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April Reviews Artist of the Month: Air At this point in their history, Air has crafted and cornered their own sound and have risen on high to be the best known atmospheric pop band in the world. Between albums, the non-stalker gets the sense that any day could be the last for Air – that they’ve created what they intended and to press on may do an injustice to what has already been recorded. That’s why each new Air record is deemed not just as another gift, but also another challenge for Air to live up their good name. On the twelve-song Pocket Symphony, Air meets this challenger by stripping away the pop structures that dominated 2004’s Talkie Walkie and moves back to atmospheric instrumentals – those that can stand alone as well as be perfect soundtrack music. Again utilizing the production skills of Nigel Godrich, Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin of Air took the less is more approach to Pocket Symphony. Songs are stripped to the basic ebbs and flows of drums, bass, and various keys, synths, and sounds. Dunckel and Godin still add vocals to songs, but in a sparser manner which only adds to the ordinarily light effect. The group also employs a new cadre of instruments, specifically Godin’s use of the koto and shamisen and varying electronic nuances. Besides from some of the usual suspects helping Dunckel and Godin, Jarvis Cocker lends vocals to “One Hell of a Party” and Neil Hannon leads “Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping.” Cocker’s heavier vocals certainly add a new dimension to the typically lithe Air. To assure the correct mood for Pocket Symphony, Air begins with the instrumental “Space Maker” – classic Air atmospherics tied down with smooth bass and picking acoustic guitar. “Once Upon a Time” starts similarly to a number of songs on Talkie Walkie and Dunckel’s light vocals lead the path halfway through. Yet, “Once Upon a Time” is one of the few songs here that resembles the more pop elements of Talkie Walkie. The Cocker-led “One Hell of a Party” meanders in a shrouded path, while “Napalm Love” follows past Air songs with multi-layered Dunckel vocals shushing a set of the same lines over and over – here, “How strange is your love/how strange is your love/how warm is your love/how tough is your love.” “Mayfair Song” serves as instrumental filler only partially realized, before the excellent “Left Bank.” With excessive fuzziness in the recording, “Left Bank” is one of the more traditional pop songs on Pocket Symphony. What is odd, though, is the quality of the recording. It sounds off – with distortion surrounding the vocals and guitars. Given that Air and Godrich are superior craftsmen, one must assume this was done on purpose. In previous sequencing fashion, “Photograph” is constant atmospherics and leads to a much more poppy “Mer Du Japon” that even with few lyrics stands on its own. The instrumental “Lost Message” introduces the aforementioned “Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping” with Hannon on vocals. And like “One Hell of a Party,” “Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping” is a more conventional melodic song than most of Pocket Symphony. “Redhead Girl” and “Night Sight” close out Air’s fourth proper full-length. Dunckel uses his ethereal vocals on “Redhead Girl” with Godin propelling the song with all manner of instrumentation including koto, glockenspiel, moog, and wind chimes. “Night Sight” is minimalistic, heavy electronic instrumental that is only aided by single note soundscapes. Even if Air doesn’t directly create material for some new hipster films, you can bet that Pocket Symphony will be well-mined for soundtracks in the near future. For some that’s grand, for others it’s heretical. Either way you can use Pocket Symphony as the soundtrack for your life starting today.
A Heartwell Ending Not unlike the swath of melodic punks that fill out your hearts, dreams, nightmares, and daily existence, Long Beach’s A Heartwell Ending add their name to the ringer of contenders with this eleven-song full-length. Released in late summer, Trust Us, We Lie was meant to give an extra boost to the 16-25 year old end of summer blast fest. With songs titled “One More Song For Your Myspace Page” and themes of ladies and assorted entanglements, A Heartwell Ending are clearly directing their audience. The downside to the band, though, is that nothing here is all that exciting or interesting – a simply recasting of an overly molested project. The upside is that the six-piece can rock and have the ability to blast through tight, smoking punk songs. If they can shake some of the clichés and tear the emo punk themes out, A Heartwell Ending can destroy the future.
A Shoreline Dream If ever there was a perfect moniker for a band this is it. This Denver outfit lays out and devises intricate atmospheric, ethereal, mostly instrumentals that have you mellowing and relaxing with extraordinary ease. With comparisons to God Speed, Sigur Ros, and Explosions in the Sky, the thirteen-song Avoiding the Consequences is the band’s crown jewel to their short career. How A Shoreline Dream help differentiate themselves from other atmospheric outfits is the inclusion of shoegazer vocals. Etched in the background and stretching syllables and words to their breaking point, the dreamy aspects of the band shine through. At over an hour long there is much of Avoiding the Consequences to unwind to. Among the stars are “Saturday Morning,” the hopeful “Laying This One Down Now,” “Peel You Open,” and “Projections.” Fans of the aforementioned groups should find new solace with A Shoreline Dream.
A Static Lullaby After years of perfecting their craft, A Static Lullaby can rightly be considered one of the best melodic hardcore punk bands currently going. But that perfecting was dragged through members leaving, new ones joining, labels cutting them, and new ones signing them. The recent inclusions since their Columbia Records’ debut Faso Latido include guitarist John Death, bassist Dane Poppin, and drummer Jarrod Alexander. The new label, as noted above, is Fearless Records, who after several successful releases have the capital to give ASL some degree of justice in support. With neat comic book themed art, ASL immediately jump into the fire with the hard-hitting “Hang ‘Em High,” simply a balls-out rocker. In a different take, ASL are near parallel with previous My Chemical, but without the gothy-vampire stuff. Other songs to match the opener’s intensity include “Annexation of Puerto Rico,” “Art of Sharing Lovers,” and the strong “Static Slumber Party.” There is some drop off in quality half-way through, but overall things are solid. This third record from A Static Lullaby will push the band up and beyond what they initially deemed possible.
As Tall As Lions As many times I’ve seen the name As Tall As Lions flash across my computer screen associated with this thing or that, and that they come from Long Island, I thought I had a solid understanding of the sound waiting on the record. Instead, I was shocked by the crap rendition of pop rock; like a poor man’s bastard’s second half-child Radiohead. As Tall As Lions give rock a bad name. The worst part is that I’m not going to be able to hear for a week because I stabbed knives into my ear drums after listening to the record.
Banana Hands Over the past year, we’ve received a billion records from all sorts and types and many are suspicious on face value. Such is the case with Boston’s Banana Hands latest record Bon Voyage as the packaging is simply constructed of hardboard. But underneath this basic wall is a delicious little record of burgeoning ethereal instrumental rock – like Explosions in the Sky at first inception. You wish Banana Hands, which is composed of Jay O’Malley and Ryan Lavery, was tighter and cleaner, but there is enough to entertain and keep the disc spinning. It is perhaps surprising that Temporary Residence hasn’t snatched up Banana; maybe they haven’t because of similarities to other TR bands. If you need Explosions-type fixes at all hours of the day try Banana Hands’ Bon Voyage for your latest injection.
The Bank Robbers New Jersey’s the Bank Robbers have all the pedigree for high-end melodic punk indie rock. They’ve been rocking out since 1998, but only recently been ‘discovered’ by the national music audience. They’re connected with the Platform Group which is partially helmed by the dude from Thursday. And their sound fights perfectly into that NJ/NY melodic punk sound typified by bands like Taking Back Sunday. While associated with such a sound, the Bank Robbers are a bit rawer – sometimes this translates into good things and other times it sounds slightly amateurish. The upside is the use of dirty interweaving guitars, talk overs, and rhythmic solos on such strong tracks as “Defending the Kingdom,” “Believe Everything,” and “Facing Our Nightmare.” But then songs like “I Can Make You Disappear” sound like demos not yet developed or cleaned up. If nothing else the Bank Robbers can maintain a solid local following that can support their further development.
Depeche Mode This extended eighteen-song best of from Depeche Mode serves as only one of several reissues and compilations discs recently releases by the band and various labels. And with a quick listen to these now classic tracks it totally makes sense to do this commercial onslaught now. I had completely forgotten how damn new wave Depeche Mode was and how so many of these current punk-dance bands have simply ripped off the band. Some of the cribbing of riffs and sequences by today’s bands will make you want to throw up. Combining 18 of Depeche Mode’s 500 or so singles stretching from the early 1980s until today (2005’s “Precious”), the songs that will make you reminisce, dance, cry, and sing annoying loud include “Personal Jesus,” “Enjoy the Silence,” “Everything Counts,” “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Master and Servant,” the secretly hot “Shake the Disease,” “Strangelove,” “People Are People,” and the closer “Never Let Me Down Again.” An interesting, lengthy narrative by Paul Morley in the linear notes helps create a web of connection between the songs and changes in the band. Besides from the late 80s and early 90s uber-hits, the songs that really get you going are the band’s early material. Most of the material from this millennium can’t really be characterized as ‘best of.’
Dirty Pretty Things This is the other half of the continuing story of the dissolution of the Libertines. Headed by Carl Barat, Dirty Pretty Things rock out four songs along with an acoustic version of the title track. Even though folks believe Pete Doherty made the Libertines special his shambling as a baby has made him essential worthless musically. In that light, Dirty Pretty Things come off as fairly awesome. Unquestionably the raucous, party-driven title track is the highlight of the EP and serves as an automatic single. “Deadwood” is a strong shaker, garage Brit rocker, the acoustic “Gin & Milk” makes you go to sleep, while “Wondering (the Tavern Version)” is a drunken pub rocker. If nothing else this EP is a nice way to foment interest in Dirty Pretty Things.
Dynasty Handbag Within a song or two, it becomes immediately evident that Dynasty Handbag (aka Jibz Cameron) needs to be fully appreciated live. Cameron is a one-woman electronic spaced-out outfit who is more concerned with the performing experience than with creating solely enjoyable music. And thus the twelve-track Foo Foo Yik Yik serves Cameron a slight injustice. The simple electronic background and drum machine music with Cameron’s talk-singing on top suggests wide drug use, but it may be so wack that it can only be achieved by a completely sober person. One can see the situation where exposure to Cameron’s show would lead to wider satisfaction with Foo Foo, but without it the connection is missing.
Endwell There are shockingly few great hardcore and metal bands out of the NYC-area, given the plethora of music occurring. Maybe it’s because all those ordinarily drawn to the riffs take to some variant of hair metal in order to live out their guido metal dreams. With Homeland Insecurity, Queens-based Endwell puts down a structure that should help them in the future establish themselves as a great NYC hardcore band. The aspect that fucks up the intensity is Endwell’s occasional clean vocal, melodic moments – maybe that’s required to play with LI’s melodic hardcore bands. Whatever the reason, it puts a damper on what could simply be a terrific hardcore record. For instance, the opener “The End” chugs along with beatdown drums, screams, and rivaling guitars, and then all of a sudden drops in these clean vocals. It changes the mood in a negative way. Other songs are mostly all melodic singing, like “Single and Loving It” and “Homeland Insecurity.” Endwell are essentially two bands that are welded together into one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but on the twelve songs of Homeland Insecurity the juxtaposition comes off awkward. Maybe Endwell can form two bands – one heavy and one more melodic; it’s double your pleasure.
Fear Before the March of Flames While you admire the sweet overlay booklet of The Always Open Mouth and pop the CD into your computer, watch out for the enhanced material literally to rip your drive to shreds. Well, it didn’t actually happen but it sounds damn close. What lies within the Always Open Mouth is something quite different and (moderately) refreshing. The heavy hardcore metal band of Fear Before the March of Flames has pulled a slight Mars Volta – as MV went (sort or) from the punk of ATDI to wild psych rock, Fear has moved to complicated, complex songs built around an amalgam of hardcore, heavy indie rock, punk, and pop catchiness. This calls for acknowledgement of a band’s knowledge for the need to reform their sound while allowing the original cords to remain. You aren’t likely to be immediately floored by the fifteen-track record, but you can sit back and admire the sheer artistry of the songs. Exhibits A and B, in this regard are the fine “Mouth” and the single “Taking Cassandra to the End of the World Party.” Moments exist within where Fear might be walking too close to background sampling-fueled heavy music that marginalizes the innovativeness, but they keep on target for the most part. If you have the time to dissect an album, the Always Open Mouth might be your next project.
Four Star Alarm While Four Star Alarm won’t knock you on your ass, the Chicago post-punk four-piece demonstrate that potential on their debut EP. Channeling mid-90s melodic indie punk, the five songs on the EP vary between excellent rippers – the terrific opener “Waste Way” and “Liar” – and the so-so – “Implode,” “Breathe In,” and the mystifyingly off closer “Impenetrable.” In that way, the band has the feel on your favorite local punk band. If they can sweeten the pot with more melodies and harmonies to go along with their solid rhythmic solos, Four Star Alarm can be a mover and shaker.
Helvetia Pretty packaging can only enamor you so much with Seattle-based Helvetia’s new record – the expansively long The Clever North Wind. The fifteen songs on CNW all revolve around lo-fi indie rock that swerves between psych rock, stoner indie, and melody pop; thus presenting a generally lazy atmosphere. Well-intended comparisons can be made to Built to Spill and Grandaddy, but those are only in the moments where Helvetia are excelling – like “Floaters,” the drugged “Dusty Rue,” and the appealing “A Wild One.” There is enough to like here, but The Clever North Wind is missing a slam dunk tell-tale sound to push it over the edge to awesome.
Hem Under the right conditions and in the right context Hem’s countrified, atmospheric pop rock sounds grand. The problem on the fourteen-track Funnel Cloud is those moments are few and far between. With a vast cadre of band members approaching the population of Scotland, Hem can hold the line of appeal when Sally Ellyson lays off the over-emphasis and country pushing. Moments when goodness flows forth include the calm simple opener “We’ll Meet Along the Way,” “He Came to Meet Me,” the title-track, “Curtains,” the sweet acoustic “Old Adam,” and piano-based closer “Almost Home.” One can easily imagine even the country-drenched missteps on Funnel Cloud to come off entertaining live and that’s probably where Hem can drag you into devotion.
Lakes Hey Lakes! The Police called and they want their band back. The northern California four-piece weave modern day emo pop with the harmonies and cadence of Sting and the Police on their debut EP for the Militia Group. And while that may make some cower from the utterance of such sound waves, somehow Lakes manage to pull off five songs that make you feel good while not pushing any overwrought, campy feel. Headed by Seth Roberts (formerly of Watashi Wa and tour guitarist for MXPX), Lakes fit perfectly into TMG with such strong songs in the opener “Indian Liver,” the title-track, and “Latersss.” Lakes are successful at adding their voice in the overcrowd sound of emo pop with the five songs on Photographs.
Loney, Dear Consistent with Sub Pop’s recent releases such as Chad VanGaalen, this singer-songwriter, self-producer and recorder Loney, Dear offers achy, soft, melody-drenched minimalist indie pop. Loney, Dear is in fact Emil Svanangan who’s been knocking out these heart-tuggers for a number of years at his Stockholm apartment headquarters. Of late, the European press has fallen in love with Svanangan self-released CD-Rs, which have sold at a steady pace. With enough interest and experience in place, Sub Pop signed Loney, Dear for distribution in the US – the ten-track Loney, Noir was actually self-released in 2005. Up ‘til now Svanangan sounds pretty much like the Swedish doppelganger of VanGaalen. But where VanGaalen is one for excessive tracks and tangents, Svanangan places a set of consistent acoustic-based indie pop songs all in row – and in so doing sounds like the second cousin of a slightly more upbeat Eliot Smith. Svanangan’s voice walks a fine line of alluring and annoying, where the former presents comparisons to the harmony-laden AM gold of the 70s. At other swipes, Svanangan includes a helping of electronics and blips to update and stave off solely acoustic paths. Songs that steal the headlines include the opener “Sinister in a State of Hope,” the excellent uptempo “I Am John,” “Saturday Waits,” and the blippy closer “And I Won’t Cause Anything At All.” The number of indie hipsters falling in love with Loney, Noir may cause an earthquake.
Moros Eros Moros Eros’ debut for Victory was constructed and developed with good intent. Stitching together disparate passages of indie rock, punk, and voluminous words, the Georgia four-piece work up a complicated song display – and in that respect come off like Portugal. The Man, among others. Yet, throughout such development, Moros Eros seems to have lost items like harmonies, melodies, and interest. After the opening couple of numbers you are just plain bored as the album progresses towards its expiration. At the present Moros Eros ain’t that good, but it doesn’t mean in time the band can’t truly offer impressive rock.
On this new single of Nine Inch Nails’ forthcoming album Year Zero, the bulked-up Trent Reznor offers much of the same song patterns he’s exploited over the past twenty years – quiet moments with Reznor lightly singing/whispering and then smashing a power chorus on top of the whole fucking thing. The difference here is a more complicated use of electronics and multi-tracking, and music savant Saul Williams’ vocal additions.
Owen Since the release of At Home with Owen last year, the indie blogs have been getting all wet over themselves about Owen. Some even considered it one of the best records of 2006. Why? I have absolutely no idea. While not terrible, At Home with Owen isn’t likely to give you goosebumps either. Owen is actually just Mike Kinsella – part of the Chicago indie juggernauts Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz, American Football…. On his fourth record as Owen, Kinsella offers eight songs of finger-picking indie acoustic guitars underneath uber-soft and emotional vocals. Ironically, unlike most of Kinsella records and given the title, much of At Home was recorded with a proper studio with the assistance of folks like Nate Kinsella and Brian Deck to add atmosphere. The achy acoustic guitars are quite appealing and paint an image of relaxing at night with a bucket full of beers in the muggy southern summer. The inclusion of strings only enhances the gorgeousness of the instruments. The piece that makes me want to strangle Kinsella are the horrible lyrics. This is something I ordinarily put to the side, but given the song styles, the lyrics are right out in the fore. Kinsella tends to rhyme at all expense even if it makes the songs sound lame and like he’s practicing for a high school talent show. Some of the most egregious examples include “The Sad Waltz of Pietro Crespi” (which also has some of the most beautiful instrumentation), “A Bird in the Hand,” and closer “One of These Days.” If Kinsella could make his lyrics less awkward and forced, his outlet of Owen may truly justify some of its premature praise.
River City High After bouncing around the rock world for the past several years including time on Big Wheel Recreation, Doghouse Records and MCA, the raucous River City High now release their second full-length on their new label Takeover Records. During the label-shifting and scores of shows, River City High has excelled in their Thin Lizzy-inspired contemporary dirty punk attack. This is evident from the first second on the opening song “Dogwood Queen” and continues headlong into the follower “Bastard.” While good to drink Jack Daniels to, RCH does their best work when they lighten up on the sleaze and try to use some melodies. Exhibit A: the third song “Amy,” which could easily be a single with the catchy chorus. Other songs that demonstrate RCH softer, appealing side include “A Better Day,” “The Hard Way,” and “Be There.” River City High have much to work with on their new label.
Scars of Tomorrow Several years back California’s Scars of Tomorrow seemed as the hard-edged savior of Victory, a label moving further and further away from its initial heavy foundation. With screaming throats and soaring guitars, their 2002 debut Rope Tied to the Trigger absolutely smoked. Horror of Realization held the fort, but was a noticeable drop from the debut. And now, Scars of Tomorrow sound like they are simply going through the metalcore motions on the eleven-track The Failure of Drowning. The songs all have the machine gun guitars and guttural screams, but there is a lack of innovation and inspiration flowing forth. This musical outcome has the unfortunate effect of making Scars of Tomorrow sound like so many other metalcore and hardcore bands; a significant disappointment. Mind you The Failure of Drowning is not bad, but is a downer for your expectations.
Sirens Sister On Sirens Sister’s debut album, the Seattle four-piece are cognizant and focused on creating epic, bombastic rock that crosses somewhere between 80s modern rock and your local bar band. Sometimes the results are strong; other times are rather off-putting. The first couple of songs, Sirens Sister has you trying to believe that they’re an indie rock U2, with decent success – as well as with “Echoes” and the harder, shorter “Faultline.” Yet, the armor begins to crack as you move along to “Should’ve Known,” the piano-based “So Long,” “Hideaway…,” and “Emerald Eyes.” Those songs have an inherent awkwardness between the rhythms and words that catch the ear odd. More than most, Sirens Sister sounds like one of those rock bands that are buried on major label rosters – and one day they may become, though it would help to move to England first.
Soulwax As much of a music crumedgeon you may be, it’s hard not to enjoy the disco punk pop from the ten songs on Nite Versions; especially if you’re under 40. This Belgium outfit is best known for their numerous monikers all coming to the hot conclusion of producing and remixing electro-dance love fucks. Nite Versions is in essence the latest culmination of those efforts in that it remixes their previous record Any Minute Now. The remixes to get you on your feet and burning off that latest burrito include “Miserable Girl,” the bass hot “E-Talking,” “Slowdance,” “Krack,” and “NY Lipps.” Soulwax’s Nite Versions is perfect for your next all night party. What’s up now!
Spitalfield For whatever reason I was completely enamored by Spitalfield’s debut on Victory, 2003’s Remember Right Now; well I do know, it was the combination of yeoman-like catchy punk rock. After Spitalfield’s previously disappointing record Stop Doing Bad Things comes the noticeably better twelve-track Better Than Knowing Where You Are. The previous record was devised on tour and the band had gone to the wizard of Eudora Ed Rose to try to get magic done to possibly partially-conceived record. This time around, Spitalfield took time off and worked the songs instead of the songs working them. While none of the songs are going to rip your socks off, the lot present a solid front of catchy, intricate melodic punk. Among the headliners include the single “Secrets in Mirrors,” “The Only Thing That Matters,” “Won’t Back Down,” and the hard rockers “Curtain Call” and “Tell Me, Clarice.” Sometimes the pop boils to the annoying point (e.g., “Hold On”), but Spitalfield mostly keeps it on a leash. Better Than Knowing Where You Are is likely to win new converts and keep old fans.
Tiga It’s hard not to love hot, sweaty indie-electro dance magic as demonstrated on Tiga’s fourteen-track Sexor. Within five seconds of the first greeting from “(Far From) Home,” you figure either Tiga is a new, young electro savant or he’s put considerable time into crafting such gorgeous songs. While young, Tiga (aka Tiga James Sontag) has been working the scene from setting up shows, opening a store, starting his Turbo Recordings, and remixing everyone and their mother for over decade in Montreal. With production help from the boys in Soulwax, Tiga’s debut Sexor is sugary beats to get your ass moving. Among those shifting to the top include the simple and superb “(Far From) Home” and its later remix, “3 Weeks,” the wack “Louder Than a Bomb,” the lengthy but well-fixed “Good As Gold,” and Tiga’s remix version of the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House.” If you’re looking for music to fill out your latest drug binge, Sexor should be your next score.
Timbaland Even if you never heard of Timbaland, you’ve heard Timbaland. Even if you don’t usually lend your ear to pop, rock or hip-hop, you’ve come across Timbaland somewhere somehow. Timbaland is best known as the uber-producer that he is – right now and for the past few years he’s been at the top of the production game. This record is a way for Timbaland to climb out his production chair and play the role of a hip-hop artist himself. Though that is the case, the number of featured guests across the seventeen tracks is both vast and wide. It is as if Timbaland called in all his favors at once for this record. Those making appearances including Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and a string of rock bands in The Hives, She Wants Revenge, Fallout Boy and the crowing Elton John. The interest factor alone draws curious listeners to the songs here. With much to like here several songs rise above the others. But of most interest to me is how Timbaland meshes with the rockers. The Hives provide a basic fast guitar riff to “Throw It On Me;” She Wants Revenge’s dark vocals are a minimal offering on “Time;” Fallout Boy’s inclusion on “One and Only” creates an uptempo mover that both rocks your ass and gets you dancing; Elton John’s piano offering on “2 Man Show” is minimized by an otherwise ordinary song. Look for “One and Only (feat. Fallout Boy)” to be well-represented in the near future on MTV and all radio outlets.
The Transit War This San Diego four-piece attacks the eleven songs on Miss Your Face with a bag full of indie rock tricks, treats, and pulls. That is, the Transit War walk a line between the raw, jangly indie rock of 80s college and commercially-appealing pop punk. Maybe this comes out on Miss Your Face because the record was recorded in the indie-haute of Austin, Texas and the band knows the pop push of the California scene. When the Transit War is successful, the songs rock your pants off, but the margin for error here is slim and shaky. Among those of great appeal are the gripping “Lupus,” the opener “Radar,” the immensely drawing “Operator,” and “Nitetime Enemy.” Even though Miss Your Face isn’t a slam dunk of a record, in some minor way I’m simply glad that the Transit War don’t sound like a melodic punk clone given their moniker.
V/A Unlike the plethora of comps that flood the market constantly and consistently, the fourteen-band, fourteen-song Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts from Thick Records offers a better than average product. (I have no idea why it’s called Hair). All the songs here are exclusive songs from Chicago area punk bands with highlights coming from Allister’s “Walking the Plank,” Much the Same’s “The Greatest Betrayal,” Holy Roman Empire’s “Hail Mary,” the Methadones’ “Waiting,” “Space Man” by the Bomb, and Break the Silence’s “Face Down.” If nothing else this record is a nice snapshot of current Chicago punk.
V/A This is sort of odd. And sort of sweet. Lujo label co-owners Erik Aucoin and Jocelyn Toews compiled this twenty-two track love fest as a way to commemorate their wedding and provide a gift to all the attendees. Most of the bands here are on Lujo with the rest filled out by side projects and friend bands. Some of the songs are covers and some are originals written for this comp, all with the common musical theme being mellow acoustic, stress-relieving pieces. Those that pierce through the ether include A Lull’s “Wine,” the rambling “A Pioneer Love Song” by the Cassettes, the excellent “Love Never Fails” from Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, the lovely cover of “I’m Your Puppet” by All City Affairs, Hanalei’s cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” the cover of “Sonnet” by Summer Darling, East of Western’s “Flower,” and The Detholz’s wild cover of “Invisible Touch.” If nothing else this is one of the coolest wedding gifts ever.
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