When Don Condescending (the alter ego of Atlanta native Christopher Snell) speaks, it’s usually in the perfect pop vernacular of the new wave circa 1982 and most likely it has to do with an issue of early adolescence. Condescending is the creative force behind the Shut-Ups, and with a backing quartet at the ready, he has launched a fully formed second album.
There are a lot of possible musical reference points here, as Snell really has done his homework. He knows how to craft catchy music with a comedic edge, something akin to what the group Blotto did ages ago (only more sophisticated). There’s also a bit of Devo, Talking Heads, the irreverence of They Might Be Giants and Jonathan Richman as well as a healthy dose of almost any new age group of the early 1980s in the sound, while Condescending admits to admiring the work of the Mael brothers (Sparks) and the Kinks, among others.
The other Shut-Ups are Ben Spraker on guitar and vocals (he’s also a member of Ceiling Fan), record label owner Steve Libbey on more guitar, Thaddeus Thompson on bass and Darkis Knight on drums and percussion.
The opening track “Various People” is infectious as ever in its exploration of culture clashes between a simple guy (Velveeta Cheese, Garth Brooks) and his desired complex creature Jane (Derrida, the Cure, various important good causes) who wears black. Luckily, they share the common bond of pimples — can love follow?
The dilemma of a trucker turned nightclub dancer is the realm of “What’s a Booty?” Seems the man is somewhat perplexed by the term, though he knows “it mends the broken heart / It heals the soul and it makes you smart / It sates the urge for something greater than yourself”.
The softer strains of the catchy music are as subtle as the normal guy narrator’s hidden secret in “Day-Glo Underwear.” Snell and bandmates do a fine job with little musical nuances and harmonies that hook you in. Less successful, but no less fun, is the raw “Teenage Man”, expressing the know-all hubris that accompanies those years. “Baby” is a cute little ditty that explores sibling rivalry from the stance of toddler to new arrival, vying for their mother’s affections.
“Don’t Know Why” examines the age-old mystery as to why the desired one seems to prefer the clueless brawny guy over our well-informed devoted reason-toting brainy guy. Lyle Bufkin guests on bass here, and Darkis Knight does a nice job with the percussion on this pretty ode. A similar stance (regular guy versus libertines, scowling punks and others) permeates the song “Permission”.
More often than not, the songs are told from the viewpoint of a lonely, frustrated young boy. One on the brink of alleged suicide bemoans the unfair world and, most specifically, the horrible boy bands that girls love in “Stupid Sissy Boys”. This song serves up some Beach Boys, as well as some Brit-pop references. Another young and lonely is miffed by his situation and ready to give up on love and more in the poignant title track “It Hurts to Be Seen”.
Kids can be cruel, and this is made apparent in “Sneed”, a tale of one asked by a teacher to look after the troubled outcast — the horribly meek and useless Sneed. He is put-upon and tries to exact his revenge in a very “Uncle Ernie-ish” fashion: “I like to play with him / Make him hurt himself a lot / Steal his Oreos / Tie him in a little knot”.
Snell skewers Herman’s Hermits’ “Henry the Eighth” and similar Brit-pop ilk in his charmingly light “Edgar the Nothing (I Am)”. This fake-accented failure of a royal figure tries to reign over a subway train, and revels in his nothingness.
It’s a mid-life crisis at work for the salesman singer of “Too Late for Disco”. Living as a “man without a God”, he realizes disco is never coming back and listens for the nostalgic “ghost of ’79”, back when he was good-looking and fun. Ouch.
It’s a thin line between amusement and annoyance, and one listener’s pain might prove another’s pleasure. The Shut-Ups can cross that line at times, but overall this is an enjoyably delightful musical romp, well-produced by Snell with help from Jason NeSmith (who lends an instrumental hand as well).
If you liked the new wave music of the early 1980s and have a sense of humor, you can’t go wrong here. It Hurts To Be Seen is easily heard, often witty and occasionally sincere. Condescending (Snell) and the Shut-Ups are quirky and fun, with a fine melodic sense of what makes songs stick in your head. In other words, you don’t have to be a young, lonely adolescent geeky nerd to identify with and enjoy the songs here.