don't ask don't tell
[1994, matador]

considering the collective indie rock clout of boston's come, it's somewhat curious to me how this band never really seemed to catch on. those who know seem to love, but also seem to be few and far between. come featured indie stalwart chris brokaw, who, in the course of his musical career, played drums for gg allin, founded the slow-core (or snore-core, if you're a pun-loving cynic) band codeine. he was also in the post-bedhead project the new year, as well as consonant, pullman, red cities and, additionally (and unfortunately), had a hand in helping liz phair have a career. despite being around for longer than codeine, come has not enjoyed nearly as much success (that being a relative term). aside from their dark, grungy at times, tone and somber subject matter, the real character of the group comes from their vocalist / guitarist, thalia zedek. she brought a great deal of (post) punk credibility to the band from her stints in previous groups uzi, dangerous birds, live skull and white women (whom i've yet to find recordings of), but it's her voice, gruff and world weary, that helped make the band such a distinct figure in the 90's independent scene. come was rounded out by a pair of athens, georgia expats; drummer arthur johnson (bar-b-q killers) and bassist sean o'brien (kilkenny cats).

it would be damn near impossible to craft an album as moody as this one without having it be personal, but thalia must be lauded for her ability to somewhat obscure her tales of woe. they never come across as implicitly to the listener, steering clear of unnecessary melodrama and preachiness which can bog down and diminish returns. as an ex-heroin addict, i'm pretty sure that some of the things she would have to say would be pretty soul-crushing, if the music is to serve as any indicator. instead she offers us hints and little glimpses, but it's the tone of both her voice and the music which ultimately tell her stories. that being said, i'm about 90% sure that the album opener, finish line, is about heroin. if that is the case, it's pretty damn subtle, but lines like "the starting shot was all botched, she complained, so why did you make me stop running" and "everyone's got that evil thing, that's why they can't understand, everyone's got that rubber band..." seem to have more to do with heroin than a marathon race. lest one think that come is just the thalia zedek experience, the music in this six and a half minute piece is top notch, as well. it begins slowly, but changes up after barely twenty seconds into a great fragmented passage with noisy guitar squalls that end abruptly (and in unison with the drums) before picking back up again. a dynamic that they'll later employ on the song's chorus, but it works brilliantly here as it fractures the song when it had barely even started. as finish line plays out they'll continue to throw in subtle changes; meandering guitar passages and then later into a hurried instrumental which deteriorates, pleasantly, during the final minute.

the first two minutes of mercury falls are downtempo but full of great lyrics from thalia, as is the entire song, "mercury falls, like skin off a bone" and my personal favorite, "the summertime is here, when people disappear, with everybody gone, don't you get sick alone?" after those two minutes they'll kick it up instrumentally, establishing a great driving tempo over which she barks "look at the sky, go back inside, and turn the corner into the night". jesus. i'm not one to obsess over lyrics, as long as they stay out of the music's way, i'm good, but the imagery of this song is fucking amazing.

the more upbeat yr reign continues that theme, it also continues the theme of not having songs end the way they began, too. the galloping guitar chords that coincide with "i'm your horse, i'm your horse, reign me!" are brilliant. most of the time the guitars merely provide zedek with the perfect canvas for her prose, but don't attract too much attention to themselves, but the swirling melody of this song has them playing equals.

poison is a punchy number that manages to squeeze a lot into its two and a half minutes. i'm at a loss for just what this song is about, though. it starts out with an allusion to sleeping beauty "eat the apple before it eats you", but quickly strays from that. at least it sounds good. especially notable is the drastic shift in tone during the chorus, which features a wonderful supporting vocal turn by brokaw.

lyrically, the slow-burning let's get lost is about as straight forward as it gets on this album. it's quite remarkable that they manage to stretch this out over seven minutes without wearing out its theme "let's get lost, not like last time, when we got found". the credit for that is two-fold, her raspy melodies don't fail to captivate, nor do the tempo changes. apart from johnson's always impressive drumming, there's not much to grasp onto with the music, at least not for the first four minutes. the change in direction that accompanies thalia's "someone told me, someone told me, i'm a stranger..." makes the song more memorable, with one of the guitars mimicking her phrasing. chris's brief backing vocals also make for a nice change of pace.

somehow string always manages to trick me. for almost the first two minutes it's rather bland and i have to fight the urge to skip it. it's uptempo but nothing seems particularly noteworthy, not the music nor the lyrics, it just kind of exists, but once we get to "while i was dreaming... you were screaming... you do it on purpose, i know, so i can't sleep. you sleep like an angel, baby, i sleep like i'm just waiting" things definitely take a turn for the better. the song comes to a slow halt after the superb lyric "don't you ever try to walk away from my love". then starts again by revising the introductory chords, but remaking them into something far more indelible, and they'll wisely integrate them into the mix for the track's remainder.
the achingly beautiful german song is don't ask's finest musical contribution. the gorgeous, haunting central guitar melody is matched by a terrific slow drive from the second and a great bassline, too. it's actually one of the few times that o'brien's instrument firmly establishes itself, though it's a much easier task to achieve when the percussion gives the other instruments breathing room, as it does here. even when the song hits its upbeat peaks the guitars still make an impression. thalia even manages to fight back her trademark rasp, adopting a sweetly optimistic tone that mirrors the melodic guitar "no more sweets for you, there's nothing safe for you, i'm sorry, little girl, we'll find another world..." seeing as how the vocals don't even come in until shortly after three minutes, and play a very small role, it's great that the music was so fantastic.

unfortunately, they'll follow one of the album's best offerings with it's lone misstep, in/out. the weirdest thing about it is that the music is actually pretty good, but the chorus is fucking terrible and the rest of the lyrics just fall flat. it's definitely the most rocking song of the set, so maybe this was the group's attempt to keep the album from being a joyless affair, but in the context of it, it's just dreadfully out of place. the music keeps it from being bad, but it's just... not good.

come will climb back into our good graces with the slower wrong side and the difference between this and in/out is rather stark. just the lyrics of the chorus (it varies slightly in its two instances) "all of the saints, got up from the table, got under the table, and spread out their skirts, and told me.. don't you worry" pretty much render the song that preceded it wholly unnecessary. instrumentally, the gang's back to assuming a purely secondary role, but that's just fine.

the album concludes with its slowest and lengthiest offering, arrive, oh, and i do mean slooow. the juxtaposition of in/out and wrong side had me musing that zedek's vocals make the music sound better, but the music rarely seems to return the favor, which is either a testament to her ability or my admiration for her, but then this song proved me wrong. thalia's subdued singing style here is like the musical equivalent of ambien, lacking the passionate outbursts heard previously, but, unexpectedly, the music comes in to save the day. early in the song there's some ephemeral pretty moments, but the memorable instrumental shift that occurs at the two and a half minute mark is what really wins me over. the occasional re-usage of it, serving as a chorus, during the song's remaining five minutes certainly help, too, making what would be an alright song into one worth revisiting.

all four of come's albums are worth owning, but the clear standout to me is this one. i will submit that secret number, from 1996's also great, but in a different way, near life experience, is my ultimate favorite song of theirs, though. don't ask don't tell is a masterwork of moodiness; slow, intricate, well-crafted, ambitious, dark and depressing, but also supremely rewarding and more evenly balanced than their other efforts. there's only one song on here that i truly don't like, which, admittedly, i can't say for any of their other records, but the other nine tracks don't fail to make a positive lasting impact, which i also can't say for any of their other records.

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car (from 1992's sub pop issued the car ep)