Dead Air [LP]

Heatmiser's Dead Air is still a mighty fine debut album, though more credit should probably go to ELLIOTT SMITH's co-singer/guitarist Neil Gust. There's a perhaps inevitable casting of grunge over everything given it's 1993 genesis, but instead of sprawl, the emphasis is on tautness, vocals rough but not whined, more HÜSKER DÜ and MISSION OF BURMA, say, than BLACK SABBATH or BLACK FLAG. Neil Gust's knack for anthemic, empowering choruses infused with open emotional passion makes the FUGAZI comparison in particular appropriate. The songs don't waste time - 14 in 37 minutes - and steer away from easy singalong approaches in favor of slightly more complex headbanging with a brain and heart. "Stray," re-recorded from an earlier single, sounds fantastic, just brawling with both fierce energy and close-to-the heart empathy, not to mention a great chorus. "Bottle Rocket" is a definite winner, with some great call-and-response vocal work and a steadily building verse-into-chorus structure that's fierce without falling prey to incipient emo clichés. Every so often there's some great flash on the guitars - check out the solo on "Dirt" - while the rhythm section does well enough (drummer Tony Lash in particular).