Presidents Of The United States Love Everybody CD

The Presidents of the United States of America: Chris Ballew (various instruments, piano, bass instrument); Dave Dederer (various instruments, bass instrument, drums); Jason Finn (various instruments).

Is Lump fast asleep, or rocking out with the band? The year: 1995. Mauled by the grunge animal, the nation embraces a different sound from Seattle -- a new leadership -- one with eight steel strings to its name and a clutch of songs about kitties, peaches, and lingering last in line for brains. The Presidents of the United States of America hit Mach 2 with their wry punkish platform, and rode it all the way to platinum before quietly disappearing. While the band's sound had fit perfectly into the screwy '90s, it was a novelty memory by the 21st century. Which is too bad, because 2000's under-the-radar LP Freaked Out and Small was pretty damn good, and 2004's Love Everybody is even better. A little older and rocking the family life, two-string "basitarist" Chris Ballew, guitarist Dave Dederer, and drummer Jason Finn have focused the beam of their wit laser on their tightest melodies yet. The sound's as stripped down as it ever was -- dry punk-derived chording with peppy basslines and consistently propulsive drumming. But the new songs' chorus harmonies are more consistently inviting, and the occasional keyboard flourish keeps things interesting. The Presidents have also settled into a sort of sardonic humanism. They still write songs about animal eyes in the gooey darkness ("Munky River"). But "Zero Friction" considers a drum machine as a metaphor for the meaning of life, and "Poke and Destroy" celebrates little boys' universal need to break stuff. "You gotta love everybody," the opening title track directs, "and make 'em feel good about themselves." "Some Postman" is the perfect Presidents song, with its simply effective mix of acoustic and electric guitars and that energetic chorus. But it's also a love song, its quirkiness fueled into clever lyrics about a long-distance relationship. Other Love Everybody highlights include the ruckus-raising "Clean Machine" (dig that fuzzy tone), the almost Spoon-sounding "Vestina," and "Shreds of Boa," which harks back to their 1995 style, but is just a stronger song all around. Love Everybody is an enjoyable and welcome return for the Presidents of the United States. As it turns out, the peaches are even sweeter on the other side. ~ Johnny Loftus

There's only one thing tougher than walking away from a multiplatinum band at its peak: re-forming for a show five years later and trying to remember your old songs. That was the dilemma facing the Presidents of the United States of America when they reunited for a special New Year's Eve show in Seattle in 2002. "We felt like we were in a Presidents cover band," laughs lead singer and 2 string-basitarist Chris Ballew. "It definitely took a few rehearsals and listening to the old albums to jog our memories. I remember putting on those records and feeling like I was listening to someone else's songs. I thought, 'Wow, that's a really great band.'"The Presidents' constituents had been reminding them of that since their amicable split in December of 1997. They sent letters and e-mails urging the band to reunite and asking why they broke up in the first place. Truth be told, their decision to disband came as a surprise to just about everyone. Twelve months earlier, the Seattle-based trio had released II, the follow-up to their wildly successful 1995 self-titled Columbia Records debut. Recorded for $8,000 and initially released on indie label PopLlama, The Presidents of the United States of America went double platinum, rocketed all the way to #6 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart, produced three Top 40 hits ("Lump," "Kitty" and "Peaches") and a #1 single on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart, and garnered two Grammy nominations and a gaggle of critical praise for its sense of pop savvy and quirkiness. Their videos blanketed MTV, they toured the planet, playRolling Stone (p.188) - 3 stars out of 5 - "LOVE EVERYBODY sports a slew of singles that approach the catchiness of their mid-Nineties microwave-rotation hits..."