APRIL FOOL'S DAY (POISSON D'AVRIL) EN CHANSONS

COTTON MATHER (Buy CDs by this artist)
Cotton Is King (Elm) 1994
Kontiki (Copper) 1997 (UK Rainbow Quartz) 1998
Hotel Baltimore (Rainbow Quartz) 1999
The Big Picture (Rainbow Quartz) 2001

Cotton Mather singer Robert Harrison sounds more than a little like John Lennon. He also writes songs that sound like the Beatles. Those two factors are usually enough to write a band off as retro wannabes, but this Austin group has made great music that uses its inspirations merely as a jumping-off point to explore original territory.

The Austin quartet made its debut with Cotton Is King, a flawed but promising effort to find a sound. There's a strong Squeeze influence at play, with verbose lyrics and too many literary allusions, but some songs work, especially "Payday," "April's Fool" and "Lost My Motto," which showcase Harrison's melodicism and Whit Williams' guitar work. The label folded, the rhythm section departed and the two had to begin again.

Harrison and Williams recorded Kontiki with some friends and brought the tapes to producer Brad Jones (Jill Sobule, Steve Earle), who helped them chisel out a record. The swirling opening chords of "Camp Hill Rail Operator" sound as though they are being piped in from Venus; tape splices and sound collages punctuate standouts like "Homefront Cameo," "Password" and "My Before and After" ("Cracked the code on the Rosetta Stone / Said the word for 'alone' is 'alone'"), Revolver-shaped nuggets so catchy that surgery may be required to extract them from your brain. The Dylanesque rush of "Vegetable Row" collapses into the celestial organ that begins "Aurora Bori Alice," while "Church of Wilson" is a Pixiefied fuzz-freakout that explodes and melts into the sumptuous layered harmonies of "Lily Dreams On." The inevitable Beatles comparisons are rendered irrelevant by the quality of the songs and the imaginative recording techniques; Kontiki is an innovative power-pop gem that stands up, and stands out, on its own merits.

Oasis became fans and took Cotton Mather on tour in England and France. Kontiki was reissued by Rainbow Quartz, who then released Hotel Baltimore, a largely inconsequential seven-track stopgap containing a different version of "Lost My Motto," instrumental fragments and leftovers.

The Big Picture, made again with Jones and mixed by Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips), is an ambitious record that finds the band alternately turning it up and quieting things down. Williams, a genuine power-pop guitar hero, steals the show on "Marathon Man" and "40 Watt Solution," while the cryptic "Pine Box Builder" ("The note that she left him intended no blame / But he knew his sentence when he read his name") is solo acoustic and exemplifies Harrison's unique craft. The band's reference points are more varied this time around, with "Glory Eyes," a crunchy slab of GBV-style indie rock, and "Amps of Sugarland," which could have been an out-take from This Year's Model. Not as instantly rewarding as Kontiki, but a fine record nonetheless.

[Marc Horton]

Oh, what a shame that your pockets did bleed on St. Valentine's,
And you sat in a chair thinking: "Boy, I'm such a Prince!"
Well life's a train that goes from February on, day by day,
But its making a stop on April first

And you will believe in love and all that it's supposed to be,
But just until the fish start to smell and you're struck down by a hammer

Sure you were swift when the handsome Greek boys dropped by with gifts,
You are suave thanks to ribbons that opened sesame
But in the stars and closer to home in every planet,
It ain't hard for me and dear JoJo to see

And you will believe in love and all that it's supposed to be,
But just until the fish start to smell and you're struck down by a hammer

So let it all go by, looking at the sky, wondering if there's clouds and stuff in hell
Let it all go by, looking at the sky, wondering if there's clouds in hell

Quittin' after one more last one
Tired of playin' the clown
If I want your opinion I'll ask ya
I can get myself down

Night driving without headlight
Wearin' sunglasses too
Lookin' good but sure don't feel right
Anything to be cool

Doin' hopscotch with my legs tied
Jumpin' rope in wet cement
Black leather in midday sunshine
All your mother's money's spent

Doin' time on the metal detector
Like to drown in your pool
Coverin' up everything that's defective
Anything to be cool

A burning heart could be so cool
Won't you be my fashion victim
Come on, I'm an April Fool for you

Holdin' on to what's left of real life
Anything to be cool (x4)

A burning heart like an April Fool
Won't you be my fashion victim
Come on, I'm an April Fool
I'm a mid-spring snowfall, joke's on you
I'm an April Fool for you

I'm an April Fool for you
I'm an April Fool
(x3)

This is only a paper moon
This is only a toy story
This is all just a cheap cartoon
Yet somehow, somehow I worry

This is only a wind-up car
Only made for costume ball
This is only a candy bar
I guess I'm not drunk after all

It's only an april fool
The truth is disguised
I wish I could stay as cool
When reality bites

This is only a one night stand
So tonight I'm your wonderland toy
Should be easy to understand
You're only, only a fantasy boy

This is only a paper moon
This is only a toy story
All the magic is over soon
And I am, I am so sorry

It's only an april fool
The truth is disguised
I wish I could stay as cool
When reality bites

It's only an april fool
The truth is disguised
I wish I could stay as cool
When reality bites