By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: January 25, 2012
The unsystematic and haphazard post-punk days of the early 1980s saw brand new acts like The B-52s and Joy Division pick up bits and pieces of influences and funnel them into their music. Whether it was the sound taken from a national act or a hometown legend, these bands managed to concoct these influences into something astounding, often timeless, but most importantly, honest. This was the case for the Ohio-bred Human Switchboard, whose lone studio album Who’s Landing in My Hanger? finally got released in CD format for the first time late 2011.
After years of being out-of-print, seldom seen even in vinyl bargain bins, Bar/None Records has given Hanger its long-overdue reissue. Human Switchboard is perhaps best known through endorsements from acts like the Beastie Boys and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who once christened Hanger’s fifth track “Refrigerator Door” the “Stairway To Heaven” of punk rock. Despite Cobain’s tired metaphor, he was never shy about paying homage to bands that inspired his musical career, giving many ambitious music enthusiasts a starting point in their archiving of lost bands.
Unlike most re-releases, the best thing about Hanger isn’t the additional 30 live tracks and demos found on this anthology, but rather the enhanced mixes of the original 10 songs appearing on the album. Many of these previously unheard odds-and-ends paint a portrait of the bands lost years, revealing the pure pop blueprints for their unreleased follow-up record. The remastered versions of these 10 tracks, however, allow the listener to further their appreciation of the album’s understated niceties. Whether it’s clearer vocals on the Van Morrison/Jonathan Richman-esque “In My Room” or Bob Pfeifer’s declaration of love in “Refrigerator Door” sung in his parent’s native tongue of Slovenian, Bar/None Records maintained Switchboard’s bracing atmosphere of lament while impeccably cleaning up the original tracks.
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Bob Pfeifer, keyboardist/singer Myrna Marcarian, steady drummer Ron Metz, and a long list of forgotten bassists, Human Switchboard predominantly covers the subject of late-night tension and romantic spats between couples. Pfeifer and Marcarian perfectly personify their lyrical drama, as the dynamic of the lead guitar and organ formula gave their sometimes brash garage rock sound a sense of authenticity and charm.
Much like New Jersey’s Feelies, the band took cues from the Velvet Underground’s template of primal underground rock, but reshaped it into something new, interesting, and far removed from the gritty metropolitan 1960s setting and jagged guitars equated with the Velvet Underground. Pfeifer’s melodic style and often-pitchy vocals draws on that of Velvet’s frontman Lou Reed and Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. The raw energy brought by the Switchboards feels less like a studio-recorded album, rather like something recorded in a basement by some good friends. Their style really harkens back to the oldies rock and roll, but with a realness and enthusiasm that keeps it exciting.
Even though this album was released three decades ago and Human Switchboard was never truly able to gain traction in the early 1980s New York punk scene, Hanger was so good that the band was able to gain a large enough following that their existence was not completely forgotten. Luckily, their influence will be felt once more, with Who’s Landing in My Hangar? being again readily available, maybe more people will come to hear one of the most important bands no one’s heard of.
