23 February 2020

CUPID CAR CLUB Join Our Club... 1993

 


AllMusic Review by  

After the breakup of Nation of Ulysses, Ian Svenonius, Steve Gamboa, and James Canty returned in a number of guises, Cupid Car Club, M.P. being one of them, before settling into the Make-Up. This 7" adds vocalist Kim Thompson to the mix; her presence revives this moribund way station featuring not just one revolutionary (once) subcultural teenage identity creation song but four! Four chances for kids to join the club. "Edge of the Envelope" is a cryptically angry tune saved by the interplay between Svenonius and Thompson. Is this what they mean by a call to action? The ultra-catchy "Vapor Rub Out" positions Svenonius as a kind of Screaming Jay Hawkins figure, substituting the "in" knowledge for personal magnetism but still working to cast a spell of sexual attraction. On the flip side, "Child Custody" touches on incendiary male/female relationships and "Grape Juice Plus" joins the long line of mystical revolutionary (twice) songs about soda. Although you gotta give props for the fourth Horseman being Fever and the outro chorus, "That's, that's, that's what I'm waiting for," which perfectly crystallizes the mid-'90s frozen revolutionary (three times!) impulse of punkish white youth. A group that will give you an identity in the name of a highly xenophobic (sub) culture -- yeah, that's what you're waiting for.

Tracklist

A1 Edge Of The Envelope
A2 Vapor Rub Out
B1 Child Custody Commandos
B2 Grape Juice Plus


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