Pumphouse

The Tokyo Blade name had been contorted in all sorts of wacky directions throughout the 80's, collaborating with new wave bands, writing lounge songs, and trying to Frankenstein glam and grunge together with Burning Down Paradise. In keeping with the band's tradition of doing everything in their power not to celebrate their own legacy albums, we were given Pumphouse in 1998. Alan Marsh, Tokyo Blade's original vocalist, began a side project called Pumphouse, which yielded to the reformation of Tokyo Blade in 1995. Since Marsh had written some music that would otherwise go to waste, and Tokyo Blade needed to release an album, the end result was a Pumphouse album called a Tokyo Blade album called Pumphouse.

I suppose this sort of thing happens from time to time, with Seventh Star and Animal House for example, not to mention all the controversy over Tipton's alleged lack of involvement in modern affair like Firepower. But this album seems especially egregious, because it leads you to believe it'll feature Andy Boulton's creative thumbprint: the lead guitarist and defining member of the legendary NWOBHM band. In actuality, this was all written and performed without Tokyo Blade's knowledge, much less participation. Jesus wept, that'd be like calling Balls to Picasso an Iron Maiden album.

That being said, Pumphouse is actually not that bad. Compositions are perky, energetic, and for once I can enjoy some eclectic vocals without being in constant fear of a syrupy glam harmony making a mockery of the chorus. In a bizarre turn of events, Pumphouse sounds slightly faithful to classic Tokyo Blade, or at least moreso than airy drivel like Ain't Misbehavin' and No Remorse. It follows the band's original ethos of combining streetwise bite and broad commercial appeal, and has allowed it to follow a more natural curvature than Burning Down Paradise. To this end, tracks like 'Gerald's Game' and 'Wrong Chair' are defined by a bizarre kinship to where Megadeth's career was at this time. And yes, Cryptic Writings and Risk are by no means the most ideal ways to spend time with Megadeth, but we're grading on a curve here. Syncopated riffing, avantgarde melodic singing, and a larger-than-life personage bring tracks like 'Pay the Man' to life.

Though with that said, Pumphouse is still stuffed to the gills with senseless, cynical affair that defined the late 90's. All the typical pratfalls are present, most notably an irritating insistence on slow tempos, and an obscenely prominent bass squelching its way through tracks like a talking cartoon salmon. Had these tracks been played more vigorously, with less emphasis placed on funk riffs and non-threatening gang vocals, and more on clean guitar solos, I'd be awfully close to giving this album a recommendation.

Far better than it has any right to be, mind you, and debatably the finest "Tokyo Blade" release since Blackhearts and Jaded Spades... but still a long way away from a "hidden gem" in Tokyo Blade's bizarre discography.