Sardina - Presents

Name: Sardina 
Album: Presents
Year: 1995
Style: Indie Pop, Psych Rock, 
Similar Bands: Spinanes, Ass Ponys, Velocity Girl, Edie Brickell, Shins, Of Montreal (early)
"One-Word" Review: incense and underground coffee house pop
Based Out Of: Indianapolis, IN
Label: HitIt! Recordings

Cover & Back, Promo Sticker

CD, CD Back, Liner Notes

Presents (1995)

1. Ding Dong, The Liberty Horse 2:45
2. I'll Be Around 2:49
3. Pickled Frogs 4:08
4. He's On Drugs Again 4:26
5. Cockadoodledoo 4:29
6. The Formula 2:09
7. Hey 3:32
8. Travel And Tourism 3:17
9. Big Man 4:57
10. Antelopes 5:15
11. Wagon Wheel 5:02
12. Messy Moe 4:52

Album Rating (1-10): 7.0

Members & Other Bands:

• Michelle Marchesseault - Vox, Guitar (the Gerunds)
• Marty Green - Guitar, Vox, Organ, Clarinet, Clavioline, Casiotone, Piano, Percussion, Record Player, Water Bottle
• P.J. Christine - Bass, Organ, Trumpet, Vox, Percussion (The Gerunds)
• Lonpaul Ellrich - Drums, Vox, Piano, Harmonica, Concertmate, DX7, Loops, Percussion, Record Player, Water Bottle (The Gerunds, Marmoset, United States Three)
• Vess Ruhtenberg - Slide Guitar (United States Three)
• Kent Jolly - Guitar
• George Sarikos - Accordion
• Ken Waagner - Producer
• Chris Shepard - Recording, Mixing
• Gus Mossler - Recording
• Dan Stout - Editing
• Roger Seibel - Mastering
• Bob Plant - Cover Concept
• Al Brandtner - Realization
• Gary Hannabarger - Photography
  

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but will it be classic rock, like the obvious cover & album name riffing on Led Zeppelin's Presence,  even going so far as to credit "Bob" Plant with the cover concept in the liner notes. Probably not. I'm guessing from the creative tribute and the band members, (assuming they are in the cover photo), it will be solid indie pop with a touch of punk sensibility. The promo sticker on the cover, claims hooks, chanting and psychedelia, and the members cover a bunch of instruments, per the liner notes, so this should/could be a complex sonic sound.

Album Review: The album starts out strong, with great pop tracks with hints of garage psych, and even a smattering of country- these are songs that could have been recorded today, and still sound as relevant, fresh, and not dated. But the album slows down as it reaches the conclusion, piling on the slow 4-5 minute methodical foot draggers to put you to bed. While Marchesseault is the focused singer, everyone contributes their voice to the album, giving it a depth of diversity that continues to keep it interesting. The opening track has a Ween meets Mosquitos quality to it. Pickled Frogs has a little bit of a New Pornographers sound. But I wouldn't say any of those bands typifies this band.

From the ashes of The Gerunds, most of the members came back together, auditioned friend & guitarist Marty Green, and founded Sardina. They were on the verge of big things, as evident by the competence and clear sound on their one and only album,  moved to Chicago to pursue stardom, only to have Green quit, leading to the rest band's collapse; all over a 4 year span. Their parody/tribute cover & name even got them an article in People mag, which may have been as much a negative type-cast critique of the band as it could have been a benefit from big-time press.

Stand Out Track: Pickled Frogs

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