By James Lyon and Dave Katzman A gimmick is everything to a rock band or singer. If you don’t believe me, just look at Madonna. Do you really think her first album would have taken off if she didn’t put on that all that teeny-bopper garbage with her long red bangs hanging down in her eyes? (I think it was red; so long ago, so many dye jobs.) Well, not that the comparison is a good one, but Sun 60 could easily disappear in a hurry if it doesn’t do something.

The band has a melancholy rock sound to it that comes across very well, and the great thing about it is that the album has a nice distribution of fast songs and soft songs. It plays with the up and down emotional levels of the people that may be listening to them.

Now I am not saying the band is selling out, but the problem with the music is that it sounds like it is trying to imitate what sells, and that doesn’t cut it. While the songs are sung pretty well, and the instruments sound like they are played with feeling, the band does not distinguish itself from all the other groups that are out there right now. You could easily mistake its sound for a thousand other groups with one-hit-wonders that scatter like roaches once the lights come on. (Ugly Kid Joe who?)

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If you are having a party and you want to throw some music on that is pretty good and hasn’t been played to death, Headjoy might do the trick. What matters is that your guests probably won’t recognize the difference.

Tar Over and Out (Touch and Go)

Tar’s final album was recorded with the knowledge of the band’s impending demise, and it shows in the overall mood. It is like a breakup:sometimes angry, sometimes sad, always remorseful, yet somewhat bright with the outlook of a better tomorrow.

The two guitars and bass play together with perfect precision, a beautiful menag trois. Rather than keeping in perfect time, they stray from each other and return, harmonizing and producing a deep dish sound that could come only from this Chicago band. Even while playing the same lines, the guitarists vary their picking enough to separate from each other, as exemplified perfectly at the end of Building Taj Mahal and in Q.V.C.

Tar has historically matured from release to release during its six year life span, but this is the biggest leap so far. Over And Out has the energy of Jackson, the feeling of Clincher and the intensity of Toast. The songs are longer, stretching four to five minutes. The same song can fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee, the roller-coaster contrast keeping the ears peeled on the speakers.

The last song, The Shoo, sums it up perfectly:I think it’s over/I think it’s all right.

Rumor has it that three-fourths of Tar will carry on under a different name, remaining on Touch and Go.

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