From: dap@portal.vpharm.com (David A. Pearlman)
Subject: Re: Help..[Pop Art]
Keywords: hardcore garage rock
Organization: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 02:14:09 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.191824@iti.gov.sg> hamdan@iti.gov.sg (Outlander) writes:
>
>
>Hi,
> I'm new at this but I need info on the following.
>
>In 1985, I heard a mini LP by a US(Californian?) band called POP ART, which
>played 60's influenced garage rock. The mini-LP is self-titled and contained 5
>tracks. Local record shops that I have been to have not been able to find the
>album and it is not listed in any CD/Record catalogues which I have seen. Does
>anybody out there know whether the album is available and how to obtain a copy?


Ah...Now you're talking! 

Pop Art hail from Granada Hills, in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles.
In their lifetime, they released one EP and four albums, all on their own
Stonegarden Records. Their recorded legacy is probably the best of any 
completely unheralded group I am familiar with (they don't even get mentioned
in the Trouser Press Record Guide).  The failure of their folk-fueled power pop,
(reflecting a mix of Roy Orbison angst and more contemporary sophistipop as 
Elvis Costello and Squeeze) to reach a larger (any?) audience is absolute
proof of the crapshoot nature of the music business.

They debuted in 1984 with the five song eponymous EP. Though the production
(as on all but their final release by Ethan James) is a bit brittle, 
the songs and execution are winning. 
Lead Singer Dave Steinhart reveals himself to be
a dramatic and talented singer, perfectly suited for this material.
Most worthwhile groups never get any better than this.

Pop Art did, though. Their first long player, "A Perfect Mental Picture",
was released in 1985 and improved on the impressive debut in both material
and production. Warm, jangly, and incredibly catchy, the often-clever or
insightful lyrics are a mere bonus. A must-own.

The subsequent two albums, 1986's "Long Walk To Nowhere" and 1987's
"Snap Crackle Pop Art" display some additional development in terms of
sound (introducing more prominent keyboards, for example) but are otherwise
similar to "A Perfect Mental Picture". And they're also every bit as good as 
that album, an impressive feat indeed.

Apparently the lack of success of these albums took some toll on the group,
who didn't release another album until 1989. Their fourth album, "Later
On...In the Same Life" was the first (and only) to be released on CD.
Unfortunately, it is also the album least worthy of that relatively
permanent media. While there are a few very good songs and one absolute
gem ("Four Parts Desire") there are also several duds. The fairly flat
self-production doesn't help. A dissapointment.

Nothing more has been issued by Pop Art since. Rumor has it that they
have disbanded, and closed their record company (also once home to artists
such as Walking Wounded, Durango 95, and others). If so, they've left
a legacy of music to rival any of their better-known contemporaries, and
to best most of them. Search them out.

---o---

dap
-- 
===============================================================================
    David A. Pearlman

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.                     email: dap@vpharm.com