Time Out London preview of K showcase gig at Water Rats in London, 2 Sept 99
Kurt Cobain had their logo tattooed on his arm. To many, it's Special K. To others, as much a symbol of all that is insufferably twee as that bloody Hello Kitty tag. Olympia, USA label K Records is the offspring of the hugely talented and unfeasibly handsome Calvin Johnson from Dub Narcotic Sound System, but its bands generally rock like a big girl's blancmange. K's spiritual twin here is Sarah Records, who were responsible for ghastly '80s 'cutie' outfit Tallulah Gosh and their subsequent incarnation, Heavenly.
Marine Research - who headline this K line-up - feature members of both related bands, but happily, this latest in the line of Gosh-peopled outfits has only the odd touch of wet about it. Marine Research's brand new 'Sounds From The Gulf Stream' LP is a complex, lucid and surprisingly sparky pop thing full of layered female vocal harmonies and chiming guitars, which wades into some surprising waters given the players' histories - early Tindersticks, Stereolab and even New Order. Live, they can probably be expected if not quite to kick ass, at least to enthusiastically encourage donkey, helped by the talents of the excellentDJ Downfall, who happens to be their drummer. Sharon O'Connell
Time Out New York preview of New York Fez gig, 4 July 99
Marine Research singer Amelia Fletcher confessed that she intended for this band to sound like the excellent Birmingham, England, group Broadcast. And while the first few seconds of Marine Research's fabulous forthcoming LP, Sounds from the Gulf Stream (out August 24 on K), could be the work of Stereolab, the rest of the album is full of the la-las, dreamy English-girl harmonies and inventive guitar work that characterized Fletcher's previous bands, Heavenly and Talulah Gosh.
Talulah Gosh was an uber-rad crash-pop act that formed in 1986, and Heavenly was an ultrapoppy group that formed in 1990 and broke up in 1996, when Amelia's drummer brother, Mathew, committed suicide. Now Marine Research has emerged with the four remaining members of Heavenly and a new drummer called DJ Downfall. Compared with the first two bands' albums, Gulf Stream is slower, noisier, more layered and sophisticated. The Oxford, England, quintet is growing up, so it's only natural for its music to follow suit.
This the band's very first show in the U.S. of A. Onstage, the group has the chemistry of the near-family band that it is. The high-haired guitarist peter Momtchiloff shows off his stuff, while Cathy Rogers sings sweetly below Fletcher's pop-queen vocals. Also on the bill is the very English, ex-Sarah Records shyboy Harvey Williams (Another Sunny Day, Field Mice, etc), whose new album, California (Shinkansen U.K.), should wow fans of Ron Sexsmith, Todd Rundgren and Divine Comedy. The superfun Minneapolis pop act Hang-Ups and Providence's stellar Honeybunch round out this guitar-pop event, which will end in time for you to see fireworks, if that's the sort of the thing you go for. Gail O'Hara
Chicago Reader preview of Chicago Empty Bottle gig, 20 July 99 (Critic's Choice)
Amelia Fletcher, her bother Mathew, and guitarist Peter Momtchiloff formed the core of Talulah gosh and Heavenly, figureheads of the self-effacing British indie-pop scene that reclaimed "twee" as a compliment. Both bands were smarter than most of their imitators (Amelia's also an economist with an Oxford PhD), but after Mathew's suicide in 1996, Heavenly couldn't go on. The remaining four members - Fletcher, Momtchiloff, bassist Rob Pursey, and keyboardists and backup singer Cathy Rogers - have started fresh with a new name, and new songbook, and new drummer John Stanley. Rogers is still on full-time "ba ba ba" duty, but Marine Research is slinkier and less outgoing than Heavenly, more concerned with textures and tones and a little less focused on hooks; its forthcoming debut, Sounds From the Gulf Stream (K), is so unpretentious it practically slouches. Most of the tunes are about lives that have fallen short of fairy-tale endings, but little flashes of tunefulness and bitter wit break up the lyrics' overcast mood: "I sometimes try to imitate/Those women who exfoliate," Amelia chirps on "Glamour Gap." Gulf Stream's songs perk up considerably on stage, where Fletcher and Rogers act like they're only dressed up as pop stars for a party; sometimes they dissolve into giggles between tunes, as thought they're embarrassed by the absurdity of playing for an audience. (And it is funny, really, to sing "la" in two-part harmony 35 times to start a song.) But then the music kicks back in, and the singers' nervous smiles turn blissful - like they're pleasantly surprised by how sweet and strong the band sounds. With any luck, they'll do their cover of Built to Spill's "Sick and Wrong". Douglas Wolk
Philadelphia City Paper preview of Philadelphia Stalag 13 gig, 8 July 99
The world has been deprived of Amelia Fletcher's smooth, yearning voice since the suicide of her brother, drummer Matthew Fletcher, split up Heavenly in the summer of '96. Persistent fan DJ Downfall convinced the remaining quartet to reform as Marine Research, with him as the band's drummer. Matthew Fletcher's falling-donw-a-hill drumming is sorely missed, but this "new" band still knows how to make a great, crashing pop noise, as heard ont eh soon-to-be-avaialble album Sounds from the Gulf Stream (K). "I still want to get my hair cut just like Jean Seberg," sings Amelia Fletcher on the new offering. She's still chasing after pop idols when she should be one by now. Sam Adams
Washington City Paper preview of DC Black Cat gig, 7 July 99
When Heavenly vs. Satan hit turntables in 1991, indie pop was cool - and appeared to have a gleaming future. And Oxford's Heavenly was indie pop's most irresistible band. Via Sarah and k Records, Heavenly released a quartet of charming albums, but it remained stuck in a genre that just sort of stalled. Drummer Mathew Fletcher's death in 1996 signaled the end of the band, but Heavenly's other members recently regrouped as Marine Research. They're now plying a more mature and contemporary sound that nods to the soundtracky moods of Broadcast and makes good use of organ, sonic space, and the occasional soul riff. Sounds From the Gulf Stream, the band's debut album, is a fine return to the scene. John Dugan
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