Kill Tunes

A thwarted poet, Leaving Trains singer Falling James (Moreland) is a latter-day Jim Morrison (look at the black-and-white insert photo), turning his own demons into a rambunctious punk rock party that makes up for its sloppiness with an undeniable energy. On their first album for indie powerhouse SST, Leaving Trains embarks on a ragged rock & roll tour of the form's favorite subjects, with the road ("Kinette"), self-destruction ("Falling"), and alcohol and cigarettes ("Drunker Version of You" and "Cigarette Motel," which combines all three) receiving treatment. Boasting a sound somewhere between the punk of the early Saints ("Private Affair" is given a reverent cover), old-fashioned rock & roll, and the just-burgeoning neo-folk of R.E.M., the album mixes soft ballads, high-octane rave-ups, and furious rock played with endearing jangle, roaring bar chords, and catchy pop hooks. Holding it all together is James' raw attitude and amusing, often poetic lyrics. On "Terminal Island" he claims, "I was planted in a field of depression/Just keeping an eye on the crows," and on "She's Looking at You" he admits "I'll never look into every girl's eyes/Or see the resolution of each horizon line." Throughout, this disconsolate mood meets the fury of punk, epitomizing the defeated but not quitting, enervated energy. Elsewhere, there's social criticism ("Black") and recognition of punk's futility ("10 Generations" corners "My Generation" with its suggestion that "We're all poseurs, we're all fake/We're the same has-beens we've grown to hate"). But even among the songs of dissipation (opening cut heroin peaen "Light Rain"), there is hope, love ("Vicki," "Terminal Island"), and the stubborn refusal to quit, despite the metaphoric "Warning Track" proclamation that "the promise of the outfield drops dead at the warning track."