Sound Check — Geoff Carter: ‘Shiva’ passes international muster

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

Geoff Carter's music column appears Fridays. Reach him at carter@vegas.com

There are perhaps 10 local bands I'd stake my reputation on. (If you're not one of them, don't take it personally. Truth be known, I have no reputation to stake.)

Native Tongue is one of those bands, having fulfilled three of the criteria that countless local bands have failed: The members of Native Tongue have played together more than a year (in fact, they've been together more than seven); don't blame others for their failures; and have songs you can hum weeks after you've heard them.

The band sure knows how to test a consumer's patience, though. Since 1993 Native Tongue has released one five-song CD -- that is all. Back when I was booking bands for the Enigma Garden Cafe, I begged Native to come down and play acoustic so I could, at least, hear the band's music once a month. That's how desperate I was for a full set.

No longer. With the release of "Electric Shiva" -- the instrumental rock band's debut album, really -- Native Tongue has met the seldom-invoked fourth criteria: It has created a locally produced album that meets international muster.

"Shiva" plays to all Native Tongue's strengths, chief among them the band's delicious stylistic mix. "Electric Shiva" swings from funk to metal to flamenco -- sometimes in the same song. Jimmy Pappa opens "Snake Oil" with funky bass pops, Andy Heilman and Jimmy Pappa come in with the Spanish guitars and then Muntean jumps in with jazzy drums -- it's like listening to an entire movie soundtrack, from the love scene to the chase scene, all at once.

And man alive, can they rock. "Circle of Fire" rolls from a bop to a slam. "Rabid Camel" hooks jumper cables to a folk song and makes it jump and lurch like Frankenstein. "Hung from the Boojum Tree" is just a few college radio shows away from becoming a huge worldbeat dance hit. The electric numbers are the closest "Shiva" comes to Native Tongue live, and it's very close indeed.

Surprisingly, however, the CD is dominated by its ballads -- galloping acoustic numbers that are equally suited to kicking butt and kicking back. "Moon Over Redrock" is a fitting theme to the rugged nature it's named for. "Donastia" shines here as it never has in nearly a decade of playing bars and pool halls: its lovely melody gains depth and color, and you can practically fly to Ibiza on the resonance of the chords.

And the producers of the soundtrack to "Mission: Impossible 2" would likely kick themselves if they heard "Sirocco." It was practically tailor-made for the fast love and slow, deliberate espionage that underscored the film's Spanish scenes. The best they could manage was Hans Zimmer, who pretty much blew his bank on the worldbeat trio of "Green Card," "The Power of One" and "Black Rain."

Attention, Hollywood: Vegas now has a musical talent that will serve your purposes. All Tinseltown has to do is make a movie worthy of Native Tongue's far-reaching, ambitious aural cinema -- and Native Tongue has to refrain from breaking up for at least another five years, so I can finally have a reputation.