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February Reviews Artist of the Month: Daniel G. Harmann At first blush, your expectations are quite low for Daniel G. Harmann’s eleven-song Anthems from the Gentle War; on a label never heard of, ok album design, and the simple fact that very few acts with someone’s name as the moniker are any good. Yet, after you progress past the opening number “I Swallowed Twelve Grenades,” where you think Harmann is just seconds away from launching into generic rock, your whole perception changes. There is no shift to crap and soon enough the six-minute atmospheric “The Trouble Starts” hooks your ear and lowers your pulse to create a simple joy of pleasure. This is Harmann’s fourth album and he shapes songs into a cross of Sigur Ros taking a more indie rock path to songwriting. Joining Harmann on this recording are Forrest Haskell, Brandon Miller, Trent Moorman, Graig Markel, Louis O’Callaghan, Robert Deeble, and Mike Honcho (the porn star from Talladega Nights). Not all of the songs exist as ethereal, atmospheric soundscapes with diversions to more standard song structures, but all provide a mellowing sheen that could easily be reworked to float you into space. Among the fantastic are – well the entire album to be honest. Even spots where you think there will be a downturn, Harmann turns it around and re-envisions the spectacular. Exhibit A is the third track “Beer From a Bottle” that opens as ordinary fare before moving to the compelling chorus that reshapes your imagine of the song. Others that follow suit include the beat-driven “A Dying Dove,” “Every Song is I Need You Tonight,” and “Wrists.” The more instrumental driven atmospheric haunts come courtesy of “I’ve Turned to a Life of Crime,” the uber slow mover “Go Now, Rush Ashore,” the unique riff under “Last Swim of the Year,” and quirky closer “Barnburners.” Finding Daniel G. Harmann is an absolute treasure and hopefully it’s a joy that you’ll spread to others.
Alexis Gideon It feels like Alexis Gideon comes out with a new album every few months. Like many solo performers who incorporate quirky elements into their sound product, Gideon is productive and Flight of the Liophant is one of his best offerings to date. Previous Gideon releases made me puke in my mouth, but the eleven-song Flight has enough passages of appealing to hold your interest. Eccentricity is the norm, but there is also a stronger adherence to song structure and quality instead of simple strangeness to be strange. Among the more enticing songs are “Liophant,” “She Sho,” the beat blip “Light,” and “Wake Up Wake Up.”
Amplified Heat How Do You Like the Sound of That is Austin-based Amplified Heat’s sophomore album – a strong, solid work of high tempo acid rock with enough solos to satisfy everyone at Sam Ash. In-between AH’s debut record In For Sin and this full-length, the band and Arclight re-released their 2003 self-titled EP. Two of the Ortiz brothers (there are three in the band) also had the misfortune of being stabbed in a street altercation during this middle time. For some bands and artists that would be awesome – like hardcore bands or gangster rappers – but for AH it seems like an enormous anomaly as you imagine stoners and heads getting down and giving everyone hugs and ‘bro’ being tossed around. That, plus damage to the studio they were working in, caused the significant gap in the band finally releasing How Do You Like…. The obvious question is how is it? The eleven tracks stack up well to past endeavors with a stronger sound emphasis on fuzz and grizzle that AH pull off due to their absurd skills. If you enjoyed past AH material, you’ll love this.
Belay My Last Common to many metal bands, but less among others, Belay My Last have been throwing down since 2003 but this is their debut record; most bands would likely benefit from time between foundation and first offering. On The Downfall, Belay My Last smash your skull through thirteen panes of glass incorporating cookie monster and banshee screaming. Many times that vocal incorporation sounds forced, but here it is fairly well achieved as the band tramples through grinding as well as speed metal tempos. This shifting in tempos helps you appreciate The Downfall considerably more than if it was just straight up metal or more hardcore. Whether you have long metal hair or a bald hardcore head, if you enjoy double-bass The Downfall is next to be on your shelf.
By the End of Tonight / Tera Melos This is a sweet little split record from two of the up-and-coming and emerging groups in the instrumental rock world – By the End of Tonight and Tera Melos. BET first hit the consciousness with their superb EP Fire on Ice, where their metal version of Explosions was a sonic love fest of awesomness. BET’s debut full-length on TRL – A Tribute To Tigers – was strong but paled in comparison to the EP. This split is the Texas band’s first new material since Tribute and excels in ways far superior to past efforts. Through BET’s six songs, the band merges their more metal instrumentals with narcotic melodic sections, bits of ambience, and smidgens of Nintendo play. Among the highlights are “Philthy Collins” with a melodic section to die for, the speed rocker “Ghost Boat,” and the strong “Elvis Never Didn’t Die.” Beyond name recognition, I didn’t know much about Sacramento’s Tera Melos. But that ignorance soon was replaced by the joy of listening to their five numbers on Complex Full of Phantoms. Unlike BET, TM includes vocals to fill out their sound, but still in a minimalistic manner. Less heavy and more spastic punk than BET (not unlike a crazy Cap’n Jazz), the songs to ride include “Party With Tina,” “When Worms Learn to Fly,” and the extended closer “Last Smile for Jason.”
Chiodos When Bone Palace Ballet was released in the fall of 2007, the album skyrocketed on the Billboard charts with an opening that stunned basically everyone; even the band couldn’t have imagined such an opening. Riding their prog-punk grandiose sound, Chiodos demonstrate the staying power that most young bands relish. Chiodos have come a long ways since they were called the Chiodos Bros. and offered their debut The Heartless Control of Everything. The Michigan band’s debut on EVR, All’s Well That Ends Well, but them squarely on the higher level map, but Bone Palace Ballet pushes Chiodos into the top echelon. Once again exploiting the vocal range of Craig Owens and the dynamic guitar work of Jason Hale and Pat McManaman, Chiodos power through ten tracks that shift tempos, atmospheres, and instrumentation on Bone Palace Ballet. Chiodos are certainly not the only ones working the melodic prog-punk angle (e.g., Circa Survive) and their annoyingly long song titles reinforce the parallel. Moderately dark and deathy, the melodic rhythms carry you to happy times especially on the fantastic opener “Is It Progression if a Cannibal Uses a Fork?,” follower “Lexington (Joey Pet-Pot with a Monkey Face)” that opens with piano, “Bulls Make Money…” where a later heavy distortion section is guaranteed to rattle your speakers, check out the strings section on “Teeth the Size of Piano Keys,” “Life is a Perception of Your Own Reality,” and heavy closer “The Undertaker’s Thirst for Revenge Is Unquenchable.” I’m glad Chiodos are still around and kicking.
Denelian Whether you want to call this an official self-release or simply a demo matters little for this Seattle indie punk four-piece. Pulsing through three songs of uptempo poppy and fuzzy indie punk, Denelian easily qualify for the magical ‘potential’ classification. It is not entirely obvious whether the fuzz is meant to sound like a sloppy recording or what, which tends to temper your assessment of the three songs. Without doubt, though, the opening song “Am I Down or Are You High?” is smoking hot shit. The question now is whether Denelian can move to the next level and become a permanent fixture of fun.
Geronimo This is one of the worst releases I’ve heard in a long time. Geronimo coupled by numerous sidemen of noise outfits lays a giant fucking package of industrial machine noise – an hours worth – and generally proves that just because it’s recorded doesn’t mean it should be listened to.
Grand Ole Party No, not the Republicans, Grand Ole Party the band are a three-piece bent on communicating their wild brand of soul indie punk. Unquestionably, GOP’s power comes from the intense vocals of drummer Kristin Gundred. Gundred belts out like the bird from the Gossip, but with more due given to soul songstresses such as Aretha. There are also drops into acid rock when the tempo slows such as on “Gypsy March.” Helped in this endeavor are guitarist John Paul Labo and bassist Mike Krechnyak – who all met while students at UC-Santa Cruz. Now located in San Diego, GOP are a refreshing antidote to the spazz punk that many know the city for. The thirteen-song Humanimals was recorded with wunderkind Blake Sennett (Rilo Kiley, The Elected) and RK’s own unique turn on indie rock is heard throughout. Among the songs that require belting out include opener “Look Out Young Sun,” “Belle Isle,” the rocker “Redrum Heart,” and “Savior.”
Guns Are For Kids On this longer than it should be EP (six songs in twenty-six minutes), Guns Are For Kids dirtily push through drug-fucked punk sound through a meat grinder. Sounding often like a car about to careen over a cliff, GAFK manage to hold it together walking a fine line between terrific and pure crap as they handle spazz punk and dirty punk. Ok for a drunk weekend night on the town.
Jesca Hoop Immediately off the bat you can’t decide whether the artwork for Kismet is terrific or just flatout horrible; indeed a visceral reaction. In moving to your decision about the album art you are greeted with the eclectic pop of Jesca Hoop, which is also sometimes great and sometimes awful. It’s not bad to have a visceral album since it is impossible to appease everyone; you just want to be able to appease a good number of folks. Hoop’s quirkiness and shifting moods likely is spurred by her Mormon upbringing balanced against her love of both church and pop music. Stepping through the eleven songs on Kismet, none stand out and grab you as must hear – although “Love is All We Have” is strong and “Intelligentactile 101” is drenched in pop.
Living Hell As their first record for Revelation, Living Hell follow in the footsteps of early heavy Victory bands like Integrity and Ringworm with dirty, chugging hardcore that pains the listener in various manners. More uptempo, old school hardcore influenced than that Cleveland contingent, the twelve tracks on The Lost and the Damned present a mixed picture of enjoyment. It is the mindless beating you may expect, but with little to distinguish themselves from the myriad bin of bands from long ago, Living Hell aren’t all that interesting. The band is clearly trying to take up Integrity’s mantle, even having Dwid do the artwork, but they aren’t there yet. But like most hardcore bands, it is likely fact that to truly experience Living Hell you have to see them live and then everything else falls into place.
Magnet School On Magnet School’s debut album Tonight We Drink…, the four-piece performs an updated pop version of Jawbox and like minded outfits – those ordinarily classified as 90s post-hardcore. If nothing else we sure need more of those types around; and less electronic pop punk bands. In similar vein to a Jawbox or Jawbreaker, most of the ten songs on Tonight We Drink are appeasing on the core level – dripping with moderate tempos and jangled indie rock. But there is also the tendency to lengthen the main movements making the songs four or five minutes, thus verging the listener to the boring zone. So, don’t listen to Magnet School while driving. But, if you need background music for your indie rock hipster hang out, Magnet School might be a fresh alternative. Particularly check out Magnet School’s cover of Swervedriver’s “Never Lose That Feeling.”
PJ Harvey One of the most impressive things about PJ Harvey is that she’s managed to be active and on the musical radar for so many years without the same level of popularity that others artists would need to keep moving. It’s not like Polly Jean is an unheard act, it is that she’s done quite well for being on a major label for so long; she’s more respected than necessarily popular. Harvey’s music is not always easy for an average listener to step in and enjoy – and this is particularly the case with the shroud of darkness covering White Chalk, her eighth album. Working with John Parish, Eric Drew Feldman, and Jim White a majority of the eleven tracks find Harvey’s core sound of piano and aching vocals with an array of sounds filling in the background providing life. The softness of Harvey’s voice on White Chalk is stark – we know it’s powerful, but Harvey goes for the quite power. If you are looking for rather depressing background music then White Chalk is perfect for you.
Post Harbor Walking in the footsteps of atmospheric instrumental rock bands (like By the End of Tonight), Post Harbor match that magic with a dose of intricate indie punk for a package that is worth tasting. This switching is often captured by where PH provide vocals and where they don’t. The terrific opener “And Keep Us Safe ‘Til Morning” hints at the upcoming amalgamation as swifting soundscapes get crowded out for vocalized indie rock towards the end of the six minute offering. Other times of brilliance come from “Madrona,” the title track, “Slumber with the Kraken,” and closer “Ground Giving.” Two marginally annoying tendencies of PH come on vocal-filled songs like “Aristocracy” which sounds like a Coheed and Cambria knock off and, secondly, references towards Radiohead on softer numbers. For one, you have to try to ape Coheed; it doesn’t come naturally. Still, I’ll take the whole of Post Harbor over most bands out there today.
Prize Country Portland’s Prize Country attacks their punk driven music like wolves on a fresh carcass of a once living thing. Featuring four members of past local bands, Prize Country scream, claw, and kick angular guitars, vocals, and heavy trudging low end on their debut full-length. Not alone in this endeavor of quasi-out of control and spastic punk, why haven’t Prize Country received more love to this point? Is it that their not down in the San Diego noise sun or noisy Dischord house? Look for smoking numbers like opener “Nice View,” the superb “Buy In,” the drawn out “Deal Or No Deal,” and the melodic undercurrent of “Matchsticks.” The one knock against Lottery of Recognition is that Prize Country’s constant pounding intermittently creates problem in distinguishing songs from one another.
She Wants Revenge On their sophomore album, She Wants Revenge continues to stoke people’s passion for dark electronic new wave pop. First punching up music fans’ attention with their 2006 debut album, SWR went on to tour with forefathers Depeche Mode and contemporaries Bloc Party and Placebo. Particularly when you are redigging a past trend, second or later efforts often fall flat on their faces; however this is not the case here. Moving through the thirteen songs on This Is Forever, SWR illustrate they’ve learned from tourmates DM with deeper, thicker, and more intricate songs. The uphill battle for most listeners is that SWR feels like novelty and the darkness of the material eschews normal club avenues. This may have the unintended consequence of minimalizing SWR’s existence and thus actually creating a novelty. We’ll wait to see if the dark kids can keep them going.
Soft Brooklyn’s Soft prefer anthems that are fuzzed out pop as possible – more of the pop melody than absurd British fuzz magic. Sharing more with the Silver Lake shoegazer renaissance than much of NYC, Soft has a timeless pop rock sound that could fit within anytime over the past two decades. In that regard, it is quite easy to put on Gone Faded and just sail through the eleven songs – enjoying the ride for the ride. This may help explain that Soft’s first NYC appearance came at Irving Plaza – a venue most bands would die to play in any manner. The one knock against Gone Faded is that the songs tend to meld together into one giant fuzz pop package that is hard to differentiate on a casual listen. If you are taken with the fuzz rock resurgence than Soft might be your new favorite band.
Terror Terror is back with a one-off EP for small indie Reaper Records. Five songs of meat pounding, tough guy hardcore with the requisite sections for a full out live throwdown fill out the Rhythm Among the Chaos EP. There is no magic here to provide disbelief in your mind, but Terror is extremely tight and exciting as they power through fast numbers like “Vengeance Calls On You.” As a bonus Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks provides vocals for Terror’s cover of Breakdown’s “Kickback.” Bad ass.
The Pipettes Oh, UK’s the Pipettes. You are here with a sixteen song album for our listening pleasure? How nice? Well, it is probably thirteen songs more than is necessary, but ok. As their teaser EP illustrated, the Pipettes go back to 50s all-girl pop groups that were high on melody but short on brains and a sprinkle of punk tempo. If you are looking for a novelty act to confuse you as whether you are listening to an oldies station or not, We Are the Pipettes is for you! The Pipettes hair stylists and make artists are even listed in the liner notes! There are bunches of undeniably catchy moments that will make a nursing home start rocking, but how long can you stand this. Among the notable are “Pull Shapes,” “Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me,” “Judy,” “ABC,” and “Dance and Boogie.”
The Protocol At first glance, Seattle’s the Protocol has you knee tapping and head nodding as the rock flows forth with catchiness abounding. However, as each song greets you your feelings change as you are left with the undeniable feeling that the Protocol are a great local band who are professional. And that’s the problem – there is little to distinguish the Protocol, make them stick in your mind, or get you all excited all over. The band tries their darnest to vary the sound with small shifts in tempo and genre, but little is effective action in drawing you in. The Protocol needs hooks and in mass degree.
The Secret Handshake There are moments on this fourteen-track record that are so compellingly catchy pop that you have to give into The Secret Handshake. But, there are also a gaggle of dull songs and redundancy that begins to One Full Year wears on you. Possibly more annoying to music fans and audiophiles is that The Secret Handshake’s music comes from a drum machine, synthesizer, and vocals all from Luis Dubuc. Cranking in a high schooler’s car, though, the Secret Handshake truly finds its home. Like many who have gone the way of laptop computer and accessories, Dubuc previously played in a metal band and used the Secret as a side project outlet. With more effort and time, Dubuc began to envelope this new moniker and Triple Crown snatched him up. Among the previously mentioned high points look to the brilliant “Summer of ’98,” “Coastal Cities,” opener “Too Young,” “Everyone Knows Everyone,” and the softer “Pictures.” A few of these songs were featured on the Summer of ’98 EP, which is slightly bothering to some. If you get down to electro pop with punk tinges in catchiness, you’ll likely dig The Secret Handshake.
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