Home Recordings 1993-99

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One might imagine there's a limited appeal to the notion of the guitarist with the Dead Milkmen baring his soul to the world, but Joe Genaro, better known to his fans as Joe Jack Talcum, does just that on his second collection of home-recorded tunes, which in this case overlap with his band's declining years (these recordings date from 1993, the year they released the less than warmly received Not Richard, But Dick, to 1999, by which time they'd broken up). On Home Recordings, Vol. 2 1993-1999, Talcum sings like an older and more morose version of the guy who warbled "Punk Rock Girl," but the music is significantly more mature, and the moodier tone of "Another Time," "One False Move," and "I'm Not Here" actually suits him well. Talcum's one-man band accompaniment is solid for the most part, and though the production is decidedly lo-fi, he brings a commendable degree of atmosphere and sonic texture to his four-track experiments. Longtime Dead Milkmen fans will doubtless be most surprised by the lack of obvious comedy on these tunes, even ones with titles like "The Sun Shines Out of My Asshole" or "Be My Property," but if Talcum is taking life more seriously these days, he still seems a bit baffled by the many twists and turns of life and love, and that's what makes these songs work, along with simple but strong melodies and accomplished instrumental work. Someone should give Talcum the budget to take these songs into a for-real studio and give them just a bit more polish; as it is, this is an unexpectedly engaging work from a guy with more to say (and better ways of saying it) than you might have guessed from Big Lizard in My Backyard or Bucky Fellini. ~ Mark Deming