Chug >> Burning like acid rain

Chug - "Water Torture"
(Alias Records, 1996)

Chug were a co-ed New Zealand band who were signed to U.S.-based Alias Records.  I didn't dig the rest of this CD too much, and I in fact threw it away, but this song is just perfection.  The female vocals poke out from the schizophrenic guitars, which go from gently plucked harmonics to arena-ready riffage and back again in half a heartbeat.  I can't think of another song that nails the soft-loud dynamic with better panache than this one, other than maybe "Windshear" by Dazzling Killmen or "Choker" by Magic Dirt.  The way the vocals interlock with the spaces in between the guitar stabs is just tremendous; I think the chiming/plinking sound of the harmonics is supposed to represent water drops, hence the name of the song.  It was not released as a true single, but it was included on several various-artists compilations in 1997, including the CD w/ the August '97 CMJ magazine.  I first heard it that year on an Alias Records promo compilation CD called Year Of The Wagon, which Alias sent me for free after I wrote to them; it also got me into the indie rock anthem "Web In Front" by Archers Of Loaf.  After reading a glowing review of the album (Metalon) on AllMusic by the usually-trustable Ned Raggett, I'm wishing I had the CD back again to give it another chance.  The strangely unsettling cover art features two sprouting seeds that resemble a pair of swans.  There are European black swans that live in Lafreniere Park in Kenner year-round now, with freaky-looking red beaks and eyes.  I think they used to just stop in there over the winter while migrating, but decided to stay here.  They can also sometimes be seen at City Park in N.O.  I started collecting swan-related trinkets about four years ago for some reason, and have since added palm trees and mermaids to the queue.  Swans are just so darn elegant and cool, yet males fight each other to the death over females, and pairs supposedly stay together for life.

Planets with similar climates: Pixies - "Gouge Away" (1988), Magic Dirt - "Ice" (1994), Orbit - "Purge" (1995), Bleach - "Fuse" (1992), Sonic Youth - "Becuz (1995), Blonde Redhead - "Distilled" (1998).