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View attachment 7760
ROB SHEFFIELD (Rollingstone):
rate 4/5
Chavez's "the guard attacks" is a song you would play for a Martian who wanted to know what electric guitars are for. It's only three minutes long, yet Clay Tarver and Matt Sweeney splatter the walls with power chords and explosive harmonics, surging from peak to peak. Plus, the words are funny ("Your uncertain age gives me the shakes"), and the drummer is a madman. These guys never got their due, because they were out of step with most Nineties indie rock -- they were cerebral yet not especially tortured, fond of high-end sonics, metropolitan at a time no band wanted to admit it came from New York. But this totally crucial two-CD comp shows off Chavez's brilliance, editing metal textures, prog structures and post-punk feedback into compactly melodic gems like "Unreal Is Here" and "Peeled Out Too Late." When Sweeney sings the line "There is nothing to not be amazed at," the feeling is still mutual.
Amazon's editorial review:
Along with Versus, Silkworm, and Red Red Meat, Chavez were one of the best guitar-rock bands in a decade oversaturated with such acts, in both the over- and underground. Fans and newbies alike can rejoice with Better Days, a three-disc collection with two CDs and one DVD. The tracks--1995's Gone Glimmering and 1996's Ride The Fader plus B-sides, one previously unreleased tune, and a few songs from compilations--have all been remastered. The New York-based act had actual harmonies to match their big power-chorded anthems. And sure, their tunes were literate and funny--but most importantly, they totally rocked. The best thing about the band, as has often been noted, was the twin guitar playing of Clay Tarver and Matt Sweeney. It's in evidence all over this generous retrospective. --Mike McGonigal
Track Listings (box set)
Disc: 1
1. Repeat The Ending
2. Hack The Sides Away
3. Nailed To The Blank Spot
4. Break Up Your Band
5. Laugh Track
6. The Ghost By The Sea
7. Pentagram Ring
8. Peeled Out Too Late
9. The Flaming Gong
10. Wakeman’s Air
Disc: 2
1. Break Up Your Band VIDEO
2. Unreal Is Here VIDEO
3. Boys Making Music... Music Making Men DOCUMENTARY (with Garry Marshall
4. New Room
5. Tight Around The Jaws
6. Lions
7. Our Boys Will Shine Tonight
8. Memorize This Face
9. Cold Joys
10. Flight ‘96
ROB SHEFFIELD (Rollingstone):
rate 4/5
Chavez's "the guard attacks" is a song you would play for a Martian who wanted to know what electric guitars are for. It's only three minutes long, yet Clay Tarver and Matt Sweeney splatter the walls with power chords and explosive harmonics, surging from peak to peak. Plus, the words are funny ("Your uncertain age gives me the shakes"), and the drummer is a madman. These guys never got their due, because they were out of step with most Nineties indie rock -- they were cerebral yet not especially tortured, fond of high-end sonics, metropolitan at a time no band wanted to admit it came from New York. But this totally crucial two-CD comp shows off Chavez's brilliance, editing metal textures, prog structures and post-punk feedback into compactly melodic gems like "Unreal Is Here" and "Peeled Out Too Late." When Sweeney sings the line "There is nothing to not be amazed at," the feeling is still mutual.
Amazon's editorial review:
Along with Versus, Silkworm, and Red Red Meat, Chavez were one of the best guitar-rock bands in a decade oversaturated with such acts, in both the over- and underground. Fans and newbies alike can rejoice with Better Days, a three-disc collection with two CDs and one DVD. The tracks--1995's Gone Glimmering and 1996's Ride The Fader plus B-sides, one previously unreleased tune, and a few songs from compilations--have all been remastered. The New York-based act had actual harmonies to match their big power-chorded anthems. And sure, their tunes were literate and funny--but most importantly, they totally rocked. The best thing about the band, as has often been noted, was the twin guitar playing of Clay Tarver and Matt Sweeney. It's in evidence all over this generous retrospective. --Mike McGonigal
Track Listings (box set)
Disc: 1
1. Repeat The Ending
2. Hack The Sides Away
3. Nailed To The Blank Spot
4. Break Up Your Band
5. Laugh Track
6. The Ghost By The Sea
7. Pentagram Ring
8. Peeled Out Too Late
9. The Flaming Gong
10. Wakeman’s Air
Disc: 2
1. Break Up Your Band VIDEO
2. Unreal Is Here VIDEO
3. Boys Making Music... Music Making Men DOCUMENTARY (with Garry Marshall
4. New Room
5. Tight Around The Jaws
6. Lions
7. Our Boys Will Shine Tonight
8. Memorize This Face
9. Cold Joys
10. Flight ‘96