Quirky post-grungers
Harvey Danger maintain their gnarling punk influences on their second effort
King James Version. Still playful for the mainstream and indie enough for the college kids,
Harvey Danger are fresh and witty, continuously satirical throughout the dozen-song set list. Frontman Sean C. Nelson sings like a 12-year-old boy, and Jeff Linn's guitar hooks are fetching enough to make
Harvey Danger's sophomore release undoubtedly solid. Nelson makes hilarious calls on pop culture --
Kip Winger, the Marlboro Man -- and twists new wave ambience with jaunty fragments of '80s anthem punk rock. Songs such as "(Theme From) Carjack Fever" and "Meetings With Remarkable Men (Show Me the Hero)" are wry, whereas others "Why I'm Lonely" and "You Miss the Point Completely I Get the Point Exactly" reflect on bittersweet heartbreaks.
Harvey Danger aren't afraid to be funny, poking fun at what's supposed to be taken seriously. And if 1998's "Flagpole Sitta" didn't indicate such sharpness, the material rollicking on
King James Version will. ~ MacKenzie Wilson