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Beat Happening's final LP is also their best: concluding the emotional
and musical progression begun with the minimalist innocence of their earliest
work, You Turn Me On is a mature record of tremendous breadth and complexity.
Where once the trio's songs were brief and bouncy, the nine tracks here
are epic (several top out at over six minutes) and ambitious; produced
in part by ex-Young Marble Giant Stuart Moxham (an obvious influence),
the record's full, deep sound belies its bare-bones performances -- "Teenage
Caveman" sports booming, primal drums perfectly suited to its title,
while the propulsive "Noise" manufactures the illusion of a
bass line where none ever existed. The most democratic record in an output
founded on egalitarian ideals, You Turn Me On offers Heather Lewis' strongest
songs ever -- her hypnotic nine-minute "Godsend" is the LP's
heart and soul -- and she and Calvin Johnson even trade verses on the
closing "Bury the Hammer." As for Calvin himself, his solo contributions
are exceptional -- the spartan opener "Tiger Trap" is an evocative
heartbreaker, and the title track is a fire-breathing corker. A masterpiece.
(by Jason Ankeny, All
Music Guide)
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