For those missing the heady days when the letters SST stood for high-quality, angular rock, the Unknown Instructors seems like a dream. A trio featuring Saccharine Trust's Joe Baiza on guitar and the Minutmen's George Hurley and Mike Watt on drums and bass, respectively, backing the likes of artist Raymond Pettibon and Pere Ubu's David Thomas... why that's a must buy, right? Well, for anyone who sees those names on cover of the band's sophomore outing, The Master's Voice, and wonders excitedly about what's inside, it surely is.

The surprise, however, comes from the unknown quantity in the Unknown Instructors: Dan McGuire. He's credited here as the group's founder, and he contributes spoken-word vocals on half the tracks. Despite the firepower of the backing band, he's the secret weapon. You'll put this on to hear the interplay between the three jazz-punk-experimental musicians battling it out improvisationally in the background, of course, but McGuire's tracks are the ones you'll return to. The rest aren't bad, just not as good. Pettibon's "Twing-Twang" is too meandering, Thomas's three heavily distorted tracks are the most out there and therefore the least immediately engaging, and Watt's sole vocal contribution, while predictably solid, is not so different from his own work with the Minutemen, fIREHOSE and his solo albums to stand out.

That leaves McGuire, who's deadpan delivery and deceptively lazy-sounding beat poet riffs are surprisingly captivating. The best example is "Machine Language," which finds McGuire ruminating about the way his artistic interests clash with the more pedestrian pursuits of his buddies: "What would my co-workers say, if I didn't simply admit, but flat-out stated, the inner peace I felt strolling in fields of jonquils, lilies, love lies bleeding. Imagine the ribbing endured, just using the word 'strolling,' let alone knowing the names of flowers. Much safer sticking to horsepower..." All the while, Watt, Hurley and Baiza lay down a slinky jazz foundation, Baiza dropping in noises approximating a machine shop with his guitar.

The press sheet quotes an Arthur magazine review that says "it's not SST 1986 but it's close" when referring to the group's debut, The Way Things Work. That's overstating things a bit, but the truth is that The Master's Voice will appeal to anyone still spinning those old vinyl gems, and should entrance younger listeners who are ready check out some real boundary-pushing music.

Labels: music, TuesdayTuneup