”. Various tracks here still go back to the Marietta era, but this album is even more -when it comes to style and themes- a reflection of his versatile career and even more versatile taste. O’Brien gets his inspiration from approximately the whole poprock spectrum. “This Could Hurt” is glamrock, inspired by Iggy Pop, “Stumblebum” has surf guitar, there’s psychedelic music on “Possum Ate The Catfood” (a try to catch the spirit of “Tomorrow Never Knows”), noiserock from the garage (”Tranny Ignored”), a middle-of-the-road little steel guitar in “Damned Either Way”, ska with trumpets and accordion in “Dough See Dough”, “Torn Sweater” is a Television hommage – it goes on and on. Not every exercise in style is successful. Mainly because of the whimsical vocal capacities of O’Brien, here and there grinding off-key indeed. Nevertheless, his timbre is pleasant and in that real strong “Eyewear” everything just adds up fine. In his lyrics O’Brien fights – a labor lost?- against capitalism and neo-cons. “7.5″ is about the timesheet he has to fill out every week, in order to get his salary – living off the music isn’t possible after twenty five years, not yet or not anymore? “Cleaner That Way” is a tune from the perspective of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, but then without editing by the spin doctors. But he lets his toddler daughter sing a line in the cynical spleen – that’s not brainwashing of course, as it’s clear that O’Brien himself is one of the good guys. – (GvA) – File Under: Whimsical exercises in style – FileUnder, The Netherlands (www.fileunder.nl)

The name Sean O’Brien doesn’t really have to mean anything to you, unless you maybe know a short-lived band like TRUE WEST from Davis, Ca, which emerged at the beginning of the 1980s in the context of L.A.’s Paisley Underground. Information about O’Brien’s actual relationship with TRUE WEST only exists in very cryptic form – in relatively insignificant bands like DENIM TV, whose Russ Tolman plays guitar on some songs on O’Brien’s album. Surely the most notable from “Seed of Mayhem”, a generally average (also means fair or mediocre) singer-songwriter record, which is absolutely pleasant to hear, contains continual melodic and psychedelic high-points and becomes more intimate and better with time – the more so as the whole is always reminiscent of Paisley Underground bands like RAIN PARADE or THE LONG RYDERS and stirring sound, which is regrettable as the songwriting is always infused with original and cliché-free ideas. Even if something unnamable seems to be missing – probably a real leitmotif or a more tenable total artistic vision, which really stays in your head. © Thomas Kerpen – Ox magazine #76 – Germany – (translation by Phil Butland).

The list of bands, to which Sean O’Brien from sunny California has given sound [ok, that’s bad English but I can’t think of an equivalent term at the moment] is so long that it would burst some telephone books. Even after O’Brien formed his own band Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands in 2006, he has always had extra material available for solo albums, like for example what we have here. Here also is the firmest Indie rock – strengthened with pervasive singer / songwriter elements. O’Brien is a humorous observer with a propensity for a melancholy note. No surprise, that he cites Nick Drake (and Charles Mingus) as an inspiration for his song The Bottom Of The Toy Box”. O’Brien is neither a folkie nor a jazzer – he avoids simple clichés in his songs, whereby they always drift off into unexpected areas. In their best moments, Pearl Jam manage this – but O’Brien does it consistently. As he on the other hand also likes Nick Lowe, as his mate Jeff Kane persuaded him to play in his Nick Lowe cover band Trouble Boys, as a reward for playing on his new album. Anyway: a little variety doesn’t hurt, and in any case the disk has a humorous undertone – despite the threatening energy. “Seed of Mayhem” has become a noteworthy, self-confident, and good functioning, contemporary rock disk – along the way with a quite specific sound. Full stop. – Ullrich Maurer – Gaesteliste.de online magazine – Germany (translation by Phil Butland).

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Californian singer Sean O’Brien is not a newcomer in the musical scene. Having been the front man of several California based rock-groups & having played all kinds of genres from punk-pop to Americana, the man certainly know his way around. For his second solo album, Seed of Mayhem, O’Brien needed some time (6 years to be precise). The result is a collection of songs that span a series of genres and styles and references names like Iggy Pop, Charles Mingus, Nick Drake, Television, Nick Lowe and many others. As you can guess now this is not a standard Americana or country album, let alone it is has something to do with Rockabilly Music, but still musically this album holds a couple of pearls that are worth mentioning and will easily fit in your Americana or Singer Songwriter collection. O’Brien gives us 14 tales based on his live experiences. Songs he has written over the years, during the many phases he went through. Written and composed under the influence of the different bands he was playing with, these tunes are a collection of his live so far. “Damned Either Way” is far above the best tune on the album. It does have a recognizable sound, and comes with catchy lyrics. According to Sean O’ Brien this is Nashville Stuff. Tranny Ignored, is about San Francisco and the way people dress up. Transvestites of course. The tune is based on a country, Rockabilly riff, but is delivered as proto punk song. Dough See Dough, a tune with rather cryptic lyrics, is based on a bluebeat /ska rhythm, but O’ Brien mixes this beat with a Polka like accordion and some saxes. The result is some upbeat ska/polka like Jazz tune. When listening to his tunes it becomes unmistakably clear that Sean O’Brien does have a political agenda as well. Or a least a political ideology he want to share with his listeners and audience. Many tunes references the political situations in the US, the Middle East, but on “Cleaner That way” it is spelled out for you once more, and in case you had any doubts about his ideas, this one takes away all uncertainties. Seeds of Mayhem is not the best solo album I heard recently but as a singer songwriter, the man still comes with a vision and a message and this is something I really enjoy in an album these days. The fact that the album references many bands I was into as a teenager makes it all the more interesting along the way, but I have to say, that even years later I do favor the originals instead of the followers! – Pat – Billybop – Belgium

Sean O’Brien has been circling around the Paisley Underground scene for about 20 years. Playing in bands such as Meantime, Denim TV and, most notably, True West. He recorded his first album under his own name in 2001 and here’s his follow-up. As his first solo-album was more acoustically oriented this one’s surely wired. Well, not to misinform anyone; it’s simply solid a rock album and not unplugged. From the get-go of “This Could Hurt” it’s not hard to hear where he’s coming from, which makes it very interesting to know where he’s going further down the track-list. The jangling lead guitar on “Stumblebum” (gets me thinking of The Church) and the steady riff of “7.5″ surely moves onward. As the album serves us 14 songs, I would not be sorely offended if he’d skipped “Possum Ate the Cat Food” and “Torn Sweater”, both which doesn’t sit well with me. On the other side, there are many highlights that cover well for them. The sweetness and depth of “Cleaner That Way”, the catchy “Damned Either Way” and the sheer fun of “Dough See Dough” makes for a record that I’ll gladly reach for later.- Copyright © 2008 – Anders Svendsen – Luna Kafe e-zine.

This American artist was, during the past twentyfive years, lead singer of about ten groups from the area around San Francisco, California. Sean O’Brien released this “Seed Of Mayhem” already in 2006 for the American market. His first solo CD was mainly acoustic “Too Personal” from 2001. He has since formed a new group under the name Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands (with Jeff Kane, Bill Davis and Matt Shelley). At the beginning of this year they will present their first CD, titled “Goodbye Game”. While waiting for that, we will introduce this singer-songwriter with his latest release (recently sent to us), the second solo album “Seed Of Mayhem”. The music on this album sounds a bit like The Flaming Groovies or Rockpile. Fairly good arranged pop and folkrock songs, following each other at the speed of an express train. Every now and then slowed down somewhat and then we can listen to rather well written ballads, like “Damned Either Way (electric)” and “Eyewear”. Fourteen songs are featured on this CD, of which twelve new ones and two remakes of songs, that could also be found on his first solo album. The guitars scream on the first track “This Could Hurt”, in “Tranny Ignored” and “7.5″. After that the softer countryrock prevails in “The Good Fight” and “She Wonders” and vocally slightly inferior tracks “The Bottom Of The Toy Box” and “Torn Sweater”. “Dough See Dough” is a street musician polka, even with accordion, but gets stuck soon due to the weak singing and can’t really appeal. “Possum Ate The Cat Food (another meal)” took its mustard from the sound of The Stranglers, but becomes second to the original soon. The best songs can be found at the very end of this record: the guitar ballad “Cleaner That Way” and “A Bee’s Tale”, that ripples on slowly for 7.5 minutes. Mixed feelings about the efforts delivered, is the best description for my review of “Seed Of Mayhem”. – Valère Sampermans – Rootstime – Belgium

(2 out of 5 stars) On startpage reviews: Like Nick Cave, doing the birdies dance – In Dough See Dough Sean O’Brien sounds like Nick Cave doing the birdies dance. An unprecedented tedious little keyboard tune with hell and damnation vocals on top of it. Peculiar. And Seed Of Mayhem had already started with a few feints. The first couple of experiments are power wave. Very impetuous and aimless. When Seed Of Mayhem leaves the breast food behind, it becomes more quiet and it seems like The Stranglers have fitted themselves with a country sound. That is many times more pleasant than the frightening start. It is something different but I’m asking myself if I can get used to this. – Patrick Donders – Hanx Magazine – The Netherlands

Some clever fella has compared Sean O’Brien’s voice to the one of a young Johnny Cash, but let me tell you right away that nobody and I mean nobody sounds like Johnny Cash. That man was the definition of cool! But although Sean O’Brien is far from being the definition of cool (and I bet ya he isn’t trying to be either), I must admit that he has written some pretty good songs on “Seed of Mayhem.” We’re talking cousy rock music. Sometimes electric, sometimes more folksy and singer/songwriter-ish, but always heartfelt and present. – Past and Present Magazine

Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands – If you like the grittier side of folk rock with just a touch of twang, you will certainly appreciate the music of this band! The songs on the Seed of Mayhem CD range from slow, pretty ballads to fuzzy guitar-laced rockers that fans of George Harrison or Neil Young will surely love! – David Bash – from the program for the International Pop Overthrow Festival 2006.

Bay Area troubadour Sean O’Brien, the former singer for both True West and Denim TV, recently finished recording his second solo album, a collection of paisley-tinged garage gems called “Seed of Mayhem.” The album is due out shortly, and O’Brien has already been booked to play at next month’s International Pop Overthrow festival. Get an earful of “Seed of Mayhem” now at http://www.myspace.com/seanobrienandhisdirtyhands – Bill Picture – POP BEAT – San Francisco Chronicle – July 2, 2006.

Seed Of Mayhem is the second solo album by former True West, Denim TV and Mariettas vocalist Sean O’Brien. The album includes twelve original songs and remakes of two songs from O’Brien’s first solo album. The music on Seed Of Mayhem is basically simple alternative rock with a bit of a garage-rock rawness to the guitars on tracks like “This Could Hurt.” The music is played fine, but the songs are not very catchy, a lot of the riffs sound the same, and nothing stands out as innovative or original. O’Brien’s vocal performance is decent; he sounds good enough to sing, but not sing very well. Lyrically the album is pretty simple, not catchy, and a bit on the goofy side. Overall: Not terrible, but not particularly good raw alternagarage rock. – Graham Bailey – pucknationdot.com

Originating from the Davis, California bay area, singer Sean O’Brien has risen from and survived the ashes of several 1980’s bands, most famously being the relatively unknown True West. Almost and unfortunately unsurprisingly his second solo album ‘Seed Of Mayhem’ is from the off a non starter and an album that isn’t rewarded by repeated listening. The band that accompanies him is that of a standard soft rock boarding on folk outfit that is little short of directionless under the command of O’Brien with the end result being fourteen tracks of below average pub music. Flitting between extremes of safely edgy electric guitar in the opening tracks ‘This Could Hurt’ and ‘7.5’ which sounds like an ill advised stumble down memory lane with the ironic lyrics “Won’t you ever show me something new”, ironic because there is nothing new about O’Brien’s music. The opening tracks have a slap dash thrown together feel which is representative of the majority of the album and does nothing to encourage further listening. After the initial opening rock feel of ‘Seed Of Mayhem’ O’Brien opts for a folk rock style which is not only more considered, soft, natural and confident but also suits his style and plays to his vocal abilities with ‘The Bottom Of The Toy Box’ and ‘Damned Either Way (electric)’ as does the soft country rock (albeit for those with a limited imagination) of ‘The Good Fight’ and ‘She Wonders’. Throughout the album, but far more pronounced here, is an annoying sense of being older and far wiser than those listening to his album. In many ways this may be true but by this point it’s all wearing a bit thin and comes across as patronizing. It’s extremely easy to lose track of what you’re listening to and exactly where you are throughout ‘Seed Of Mayhem’ thanks to O’Brien’s grating voice and rambling thoughts. After rock, folk and a few curios ventures thrown in between for good measure, we now approach O’Brien’s spiritual awakening phase…and like the rest of the album it’s not pretty. ‘Possum Ate The Cat Food (another meal)’ (its not enough that the music is bad but the song titles, as well as ‘Stumblebum’ and ‘Tranny Ignored’ leave a lot to be desired and yes that is important) with a Doors style guitar and drum intro that could herald the start of an Indian summer mixed with distorted vocals leave you wondering when the lizard king will make his grand appearance, then leave you wondering if he’s serious, before the slow realisation that he’s nothing but serious seeps in. ‘Eyewear’ follows and we move from the late sixties through to the early seventies with more of the same basic lame musicianship. After some more ranting in ‘Torn Sweater’ (“Don’t sew up the hole in my torn sweater”) and we finally see some light at the end of a very long tunnel, ending, not before time, with ‘A Bee’s Tale’ which is surprisingly the best song on the album, although its still not great, too little too late and over seven minutes long. In short, there’s no mayhem here, not even a hint of it, no seed is sewn and the whole experience leaves you feeling nothing short of confused, numb and mildly annoyed. Listen at your peril, miss at your leisure. – Huw Jones – Whisperin’ and Hollerin’ – (UK)

TOO PERSONAL

Nice mostly acoustic stuff from this Bay Area dude who wrangled True West’s Russ Tolman to play guitar on one track. I liked this a lot more than the electric material I have heard by him. “Free of Deceit” is my fave here. – Dagger Online review – October 2007

Sean O’Brien comes to us from the Bay Area in California with his first solo project, Too Personal. Prior to this endeavor, he has been a member of bands that span a great distance in musical genres. Little of these previous influences are seen in his debut, except for the appearances from his previous band mates, Polly Klemmer from The Mistaken and Russ Tolman from True West. Miss Klemmer plays piano on a few tracks, while Tolman brings along his acoustic guitar. With this album, O’Brien is trying to take on a personal approach that is stripped down and raw. His voice, with moments hinting at a young Johnny Cash, is the driving force behind each of the fourteen tracks that are backed by little more than an acoustic guitar. With songs like “The Hatred Shop” and “Flag and Rifle,” this is not your average happy-go-lucky pop album. The quality is consistent with what I would expect from a self-recorded album that features, primarily, one man and his acoustic guitar. It is clear but still resonates with that untreated, rough feel that adds to the intimacy of the album. However, I had to turn up the volume a few times as I progressed through each song, and at times the music would overpower the vocals that seemed to be fading away. The style approached by O’Brien can feel a little repetitive and dry at times. With the simplistic music, he asks the listener to focus on the lyrics and let the music float in the background. His words are often few but hinting at greater issues from love to political. However, I feel like his songs lack the clever arrangement and choice of words that have made some of his influences great. Instead his lyrics come across as forced, rather than sinking in slowly to grab the listener. Overall, the closer I get to the end, the more I feel turned off and almost annoyed by both the words and the delivery. I feel as though he bites off more than he can chew and focuses more on making a point rather than good music with a deeper meaning. It is possible to make a statement and put together quality material at the same time. At this point, it feels more like he’s trying too hard and that the album is anything but too personal. – Lisa Town – Left of the Dial – 5/30/05

THE MARIETTAS – 12

Now this is more like it! While I wasn’t into Sean O’Brien’s recent solo record I really did like this, his old band from 1999 (w/ Manfred Hofer from the early Leaving Trains). Plump power-pop tunes with big hooks (and an occasional foray into western music). Wonder if these guys are still around? – Dagger Magazine – March 2007

Hardly new, having been released back in 1999, The Mariettas’ 12 is at best a tuneful, fuzzed-out LA punk rock album that may have you thinking of X or Glen Danzig. At its worst, it’s merely a foot-tapper. There’s the occasional sex talk, but it’s all in good fun. Besides, these guys seem too nice. But whatever, they’ve got a great song in “Tide of Chaos,” which just about validates the entire record with five and a half minutes of Manfred Hofer guitar bliss – with all his screeching and wailing he practically makes it sing. Sean O’Brien sounds good here, too. Too often he sounds like Mike Patton playing it straight (and flat). On “Crash,” by and far his best vocal performance, he channels Jello Biafra to great effect, and you wish he did it more often. “Sexcon” seems like the album’s overt pop song, but it’s not as good as “Pure Substance,” which rips, to be sure. “The Wheel” is the album’s lone curve-ball, with drummer, Doyle Dean adding some wonderfully goofy high-pitched vocals to a passionate ‘70s rock send-up. Are these guys still around? – Gary Knight – Left of the Dial -7/11/05

L.A. based, The Mariettas have rejected California sunshine pop for something considerably edgier on 12, the band’s 15 track debut. Not that they’ve sacrificed hooks and choruses for the extra bite, indeed 12 is as catchy as anything else you’ll hear all year, but you have to get past some sharp guitars and Sean O’Brien’s asymmetric vocal, which is pitched somewhere between that pompous bastard from Spandau Ballet and Iggy Pop, no less. Quite a combination, and I won’t lie to you, one that takes some getting used to, but once you’ve been won over, you’ll discover that 12 is home to some real treats. Lyrically, a strain of dark humour runs throughout songs like Pull An Elvis, Sexcon and Crime Spree (check out the video if you can – a four minute definition of black humour, with extra violence on the side!), so expect the occasional guilty smile to play across your lips. Actually, it’s no surprise that The Mariettas deliver, the quartet of Sean O’Brien, Henry Liu, Manfred Hofer and Doyle Dean, between them, have played in some first rate bands like Baby Lemonade, Nymphs, Leaving Trains, True West, Denim TV and even Arthur Lee’s Love. Impressed? I was! (7)- Rob Forbes – LUKE Magazine – February 2001 -(UK)

Listen closely to the debut album from the Mariettas, and not only will you hear this L.A.-based band’s music, but you’ll also pick up the unmistakable strains of the band member’s previous outfits, which is saying something. Among them, local boys Manfred Hofer and Henry Liu and out-of-town transplants Sean O’Brien and Doyle Dean have played for the likes of the Leaving Trains, the Nymphs, Dead Fairy, Baby Lemonade, Arthur Lee, Love, True West, Denim TV, Cinecyde, and Hippodrome. So on Twelve, joyful melodies balance sometimes distorted guitars; alternately up-tempo and plodding beats confront hot-rod and surf-guitar rumble; punk rock fury dissolves into haunting rhythms; psychedelia dips into lonely troubadour twang; and over it all, O’Brien’s jagged, whiskey- and Quaalude-drenched vocals weave a disconcerting spell. It’s the aural equivalent of a Spaghetti Western as seen through a peyote haze — full of bravado and swagger, yet still ambivalent and decidedly bent. Often, there’s an easy, rambling quality to it that’s deceptive. Low-key rolling rhythms run into strains of blissed-out and jangly pop verging on hysterical frenzy, both of which only slightly veil the album’s seedy noir-ish attitude, its ever-present potential for violence. Producer Eric Westfall (Chris Cacavas, Chuck Prophet, Gin Blossoms, Leaving Trains) has helped navigate similar terrain many times before, but never has the landscape been infused with such gleeful nihilism. These songs aren’t just comfortable in their despair, they celebrate it. It’s not whiny, angst-ridden, or even angry, for that matter. O’Brien’s lyrics show a man who accepts chaos and who’s willing to reveal — though unwilling to indulge — his own dark side. On “Crime Spree,” O’Brien sweetly (and repeatedly) orders the listener to “pick up the gun” before finishing his statement with “we will have a lot of fun.” The song’s obvious sarcasm cushions the truth of the refrain but doesn’t obliterate it. “Weaving Down the Street,” with its cheerful chorus of “I know where the world will end/I even know the date/I know you’re disappointed with my lack of amazing feats/But I won’t be complete until I’m found weaving down the street” is odd but not nonsensical; it’s free-associating in self-aware melancholia. “Sexcon” pokes fun of those how-to-pick-up-chicks seminars (”I’ll give you a hand with your sexual confidence, man/You look like you could use a hand/Repeat after me/I adore thee/Now take off your clothes/Like you planned to”) while also making fun of the singer’s own lack of desire (repeatedly announcing “I just don’t want anything”). It’s all quite devastating stuff, made persuasive because it spares no one, not even itself — and yet the humor that runs throughout keeps the disc enjoyable – Sabrina Kaleta – NEW TIMES – Los Angeles, CA – 2/10/00.

Jet propelled rockers with wailing guitar rub shoulders with thoughtful, brooding slower numbers on 12 by The Mariettas. The one consistent element, the uptight clever lyrics, is the least enjoyable part of an album that in songs like “Tide Of Chaos” and “The Darkest Girl” shows just how good it could all be if they’d just let themselves go a bit. An original and interesting album that’s worth hearing. – Clint Thigh – Bucketful of Brains #55 – (UK)

This Los Angeles based band has shared the bill with the likes of Eve 6 and Din Pedals. Their/pop/rock style has sort of a T-Hip flavor to it, incorporating amusing lyrics. Track #11 (Katie Wore the Patches Low) has a catchy melody that will stick in your head. Each of The Mariettas has an extensive musical background and it’s reflected in their work. – Carol Tamburo – Big Heavy World

Cred report: B+. The Mariettas feature members of the Nymphs, True West, Baby Lemonade, and the Leaving Trains. Singer Doyle Dean’s intentionally strained, high-pitched vocal style stands out above rollicking three-chord progressions and distinctly ’80s Jangle Pop-influenced songs. Oh nostalgia…. – Kelly Bauman – Listen.com

vgwendolynd (11/21/02) Awesome first effort from these Cali rockers. Blazing guitar and smart lyrics. Like the Buzzcocks on mescaline. Oh, wait, maybe the Buzzcocks were on mescaline… – Half.com customer

Garageband.com – “Cactus Embrace”

Fucking Brilliant ! Excellent mix, levels perfectly balanced. Very well recorded, fucking hell, great great mix. Arrangement is very very interesting love the break around 2 min. Excellent, this belongs in the top league of Garageband. Excellent hawaii styley guitars in the background. Thank you. Good luck. – The_Purves – Smidstrup, Hvalsø, Denmark

Review 15 – I like the feel of the song, I really like the guitar, I really like the changes in the song, more songs need this. The vocals sound alot like Jim Morrison, which is not a bad thing. The bass great too. All around you are very solid. Everyone is doing somehing different, thats why it sounds so good. You all mesh very well, I can tell you have chem. Great Job…- BreakingFaith – Granite City, Illinois

Steve Ison – Independent Artists Company – Dark, tremeloed open desert spaciousness and intrigue….The sinister heartland of mythic Americana…Listen to that bass! The drama! The amazing tremeloed guitar..This song’s a movie all to itself..

DENIM TV – Press
DENIM TV: DENIM TV – Thundering out of the garages of Sausalito, Denim TV comes armed with an iffy name and a terrifically catchy, straightahead rock sound. In places they are reminiscent of the jittery art-funk-pop of the Embarrassment. (But then again, who isn’t?). Elsewhere they dip into the R.E.M. chimebook for some affecting jangle and roots-folk consciuousness, while in other places they leap into the noise-rock maelstrom with the ghost of the Velvet Underground. (The clever “Can’t Play Guitar” owes more than a little to “I Can’t Stand It”). Denim TV rises above the indie pack by virtue of its musicianship, its wit, its serious (and slightly skewed) lyric perspective and the able production of Matt Wallace (Replacements). Faves: “Mr. Adult”, the rampaging “In the Bag”, the neatly ironic “What You Spend” and the jagged insights into human sexuality that are scattered throughout. We want more. – Joe Williams – CASHBOX – 5/20/89.

DENIM TV: DENIM TV – …led by Sean O’Brien (a founding member of True West), Denim TV has a sound that was formulated in the same cloud of cow gas that bathed the brains of Russ Tolman, Steve Wynn, Scott Miller and Guy Kyser. This record doesn’t have the big idiosyncratic edge that “makes” the best work of the aforementioned, but it is a packed tube of mid-paced guitar pop that barges into the turf surrounding such strange bedfellows as the Skeletons, early 11th Dream Day, and even the balladic side of Men & Volts. There’s a little too much self-consciousness in the lyrics/vocals (imagine a jock who’d read and enjoyed later Faulkner), but this is sure to please afficianados of the central California sound. – Byron Coley – OPTION #15 – Forced Exposure – Summer 1989.

DENIM TV: DENIM TV – I’ve realized that the new wave of Southern rock has become quite infectious after listening to this album. If a San Francisco band can conjure up image’s WVUA’s (University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa) programming, then I’m going to be hard pressed to keep classifying this melodic pop/cow-punk brand of music as new southern rock (a la R.E.M., Green on Red, etc.). Jangly guitars and moderate tempos are the order of the day for this album. Produced by Matt Wallace (Replacements, Faith No More), Denim TV comes across as southern pop rock (”Mr. Adult” – R.E.M.ish, “Need It to Sleep” – Dream Syndicate/R.E.M.ish), as a bit more commercial (”When You Kill That Cow” – INXSish), and with a little counrtry (”Trouble Remembering” – definitely Green On Red style). Couple these comparisons with a few stronger cuts (”In the Bag”, “Finger Inside”), and you have a very good album. It covers all the bases, all the intensities, and all the comparison you could ever want to make about a new band. I do like this band – it’s just so easy to make comparisons. – Steve Petrovic – ALTERNATIVE PRESS – November 1989.

DENIM TV: DENIM TV – No nuclear science needed to figure out the subject matter of “Finger Inside”, the best song on San Francisco band Denim TV’s eponymous debut album. It’s a rouser and it’s immediately followed by a prime example of what Matt Piucci used to call “snake charmer music” – a long slow minor chord wonder, bordering on the hypontic. This one is called “OK Man I Will” and features Martin Pacholuk at the guitar controls, making certain you won’t open the wrong basket. Denim’s best song is too new for the L.P. It’s the anthemic “I’ll Think Of A Good One”, and lead singer Sean O’Brien, who looks like Jim Carroll’s younger brother, really leans into it to close their live set. O’Brien was in Davis, California, during their golden age and reportedly was a part of Thin White Rope during it’s infancy. He is also in possession of some copies of the one and only single by the Suspects (Steve Wynn, Kendra Smith and Russ Tolman). All right O’Brien, let’s talk turkey. Denim TV also have a cut on the excellent KUSF demo compilation album “Germ’s Choice”. This has unreleased elsewhere tracks by Bay Area bands Shiva Dancing, Monks of Doom and Eskimo amongst others. Well worth the search. – Jud Cost – BUCKETFUL OF BRAINS (UK) #30.

DENIM TV – Live review – Denim TV opened the twin gigs. Lead vocalist is Sean O’Brien, who looks like a combination of Jim Carroll’s kid brother and 40’s movie star Dan Duryea. Guitarist Martin Pacholuk’s minor chording highlightened the moving “OK Man I Will” and the set roared to conclusion with the anthemic “I’ll Think Of A Good One”. – Jud Cost – FACE IT! – May 1989.

DENIM TV – Live review – Denim opened both sets with a fresh set drawn from their self titled album and spiced with several brand new tunes. Lead singer Sean O’Brien, once the original vocalist with True West, belies his veteran stance with an energy and ingenousness that charms and draws in the listener, especially on the tongue in cheek, “Finger Inside,” as well as the brand new tune, “Railroad Station” where acoustic riffs give way to the charging guitar rush of Martin Pacholuk. Drummer Ihor Pacholuk and bassist Greg Bortolin abley underpin the rock rumble of Denim TV. Some of you more in the know modern rock fans should know Denim by the cut on KUSF’s “Germ’s Choice” sampler, “Close to His Kids,” produced by Matt Wallace of Replacements’ fame. Stay tuned to this TV, the sound is definitely on the way to a top Neilsen rating. – THE INFORMANT – May 1989.

DENIM TV: Denim TV – A four man rock outfit that’s been getting lots of college radio airplay on the strength of this 12-song debut album, which foreshadows good things happening for them in a bigger way. The self-produced cuts like “OK Man I Will”, “Trouble Remembering” and “In The Bag,” are good – because they’re good songs. But the band sounds even better on the ones produced by Matt Wallace, in particular “When You Kill That Cow” and “What You Spend”. If D-TV could land an opening spot touring with an established act sometime soon, the exposure would give this album the attention it deserves. Another two years of hard work and this band could find itself in the same league as the Smithereens. – Chris Proctor – NOTE FOR NOTE – #5.

DENIM TV – Denim TV’s newly released LP, Starving Rich (The group’s second LP on its own Peligro label), finds the four bandmembers on the verge of no longer qualifying for a local band page. That is if they can take advantage of the favorable response the new album is likely to receive. Last year’s self-titled debut earned airplay on over three hundred radio stations, but because of financial limitations, the Sausalito-based band was unable to follow with a tour. And this is a band that feels the need to get out of town now and then. “We’ve always had a bit of struggle locally,” confides lead singer Sean O’Brien, “We don’t really seem to have a place in the scene here.” Denim TV combines a variety of tastes and influences into a sound that is catchy, intelligent and tough. With songs like “Do the Same” and “I’ll Think Of A Good One,” they take the anger and defiance of youth and combine it with catchy, melodic hooks. The result is a sound that, a la early Replacements, captures the sound of frustration. O’Brien cut his musical teeth in the thriving early ’80’s Davis scene, where he was a founding member, with Russ Tolman, of the Meantime, the group that went on to become True West. After brief stints in a number of Davis area bands, O’Brien moved to the Bay Area, where he formed DTV in 1986. O’Brien and drummer Ihor Pacholuk are the only remaining original members of the band, having since been joined by Ihor’s brother Martin, and bassist Greg Bortolin. DTV’s first effort was helped along by producer Matt wallace (the Replacements, Faith No More), who met the band one night after a gig at the Mabuhay Gardens. Wallace became a friend of the band and produced a six-song session for them before moving to LA. Five of the songs made their way onto the first LP. The second twelve-song effort is produced wholly by the band, and O’Brien likes it that way: “It’s much more cohesive,” he says. “It all sounds like us.” – Alexandra Haslam – BAM – LOCAL MUSIC FOCUS – 3/9/90.

DENIM TV: STARVING RICH – Denim TV, the San Francisco-based band responsible for last year’s college radio hit, “I Can’t Play Guitar”, has another release under their belts. puts me in mind of some of my Favorite Pop Summers of the Past, on such tunes as “I’ll Think of a Good One”. The warm summers spent in semi-friendly nightclubs where the beer flowed like mother’s milk and Rickies filled the air, there was a promise of something romantic maybe happening later, and a lotta ride shares ’cause everyone had a car or was old enough to drive… I can imagine the honest, heartfelt pop tunes by an earnest young band, captured on tape (in a studio!) by an engineer who liked the band (as opposed to loving them), and doesn’t fully realize what they’re capable of. Sure, give them some stellar, crisp, real production, and you’ll hear them on more than just college radio. But this is often what I like in a band – a band cutting its teeth in the studio, weaning itself from its own musical nipples… I’m getting way off track here. I like this record. Some really cool tunes – “Purple and White,” good groove; “Embers” has some real memorable melodies; “We Capture” has a good, urgent feel to it, akin to the Bongos’ “Bulrushes,” and goes on. Buy it. – Manfred E. Hofer – CONTRAST #8 – 1991.

From Garageband.com

For “Purple and White”

This tune just keeps ya rollin!!!! Really enjoyed The break downs & the smooth guitar leads & sound… The vox where right on to just enough effects… Keep up the great work…

- musicdragon

Niagara Falls, New York

Purple and White? I was trying to figure out who this super-familiar voice was, and finally it hit me! Ringo Starr! Nobody else sounds like Ringo, i thought. Anyway, lyrics sound, like, heavy, man. Is there an abortion or murder cover-up? i wish they let you read the lyrics when you’re reviewing. The mood is cool; reminds me of Billy Bragg/ Morrissey’s current band.

- soulkart

North Tonawanda, New York

For “Can’t Play Guitar”

groove out – Feels like a good time by the Beach jam out. Very fun song. I could see people at dance hall in the 60’s dancing to this in mod suits. very retro. very cool

- winzen

Kenton, Ohio

Kegger at Sunset Beach – Good energy- a quirky little blend of Lou Reed, Kinks, and some obscure, not-too-serious arena rock band with a thing for surf guitar. Fun song that didn’t make me think too much, but also didn’t feel like a waste of my time. Well produced too.

- Gr8phulBen

Winchester, Virginia