June 30, 2000: Austin Chronicle
June 30, 2000:
Jean Caffeine
Idée Fixe (Joe)
Somewhere between Shawn Colvin's saltier side and Patti Smith with a sense of humor, Jean Caffeine has found herself a place on the bench. Her credentials shouldn't have to be trotted out, though it never hurts topoint out that her days as a drummer in New York armed her with an edge that manifests itself in subversive ways. Caffeine's recovered nicely
from the excellent turning-40 angst of her last recording, Knocked DownSeven Times, Got Up Eight, and comes back swinging with passionate words and images on Idée Fixe. One of her tricks is benign-sounding melodies that sucker-punch lyrically, as on "Hand of Country," "Getting Directions," and the opening track, "It's Not Nice Without You (When You're Around)." She minces no words on what passes for the title track "Want It Want It (Idée Fixe)" or the acerbic "I'm Not Your Girlfriend," digging deeply into a scarred psyche for "Kiss My Wound" ("I read about children who couldn't be consoled by their mothers' arms and I felt like one of those children"). Even with such compelling lyrics at hand, Caffeine
is at her best when she slams home her sentiments, as on "Firewall" and "Word Junkie." Even better is her warm embrace of Jon Dee Graham's glorious "Big Sweet Life," especially when pitted against her Marianne Faithfullesque rendition of the elegant "Guilt." Faithfull and Graham -- now there are two disparate influences to toss at the Colvin/Smith reference mix. And just enough of a puzzle to recommend Jean Caffeine and Idée Fixe.
3 1/2 stars
Austin,
TX singer/songwriter Jean Caffeine doesn't do anything different on her
fourth album than she's ever done. She's still hooked on tough roots rock
and still writes intelligent, often witty songs that eviscerate the games
lovers play. The thing that sets Idee Fixe apart from her previous platters
is simply the fact that she's at the top of her game. The hooks are sharper,
the words both funnier and more desperate and her plain-spoken vocals more
expressive than ever. "Guilt," "Firewall" (co-written by Jon Dee Graham),
"I'm Not Your Girlfriend" and "Word Junkie" (no kidding) stand as her best
songs so far. It's tempting to sum up Caffeine's appeal as a that of a
cowpunk Patti Smith, but that would be selling her short. With Idee Fixe,
Jean Caffeine proves she deserves to have other artists compared to her.
- Michael Toland
Austin, TX Austin's
singing/songwriting riot grrl Jean Caffeine is armed with the punk ethic
of Patti Smith and the roots-rock sensibility of Sheryl Crow. She sings
songs with themes ranging from an unquenchable desire for everything ("I
Want It")
On Idée
Fixe, Jean Caffeine1s second solo disc since dissolving the All
Night Truckstop some years back, longtime Austin singer/songwriter
moves
farther away from the kitsch and nouveau country stylings of her past,
and dives unflinchingly into mature, caustic, hardboiled songcraft.
Where
Caffeine1s last effort, Knocked Down 7 Times Got Up 8, bitterly
mused on
heartbreaking romance, Idée Fixe zooms straight into the heart
of
darkness, using those same wrecked relationships for a starting point,
ultimately aiming its focus on larger, and darker, philosophical matters:
desire, obsession, guilt, confusion, self-discovery, anger. All these
things simmer throughout the first eight cuts, leading inevitably toward
"Guilt" ("I never stole from the rich/I never gave to the poor") and
"Kiss My Wound," both of which function as a sort of purging, a pouring
out of everything that preceded them. It1s a messy, emotionally-charged
brew that in itself would make for a great album, but Idée Fixe
is also
Caffeine1s trek into pure rock ån1 roll. In fact, Idée Fixe
heads out
toward the claustrophobic yet searingly rocking soundscapes exemplified
by records like the Rolling Stones1 Exile on Main Street and Patti
Smith1s Horses. The momentum of Lee Jay Pascal1s electric guitar nudges
the songs away from simple folk structures and into a dense, jagged
hard
rock sound that1s particularly effective on the title track and "I1m
Not
Your Girlfriend," where Caffeine1s sneering, pissed off mood permeates
every groove (recalling the emotional landscape of early Liz Phair,
or
even Marianne Faithfull1s Broken English). Idée Fixe1s only
real relief
lies in the relative optimism of a rollicking cover of Jon Dee Graham1s
"Big Sweet Life" (try not singing along on the chorus), and the album1s
one rustic nod, "Hand of Country," which fits in nicely before the
heavier, album-closing pieces. (Luke Torn)
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Austin,
TX singer/songwriter Jean Caffeine doesn't do anything different on her
fourth album than she's ever done. She's still hooked on tough roots rock
and still writes intelligent, often witty songs that eviscerate the games
lovers play. The thing that sets Idee Fixe apart from her previous platters
is simply the fact that she's at the top of her game. The hooks are sharper,
the words both funnier and more desperate and her plain-spoken vocals more
expressive than ever. "Guilt," "Firewall" (co-written by Jon Dee Graham),
"I'm Not Your Girlfriend" and "Word Junkie" (no kidding) stand as her best
songs so far. It's tempting to sum up Caffeine's appeal as a that of a
cowpunk Patti Smith, but that would be selling her short. With Idee Fixe,
Jean Caffeine proves she deserves to have other artists compared to her.
- Michael Toland