Beaker (album)

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Beaker
Beaker (album).jpg
Studio album by
Released1995
RecordedSummer 1995
Genre Alternative rock, folk
Label Zero Hour [1]
Producer Adam Lasus, Carrie Johnson, Libby Johnson
22 Brides chronology
22 Brides
(1994)
Beaker
(1995)
Blazes of Light EP
(1997)

Beaker is the second album by the American band 22 Brides. [2] [3] It was released in 1995. [4] The band supported the album by touring with Dick Dale. [5] The first single was "Lullabye". [4]

Contents

A comic book, 22 Brides, inspired in part by the band and created by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, was used to promote Beaker via a full-page ad in each issue. [6] [7]

Production

The album was produced by Adam Lasus and band leaders/sisters Carrie and Libby Johnson, with additional production by J. Cox. [8] Much of it was recorded using Lasus's analog equipment. [9] Unlike the band's debut, Beaker included a studio drummer and an additional studio guitarist/bassist; full-time band members were recruited after its completion. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Trouser Press thought that "the graft of punky abandon to the trunk of folky preciousness doesn’t mesh strongly enough to make the second album more than moderately intriguing ... but experimental hybrids do have a way of sprouting strange flowers." [1] The Albuquerque Journal praised the "straightforward pop sincerity that rocks accordingly... No cutesy Veruca Salt beguilement or overly catchy riffs." [11] The State deemed the album "a refreshing blast of energetic guitar pop, reminiscent of the Bangles and the Pretenders." [12]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch determined that "the melodies and execution frequently fall into pleasant genericism (and the slower stuff simply drags)." [13] The Austin American-Statesman labeled the group a "Pretenders-meets-Nirvana quartet." [14] Acknowledging the Indigo Girls comparisons resulting from the debut album, Tulsa World called the sisters "indie-go girls—all the guts without the cheap sentiment." [15] The Washington Post opined that, "though it's noteworthy for being livelier and more raucous than the band's self-titled debut, 22 Brides' Beaker reveals that [the] sibling singer-songwriters ... have gotten better at both ballads and rockers." [16]

AllMusic wrote that "22 Brides add a raw, electric edge to Carrie and Libby Johnson's blissful sibling harmonies on their sophomore release." [10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Lullabye" 
2."Already Thrown" 
3."House on Fire" 
4."Crash" 
5."Henry" 
6."True" 
7."Truck Stop" 
8."Sunday Best" 
9."Chain" 
10."Every Last Day" 
11."Still Remains" 
12."Insomnia" 
13."No Enemies" 

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fotos y Recuerdos</span> 1995 single by Selena

"Fotos y Recuerdos" is a song recorded by American recording artist Selena for her fourth studio album, Amor Prohibido (1994). It was released by EMI Latin in January 1995, as the fourth single. A cover version of the Pretenders' 1983 single "Back on the Chain Gang", "Fotos y Recuerdos" was written by Chrissie Hynde with Spanish-language lyrics by Ricky Vela. Lyrically, the song describes a lonely female protagonist who "kisses the photo of her [lover] each night before falling asleep."

<i>The Dirt of Luck</i> 1995 studio album by Helium

The Dirt of Luck is the first full-length album from American indie rock band Helium. It was released in April 1995 on Matador Records and was produced by Adam Lasus.

<i>1001</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Dead Hot Workshop

1001 is an album by the American alternative rock band Dead Hot Workshop, released in 1995. A commercial disappointment, it was the band's only album to be put out by a major label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Johnson</span> American singer and composer

Libby Johnson is an American singer-songwriter. She co-founded the indie folk band 22 Brides in 1992, and released her debut solo album, Annabella, in 2006.

Zero Hour Records was an indie rock record label based in New York City. It was established in 1990 by Ray McKenzie, a former phone clerk for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The label's first release was McKenzie's own 12" single "The Ozone Hole." In 1995, Rising Tide Entertainment, a joint venture between Doug Morris and MCA Music Entertainment, announced it would be distributing and marketing Zero Hour Records's albums. In 1997, the label opened the $300,000 mastering studio Ground Zero in SoHo, Manhattan. According to Billboard, this studio was intended to "cater to the full range of independent labels in New York", not just Zero Hour.

<i>Tings an Times</i> 1991 studio album by Linton Kwesi Johnson

Tings an' Times is an album by the Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1991. It was Johnson's first album in six years. Tings an' Times also served as the title of a book of Johnson's poetry.

<i>Famous</i> (Super Deluxe album) 1995 studio album by Super Deluxe

Famous is the debut album by the American band Super Deluxe, released in 1995. The album was remastered and rereleased the following year by the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Revolution Records, with an extra track. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Murk Time Cruiser</i> 1995 studio album by aMiniature

Murk Time Cruiser is the second album by the American band aMiniature. It was released in 1995. The band promoted the album by touring with Seam, Versus, and Venus Cures All, bands, like aMiniature, that included Asian-American members.

<i>Broadcaster</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Triple Fast Action

Broadcaster is the first album by the American band Triple Fast Action, released in 1996. "Revved Up" was the album's first single. The band supported the album with a North American tour. Broadcaster was a commercial failure.

<i>People</i> (Babe the Blue Ox album) 1996 studio album by Babe the Blue Ox

People is an album by the American band Babe the Blue Ox, released in 1996. Like the band's other releases, the album title shares a name with a Barbra Streisand record.

<i>Powerful Pain Relief</i> 1995 studio album by Love Jones

Powerful Pain Relief is the second album by the American band Love Jones, released in 1995. The band was considered part of the mid-1990s "Cocktail Nation" trend of retro cocktail lounge groups.

<i>Auscultate</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Salt

Auscultate is the debut album by the Swedish Salt. Island Records released the album in the United States in 1996.

<i>Junkfuel</i> 1994 studio album by Fretblanket

Junkfuel is the debut album by the English band Fretblanket, released in 1994.

<i>...finally</i> 1996 studio album by Too Much Joy

...finally is an album by the American alternative rock band Too Much Joy, released in 1996. Its first single was "The Kids Don't Understand".

<i>Red</i> (God Street Wine album) 1996 studio album by God Street Wine

Red is an album by the American rock band God Street Wine. Initially put out in 1995 via the band's label, it was picked up by Mercury Records the following year, after Danny Goldberg caught their show at the Beacon Theatre.

<i>Purplemetalflakemusic</i> 1993 studio album by the Fluid

Purplemetalflakemusic is the fourth and final album by the American alternative rock band the Fluid, released in 1993. It was the band's first album for a major label. The Fluid named the album after their music publishing company.

<i>Scared Straight</i> (album) 1996 studio album by New Bomb Turks

Scared Straight is an album by the American band New Bomb Turks, released in 1996. It was the band's first album to be released in Canada. New Bomb Turks promoted the album with a North American tour.

<i>Delta Hurricane</i> 1993 studio album by Larry McCray

Delta Hurricane is the second album by the American musician Larry McCray, released in 1993. McCray supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Selling the Gold</i> 1995 studio album by Elliott Murphy

Selling the Gold is an album by the American musician Elliott Murphy, released in Europe 1995. It was released in the United States in January 1996. Murphy, who had for years been selling better in Europe, shot a video for "Love to America". Murphy supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Pomegranate</i> (Poi Dog Pondering album) 1995 studio album by Poi Dog Pondering

Pomegranate is an album by the American band Poi Dog Pondering, released in 1995. It was first released in a limited edition by the band's label, with a national release by Bar/None Records. The band supported the album with a North American tour. Pomegranate sold more than 40,000 copies in its first six months of release. "Catacombs" was released as a single. An EP, Electrique Plummagram, contained dance remixes of some Pomegranate tracks.

References

  1. 1 2 "22 Brides". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. "22 Brides Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. "Bigger 22 Brides checks in at Eastside". Bravo!. Kitsap Sun. Oct 26, 1995. p. 4.
  4. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 306.
  5. 1 2 Bessman, Jim (Aug 12, 1995). "22 Brides say 'I do' to new band members". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 32. p. 10.
  6. Stinnett, Conrad L. (August 19, 1996). "Stuff". Journal Star. p. C1.
  7. Horak, Terri (Jul 20, 1996). "Zero Hour's 22 Brides find comic alter ego". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 29. p. 10.
  8. "22 Brides by Beaker – Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 48. Dec 2, 1995. p. 81.
  9. Renzhofer, Martin (27 Oct 1995). "Johnson Sisters Bring Their Own Styles to 22 Brides and New Album, 'Beaker'". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. E10.
  10. 1 2 "Beaker". AllMusic.
  11. Hopper, Kevin (1 Mar 1996). "22 Brides Springs from Tangled Roots". Albuquerque Journal. p. E18.
  12. Miller, Michael (February 16, 1996). "Modern Rock Sounding Off in Midlands". Weekend. The State. p. 12.
  13. Dickinson, Chris (22 Nov 1995). "22 Brides". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 12.
  14. Riemenschneider, Chris (23 Nov 1995). "Quick Picks". Austin American-Statesman. p. 4.
  15. Conner, Thomas (March 1, 1996). "Brides to Be – Touring's a Family Affair for 22 Brides". Entertainment. Tulsa World. p. 10.
  16. Jenkins, Mark (21 June 1996). "Ridgway ISO Style; Brides Find Theirs". The Washington Post. p. N13.