Baby Animals
Shaved And Dangerous (Imago)
by Marc Hirsh
Baby Animals
Shaved And Dangerous (Imago)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Rice Thresher, September 3, 1993
It's easy to see why Baby Animals were asked to tour with both Van Halen and Bryan Adams. They're just hard enough to fit in with the Halen crowd and just bland enough to prepare audiences for Mr. Adams. In other words, this Australian band's new album, Shaved and Dangerous, is fairly generic pop metal.
Which may not work against them. They are huge in their native Australia, having won 3 Aria awards, the equivalent to the American Grammy, for their self-titled debut album. After the aforementioned tours, they played their own sold-out shows to enthusiastic crowds at the Marquee in London and the Ritz in New York, an impressive feat for a band without a major hit in this country.
For their second album, Baby Animals have used their critical acclaim and major-league supporters to up the ante, snagging Living Colour producer Ed Stasium and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt to help out. Bettencourt helps out on several tunes, producing and contributing backing vocals to "Life From a Distance" and a cover of Free's "Be My Friend," while playing acoustic guitar on "Because I Can," which he cowrote with singer/songwriter Suze DeMarchi.
Unfortunately, the latter song, along with the Free cover, only serves to underscore the group's major problem, the lack of a strong songwriter. DeMarchi, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise write inoffensive but unspectacular songs that hint at the group's live power but show no promise for any sort of individuality.
In fact, part of the problem with the album is that there is no indication that the group is anything more than just a backdrop for DeMarchi. She seems to be the main focus of the band, while Leslie, Parise, and drummer Frank Celenza are relegated to supporting roles. Even on the album cover and in pictures, DeMarchi, resplendent in low-cut shirts and short black hair with shocking blonde bangs, is front and center surrounded by her three seemingly interchangeable bandmates who even look alike. Sex might not be selling the band, but DeMarchi sure is.
As a vocalist, DeMarchi has an impressive voice but no personality. There is nothing intriguing or interesting about her voice. She sounds like a much less annoying version of Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes, and we definitely don't need another one of those.
So with a powerful but uninteresting banshee wail at her disposal, DeMarchi must rely on her lyrics to convey her message. The album begins with a blunt accusation: "When everyday begins in yesterday/When every light around you shines/You are the lover of a hundred others/So don't tell me what to do." Nothing else on the album comes close to being this up front, relying instead on lines like, "Buputa says you like to sell your hardware/...Sell yourself around." Not appalling, but far from interesting.
Which isn't to say that there aren't impressive moments. The album opens strongly with "Don't Tell Me What To Do," and the last three songs are almost as good. The quality of "Because I Can" can probably be attributed to Bettencourt, and the energy of "At The End Of The Day," coupled with the novelty of a speed/thrash tune sung/spoken in French, save it from mediocrity and give the listener a high note on which to end the album.
"Stoopid" encapsulates both the strengths and weaknesses of the album. The playing and singing, not the song, are what make the track work. The song itself just isn't that memorable or original. In fact, references to Heart's "Barracuda" are sprinkled liberally throughout, and other songs on the album try similar feats, resulting in the "Kashmir"-inspired "Because I Can" and the similarity in the endings of "Backbone" and Guns 'n Roses' "Double Talkin' Jive," both of which fade out the band to leave acoustic guitars playing the song before fading out completely. Which seems to signify that Baby Animals aren't confident enough to step out entirely on their own. It's a pity, too, because with a few pushes in the right direction, Baby Animals might be something more than just this year's passing fancy.