reviews




	reviews


	Perfect Past Tense


	The finest record I've bought in two years!

	Somewhere between raw emotion and hummable tunes exists a new musical plateau created by Earwig. Striking up an almost disturbingly perfect balance between musical support and lyrical content, this cd breaks new ground in indie rock and emo pop. Lizard McGee, songwriter, recorder, producer extraordinaire, makes it look easy. The songs are unforced and charming. They are catchy and thought-provoking. They are layered with depth of feeling and simple guitar flavor. They are the kinds of songs (and to EACH one this applies, so brilliant is this album) you can't speak during; the kinds of songs you love for the love of pop, and respect for the survival of worthwhile, real, music. It would be a disservice to that survival to not buy this record. -Mirand Miller

I used to see Earwig frequently when I was an undergrad at The Ohio State University. I remember a lot of these songs from those live performances. Lizard McGee is a very talented songwriter and this is a collection of gorgeous songs. The changes of tempo are really awesome. Just when you think you're getting a ballad, they turn it up and rock. I can feel the pain that went into writing these songs. "Drag", "Anatomical Gift", "Cinema East", and "Anything" are my personal favorites on this disc but the whole thing is so solid top to bottom. Do yourself a favor. Buy this disc then turn the volume up a bit when you put it on. Then, just sit back and enjoy.- Gary Schwind


		Heckler Magazine

	Columbus, Ohio is a heaven on earth for music lovers. Period. Quit your job, sell your mom and buy a plane ticket (or bus ticket, depending on how much mom's worth) for cow town, now. If during your stay you even once get to see a trio of hometown lads collectively known as Earwig play, consider yourself in the presence of true musical genius as incarnated in the frontman/guitarist/label co-founder, Lizard McGee. If for some reason you don't want to sell dear old mom, maybe you could at least pawn a couple of grandma's ceramic owls and pick up a copy of Perfect Past Tense, the follow up to Earwig's nearly flawless debut, Mayfeeder. Perfect Past Tense is a collection of mostly new material constituting 13 gorgeously constructed songs, laden with guitars, courtesy of Mr. McGee, that are often simultaneously delightfully strummed to the beat of a broken heart, and gnashed, pummeled, and pissed off at the world that broke it- like a dog wagging its tail while trying to rip your arm off. Understated and therefore effective drumming by Justin Crooks proves more musical than mechanical, and Rich Cefalo's bass work is at least as vital to the album's overwhelming hummability as Mr. McGee's plaintive singing and assorted yowling. And the lyrics...the last time anything was so perfect it was directly related to having bargained with the devil at the crossroads. When I was lucky enough to catch Earwig last, they proclaimed themselves to be "More than just your average sensitive guys,"(or, as Lizard wails in Cinema East, "Don't talk no bullshit to me, 'bout my insincerity,") which is true, as nothing about these cats is average. Highlights: 13 tracks of Earwig, pristine production illuminates Lizards masterpiece. Lowlights: Only 13 tracks of Earwig and possibly the pristine production takes away from the raw emotion that sets Earwig apart from the shoegazers.- Karen Graves

		Idiot Press / Out of Order

I definitely cannot say enough good things about this release. Go out and buy it. The CMJ should have a track from this on one of their CD compilations. Any who, let me tell you why.... The disc opens with a snap kick to the chin indie rock romp called "best kept secret". This song to me talks about men and how we are always wrong no matter, in a woman's eyes. Same temp prevails on the second track "drag" getting a bit more intense. I could see these guys doing a show with Templeton, also from Columbus. At times, Lizard sounds like a punk rock Mick Jagger when Jagger was in his twenties. The passion is unleashed full bore in the discs last track "stain". "I am love with myself....." lizard repeats as the song fades to distortion and one final slide down the strings. Good beginning+ Solid middle (almost too mellow) +Good ending= Great disc! Look for Earwig to make it big with the national release of "Perfect Past Tense". -Melvin Strange


	Cringe Online Magazine

Lizard McGee sings, "I'll move on to the next Nirvana now" on Two Dragons, the fourth song on Earwig's new album Perfect Past Tense. The question becomes, what next Nirvana? Could he be referring to the old claim that Columbus would be the next Seattle? In the mid-90s, there was a lot of talk about Columbus being the next big thing, with Scrawl, Howlin' Maggie, Watershed, and Thomas JeffersonSlave Apartments signing to big-time labels. Could it be a comparison of Earwig to Nirvana? Both bands are/were three-pieces, with soft verse/loud chorus song structures. In an August 1995 College Music Journal article, Ron House wrote, "Earwig will be a force if it developes further from its debut." Or could it be a place or state of oblivian to care, pain, or external reality as the dictionary so adequately puts it. This reviewer's bet is on the third choice. The album is dominated by songs about love and loss. A sample of lyrics like "I made you sad/I know/that's why you went away" from Best Kept Secret, "On a houseboat in Chicago/I'll take my turn/Leaving you behind" from Where's Yr. Ghost, and "Put your lips up to my mouth/and suck my heart right out" from Anatomical Gift shows that McGee and company have had a heart or two broken in their day. However, that's not the only thing that Perfect Past Tense has going on. It's a great collection of songs, with stand out rockers like Drag, Cinema East, and Dress coexisting with sad ballads like Where's Yr. Ghost and Anything. It also captures a fine performance from Earwig mainstains McGree (vocals/guitar), and Rich Cefalo (bass). What it lacks its cohesion. Three drummers perform on the album Chuck Palmer, Brad Swiniarski, and Justin Crooks. The songs were also written over a period of years. Dress and Nineteen first appeared on the Beautiful People compilation, and I heard Cinema East the first time I saw the band in 1995. -Chad Painter

		Art News Magazine

Earwig and their latest CD 'Perfect Past Tense', on the Columbus based Lizard Family Music, work the space between studied lo-fi ineptitude and infectious pop hookery. Earwig excells (in the Pavementian tradition) at undermining the notion of "accomplishment" in an incredibly accomplished manner. There's no self-conciously arty "difficulty" but plenty of other expected indie markings: stories full of isolation and irony, and sounds that grab us with a vengence without buying into the uncoolness of vocal or instrumental virtuosity. we all know the drill by now, but Earwig still sounds fresh. On Perfect Past Tense Lizard McGee's voice declares, cajoles,argues, and croons its way through a barrage of treble-heavy guitar. With a dead on gift for grabby hooks, Earwig couples the familiar moves of aw-shucks-ism with an unerring something else that still eludes definition but cuts to the heart of what makes us like to listen. -Barbara Kruger


	Mayfeeder

Earwig-Mayfeeder, LFM (Chattanooga Free Press)
Every so often a band comes along that changes your life. Earwig is just such a band. Although this record has been out for awhile, its greatness warrents attention.
A Columbus, Ohio, three-piece who has been compared to Sebadoh and the Treepeople, they are one of the best underground bands in America.Guitarist/vocalist Lizard delivers some deliriously exquisite songs like "When Youre Dying" and "Lorax" with such raw beauty that it brings tears to your eyes.That is, if you appreciate the subleties; the guitar playing is never overdone or overly noisy and the homemade production works perfectly.
Every single song is bordering on near brilliance, offhandedly evoking the politics of emotions (thanks Dawn), from the obviousness of "Dinosaur Song" to the soberly sarcastic "Tribute". One of the best records of its kind I've ever heard. Write to them, I'm sure they have a few copies left and would love to hear from you. -Anthony Mark Happel

Earwig-Mayfeeder, LFM (Oculus Magazine)
Earwig never pushes the extremes of lo-fi garage rock, but Mayfeeder, their debut release on Lizard Family Music, is a helluva lot more likeably listenable than, say, the latest releases of peers Pavement or Superchunk. Lizard McGee, lead singer, has the kind of nevously melodic voice best exemplified today by Walt Mink's John Kimbrough- not reedy enough to annoy, but tight enough to complement the decidedly un-produced sound of their songs. While Mayfeeder's tracks can be linked directly to the recently discovered bankablitity of J. Mascis & Co., Earwig proves once again that to be indie nowadays does not mean you're only waiting for Mtv's buzz-bin. "Lorax" and "Mink" justify my faith in American music with their ultra-hooky blend of buzz guitars, Husher Du bass, and under mixed anxious/angry vocals.Quite simply, I've never heard muddy sound so nice. Mayfeeder will hopefully become a staple on your CD player- it happened to me. The key words here are scruffy, honest heart. It may seem like a bad word to some of you trendy fucks, but heart and soul is still a necessary component of working breathing music, as songs like "Monkeys on Cocaine" (well maybe that's a bad example) and "Wounded Knee" show. Do yourself a favor. Forgo the trends and pick-up Mayfeeder. Hopefully your mind will never be the same again. -Brandi Berry

Earwig -Mayfeeder LFM (NET magazine N.Y.C) A cross between the Violent Femmes and the Smashing Pumpkins, this central Ohio trio is definately a band to watch. Mayfeeder combines bouncing melodies and heartbreaking lyrics with dramatic guitar riffs. You may be thinking "great, great...sounds like every other band out there...just what we need". Wrong! Their music is much more than that. They focus on subjects ranging from drug addiction to disillusionment in such an honest, heartfelt way that you just want to go and put your arm around Lizard and the gang and rock them to sleep. "Lorax", origionally a story by D. Seuss that spoke about the destruction of the world thru callousness and greed, is an interesting vehichle to articulate discontent and feelings of isolation. "Dinosaur Song" is "puff the Magic Dragon" with a 90's edge. Nolonger is there merely an allusion to drug use; Lizard sings about drugs and their effect on his personality. Drug use and abuse are omnipresent in the music of Earwig. Most obvious they surface in the song "Monkeys on Cocain", in which the person is grappling with an addiction while feeling the loss of his drug buddies. The use of two different voices- a confrontational one showing his rage over lack of control of this situation, and a sweet soft voice, full of regret and remorse- creates an effective push-pull, Jekyll and Hyde feel.

It's nice to know that beside the rehased, regrouped, reworked music around today, there's a group whose music makes you squirm a little. Whether the focus is on loneliness and feelings of isolation inherent in long distance relationships, or the "lemming-like" quality of humans and their dependence on pop culture, this record strikes a raw, exsposed nerve. The music, already easy to identify with, is made more accessible by the origional use of samples from mainstream movies (Princess Lea from Star Wars) and other musicians (Sinead O'Conner). These familiar references, intertwined with the intense lyrics, offer us a seat next to Lizard and company on this emotional roller coaster ride. Humor, angst, sorrow, remorse, abandonment...this record should be studied in a Psych 101 class. I found myself vascilating between laughing and crying throughout. When it was over, I felt as if I had just gotten off of that ride, with it's ups and downs, laughter and fear, jubilation and sadness. My stomach was in knots. I felt a little dizzy. Wow! What a horribly wonderful ride. - M.W. Barry


	Other Earwig reviews


Demo Universe *Bored in Chicago* *Mayfeeder*

	Had the pleasure of meeting Earwig frontman Lizard McGee backstage at CBGB as we shared a bill that night. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around to hear Earwig play, but Lizard didn't mind; he just piled my arms with tapes and CDs! Mayfeeder is Earwig's 1994 CD release and showcases the band's forte: easygoing indie-pop with jangly guitars and plaintive vocals, to these ears reminiscent of early Miracle Legion. Nice enough, but the production is tame. Maybe I'm just a lo-fi sucker, but I preferred the Bored In Chicago cassette, which was recorded live off the mixing board at the Elbo Room in the Windy City. Not that the tape sounds better (actually it sounds like crap), but the band displays a passion and power entirely absent from Mayfeeder. Performing on the final gig of a 30-day tour, Earwig demonstrates why I've been hearing so much about them lately. Now I'm really sorry missed that show!- Jim Santo

		Alternative Press Mayfeeder Blissed-out guiter pop driven by insecurity and doubt will never go out of style. Columbus, Ohio's Earwig play the same inviting midwestern post-punk that would have seemed right at home on SST or Twin/Tone during the mid 80's. Mayfeeder, the trio's debut, covers alot of familiar ground. But they've also spent enough time listening to Husker Du and other midwest folk heros to understand that their music's emotional power comes from its unpolished honesty and scared, everyman vocals. This album is full of hooks and heart, with Liz McGee's off kilter guitar buzzing and his scruffy vocals upfront. Unpolished doesn't always mean raucous guitars and bleeding vocals, and the slower and most effective songs on Mayfeeder derive their energy from restraint. Best is the album-ending "Song". A tiny masterpiece as American as drive-ins, mini golf and weekend nights with the radio on and nowhere to go.- David Daley


		Under the Volcano Dinosaur Song/ Wounded Knee 7"

"Dinosaur song" carries a big ringing sound with effective modulations; I close my eyes and I'm in the back of a big convertable on a warm sunny day. "Wounded Knee" is muscular in a lean way, again with fine dynamics. Earwig rocks with agility and smartly restrained power.

	hUH Magazine *Mayfeeder* Bred from garages in Columbus, Ohio Earwig sends honest and passionate feelings thru lyrics and no-frills musicianship. "Mink" nervously builds to a climax with it's Fender sounding riffs, but the song never reaches the level of intensity that Lizard McGee attains with his voice."How could I. be so strange/ I know I'm bigger now/ I'm scarier now but I'm still the same/ I know I'm a monster" Lizard growls in "Dinosaur song". One of the most imaginative bits of imagery to come out of a guy's mouth in a long time. Look out Lou Barlow , there's a new kid in town -Rich Masio

	Columbus Alive *Mayfeeder* This Mayfeeder is a devourer of trends and a validator of pop fashion. Earwig catches Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and Superchunk with it's new release, but, once again, makes it's own kind of music. This music is nervous, inquisitive...but all pop. Earwig has a penchant for bear-trap strength melody, a hook big enough to rein in a shark. "Lorax" demands instant replays; "Sleepstanding Up", is dreamy in any position.- Curt Scheiber