(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
Steve Fisk, born in Louisiana and raised in Los Angeles, but soon settling in Seattle and destined to become one of the most brilliant producers of the Seattle boom, joined Pell Mell in 1982, though nothing would be heard of the band for years, as Fisk first recorded cassettes under his own name: Kiss This Day Goodbye (1983), 'Til The Night Closes In (1986), 1 More Valley (1989).
The early Pell Mell discography is summarized on the cassette For Years We Stood Clearly As One Thing (SST, 1985), and on the album Bumper Crop (SST, 1987), which collects the same material from 198384. Their sound was a kind of late new wave that revisited the instrumental rock of Duane Eddy and Link Wray in a postmodern way, but replacing the guitar with keyboards.
The band seemed to dissolve in 1985, but in 1990 Fisk and the original rhythm section (Bob Beerman on drums and Greg Freeman on bass) were joined by guitarist Dave Spalding, who revived the entire project. Flow (SST, 1991) is thus a very different record, with guitar in the foreground and a more rock-and-roll drive. Freeman had in turn started a career as a producer, playing with Royal Trux and Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, bringing another touch of intellectual flair to the project.
Meanwhile, Fisks solo repertoire was disseminated through 448 Deathless Days (SST, 1987) and the anthology Over And Through The Night (K, 1993).
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
I Pell Mell continued their progression with
Interstate (Geffen, 1994), an exemplary work of instrumental rock for
guitar, organ and drums, that scavenges guitar twang heroes
Duane Eddy and Link Wray
(the slow and solemn Constellation, the plain and tender Drift),
as well as surf themes (Nothing Lies Still Long),
as well as garage-rock (the rocking and soulful Vegetable Kingdom),
but always from a firm postmodernist perspective.
Saucer's bouncing, catchy, raga-like refrain is "sung" by the guitar
against an obsessive boogie beat.
Anna Karina indulges in dreamy, lysergic guitar licks at a languid pace.
The keyboards' glittering colors enhance Revival, a gem of
driving rhythm and blues, Velvet Underground's psychedelic trance and
Television acid guitar jamming.
More Velvet Underground beats and distortions surface in Blacktop,
a forceful crescendo that spins with the frenzy of a sufi dance.
The album closes with the surreal reggae mantra of Floating Gate
Pell Mell come through as a hybrid of
Man Or Astroman and
Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet,
a bit less demented than the former and less new wave-ish than the latter.
Star City (Matador, 1996) manca forse della coesione del disco
precedente, e in qualche caso ricalca le sigle dei serial televisivi
(Smmokehouse) in maniera troppo oleografica. L'organo alla Ravenstine
nobilita comunque brani poetici come Sky Lobby, Upstairs e
Lowlight. La combinazione di chitarre e organo e` ancora magica in
Field Of Poppies. Ma i Pell Mell cominciano forse a pagare lo sforzo di
tenere insieme un gruppo che e` sparso fra Boston, San Francisco e Seattle.
