STRAITJACKET FITS
Missing From Melt EP (Arista)
Roller Ride EP (Arista)
"Bad Note For a Heart" 7-inch (Flying Nun)
"Down In Splendour" double 7-inch (Flying Nun)

Missing From Melt has three LP tracks, but also features two new B-sides: "In Spite of It All" is pretty, chiming, "strait"forward pop that should have been on the (otherwise super) Melt to counteract the preponderance of darker, moody material. Its gentle grace and Andrew Brough's (he should write more!) strong, sighing, resonant vocal is one of their finer moments. "Cave In" is Shayne Carter's, built on the bass (the echo-y guitars are smartly to the back) giving it a stripped down, unique feel until it magnifies to a more intense end. All's well that ends well, and this CD EP is in many a used bin, so it's cheap. The "Roller Ride" EP is an even better purchase, with crashing live versions of "Bad Note For a Heart," "Down in Splendour," and best of all, a decimating "A.P.S." (still the LP's zenith, and a real stunner when they opened with it in New Haven). Recorded 4/29/91 "Live at the Wireless" on JJJ in Australia, these three are the perfect compound, the group's plaintive atmospherics and their loud bashing fury. As live recordings go, these are exceptional, anyone got the whole concert on tape? Pant pant. The two new tracks on "Missing From Melt" were B-sides of the New Zealand 7-inchers. So you don't need the "Bad Note For a Heart" 7-inch with "In Spite of It All" on the flip, but you do want the "Down in Splendour" double 7-inch; in addition to "Cave In" it sports a track not released in the U.S. "Seeing You Fled" is also live from JJJ (no studio version has been released), and comes across like '81 Chills, with its insistence on lightly-picked staccato eighth notes and weaving guitars. This is another that's too good for B-side-land. Why is it their more forthright mid-tempo pop material was banished so? All three of these new songs rank among their best of '91! And why wasn't "Seeing You Fled" added to the "Roller Ride" CD, since it's the same concert? Is it good enough for the Australians and New Zealanders, but not for us? Only the most rabid (er, make that ardent) fans will fork over the $$$ for all three (out of four) new releases necessary for a complete collection, but with music this good, you won't regret it. Late note: we're told Brough has quit the band; we're really sad to hear that, he was a key member.

- Jack Rabid

STRAITJACKET FITS - "Down In Splendour" (Flying Nun/Arista)

Deep, rich and complex - a Beatlesque magical mystery trove of pop hooks and dreamy psychedelia laced with plaintive, yearning vocals. Guitarist Andrew Brough, the sweeter foil to main songwriter Shayne Carter's acerbic epic extravaganzas, weaves a treasure chest of spiralling melodies with singing strangely reminiscent of 60's Merry-Go-Round vocalist Emmitt Rhodes to create a 45 that seems to jump effortlessly between different moods until it sounds like an array of escalating sublime choruses ringing majestically over the odd verse. This wonderment is extracted from Melt, the year's best LP, bar none. The Fits have peaked. "Hey, down in splendour, take a bow." (9 1/2)

- Jeff Kelson