By Gregory Crofton
Senior Staff Writer
The four band members are split into two pairs as they loiter in front of the Screening Room, a defunct porno theater in Birmingham, Ala. Their disheveled appearance can be explained by the previous night of heavy drinking and the daylight they now absorb seems poisonous.
This picture is the cover of an album by Verbena, a three man and one woman self-described "heavy-pop" band from Birmingham.
In the group photo (right), Daniel Johnston, Verbena's bass player, stands on the far-right. The stone-cold expression on his face reflects the insecurity every young band member must feel as he is thrust into the spot light.
Just last fall, Verbena, who released their first full-length album "Souls for Sale" on Merge Records in April of 1997, was scooped up by major label Capitol Records.
It's no coincidence that Capitol signed Verbena. The band recently finished a fall tour opening some dates for Jesus Lizard and some for the Foo Fighters, both of whom are signed to Capitol.
In fact, Dave Grohl, front-man for the Foo Fighters, named "Souls for Sale" his favorite record of the year in Spin magazine. Why would captain Foo Fighter like this album?
For at least three reasons: Verbena is heavy on guitar (they have two guitarists), they keep an arsenal of great pop songs on-hand and they rely on boy/girl vocal harmonies of guitarist Scott Bondy and guitarist Ann Marie Griffin to deliver their verbal hooks.
With a first listen, this band sounds like a deft combination of Nirvana and Sonic Youth. After a few more spins, Verbena's Southern roots can be heard in the bluesy guitar riffs that lay the foundation for songs like "Junk For Fashion," "Me & Keith" and "Kiss Yourself."
Two tracks, "The Song The Ended Your Career" and "Postcard Blues," are particularly ripe pop fruits ready to be plucked by the masses. Both numbers are slow enough to be considered ballads, but the plaintive, mesmerizing vocals of Bondy and Griffin quickly become the focus of the songs.
At the band's core, however, is a love to grind out hard, ear-catching rock. The heavy riffing of "The Desert," "Hot Blood" and "So What" leaves a listener defenseless. The music brings to mind a racetrack where a lucky few are left to dodge the drag racing funny cars and cough from the noxious fumes.
Clean-breathing or not, this record clocks in at a record time. It's 37-minute length flies by with the help of producer David Fridmann, a man who has worked with Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. He puts a sheen on this record that seems, at first, to work, but with time the album becomes too easily digested.
Prior to "Souls for Sale," Verbena released the EP "Pilot Park" and two 7-inch singles titled "I Say So" and "Everyday Shoes" on Merge Records.