The one full effort
Minxus gave to the world may not have been deathless per se, but there's enough going on here that anyone interested in some of the more obscure twists and turns of '90s indie rock should give
Pabulum a listen. It doesn't hurt that She Rocola remains one of the more underrated frontwomen of the time; as lyrically sharp as
PJ Harvey but less prone to roots rock worship and as able as
Laetitia Sadier to sound deceptively sweet, she delivers on both singing and bass playing quite well. Gavin Pearce's guitar kicks out some fine frazzle and stinging, sudden parts (check out the
Fall-inspired lope that starts "The Falcon Contract"), but it's the Rocola/Joe Whitney rhythm section that really defines the songs -- brisk, energetic, able to twist and stop on a dime, all while generally avoiding 4/4 beats whenever possible. There aren't any calm moments per se, but at times the band knowingly cuts back to increase the impact, as at the start of "I Know You Want to Stop," where Pearce's guitar seems to suggest a quiet number before a sudden shuddering series of beats and notes heralds choppy, tight arrangements. Pearce himself sings on the track as elsewhere; he's good enough in a rough way, but not as striking in the end as Rocola. Her singing is as prone to consciously work against what melody is in a song as it is to work with it (or on the title track, creating it on her own), but she never loses the spirit of the song's flow, whether it's the careening kick of "Silk Purse," the simmering contempt against misogynism on "Vultura," or the amazing vision of feminine adolescence and its pitfalls in "Liberty Bodice(a)." ~ Ned Raggett