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July Reviews Artist of the Month: Sonic Youth What can one say about Sonic Youth that hasn’t already been said? After 1992’s Dirty, their noise-pop grunge offering to the masses, I’ve always thought that anything that Sonic Youth released after, be it good or bad, would be gravy to an already glorious career of a defining rock band. But, now, Sonic Youth has one-upped themselves with the brilliant Rather Ripped. Sonic Youth had already set their genius on records like the 1989’s Daydream Nation (recently added to the National Registry), 1987’s Sister, and 1990’s Goo before Dirty. We all know the hardcore Sonic Youth fan backlash to Dirty and Sonic Youth’s subsequent ‘fuck you’ noise record, 1994’s Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. But after languishing for the mid-90s, for instance the odd Made in Mexico soundtrack which somehow wound up in my collection, Sonic Youth, now full veteran rock adults, are having some of the biggest years of their career. After the thematically-linked trio of 2000’s NYC Ghosts & Flowers, 2002’s Murray Street, and 2004’s Sonic Nurse, comes the twelve-song Rather Ripped. And with Rather Ripped comes some of the most conventionally structured rock songs in their three-decade career. Not just conventional, but rather catchy and poppy. Possibly Sonic Youth caught the vibe of Deerhoof giving some danceable love to their latest record. Or, it may that Sonic Youth has witnessed more catchy and poppy contemporary bands using their sound as their foundation, and figured to show them how it’s really done. With the current lineup of Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley, Sonic Youth opens Rather Ripped on “Reena” as if they just came off a song bridge. Soon enough “Reena” pounces on its guitar riff with Gordon leading the melodic vocal charge. “Incinerate” travels on what may be classified as a classic Sonic Youth distorted guitar riff, except slowed down a couple of paces, and now Moore on lead vocals on probably the best song of the record. “Incinerate” is so melodically self-contained that the band could legitimately use it for a single on major radio. The band lays off the pedal on “Do You Believe in Rapture?” as the guitars pluck across the bridge, while “Sleeping’ Around” builds on a distortion wall being brought along to more conventional structure. With Gordon on vocals, “What a Waste” and “Jams Run Free” reminds you of her lazy vocal style on Goo, but here with delicious riffs and tight production. The only really bad song follows in the form of “Rats” – just a dullard vis-à-vis the rest. As you move to the later tracks of Rather Ripped, Sonic Youth moves toward more extended instrumentals and away from the raucous album openers. The six-minute “Turquoise Boy” is a mellow mooder with Gordon providing a short vocal section that buttresses nicely with the contained “Lights Out.” “The Neutral” has a more conventional plan with melodic riffs and rivals “Incinerate” as the best song on the record. Rather Ripped closes on the seven-minute, largely instrumental, opus “Pink Stream” and the shorter, though similarly conceived, “Or.” Rather Ripped is such a heavenly offering it is as if it was devised by the gods. It is something special that Sonic Youth can provide us one of their best records when many people thought the light had gone out a long time ago. There is no reason to believe that they couldn’t go on for another 20 or 30 years if they so desired. Here’s to hoping for good things in the future.
AFI AFI has come such a long way in their fifteen-year existence that is utterly respectable and admirable; the sort of classic American story of working hard and being passionate and eventually things work out as they should. There have been several versions of AFI – the goofy punk, super goth-punk, and now accessible melodic punk – that you may have a favorite period. When I caught AFI in the late 90s opening for someone, I thought they had a strong show with lead singer Davey Havoc throwing down the gauntlet, but their goth-punk songs weren’t that strong. Even if you never heard of AFI in those days, you got bitch-slapped by the band’s 2003 breakthrough Sing the Sorrow on Dreamworks. With such songs as “Girl’s Not Grey” and “Leaving Song Part 2,” AFI showed that being on a major didn’t diminish their intensity, though certainly helped their catchiness. AFI follows up the success of Sing the Sorrow with the eclectic and diverse twelve-track Decemberunderground. With Havok on vocals, Jade Puget on guitar, Hunter on bass, Adam Carson on drums, and production by Jerry Finn, the songs only marginally reflect traditional punk numbers. After the opening, introductory operatic “Prelude 12/21” comes one of the more standard melodic punk attacks on the record with “Kill Caustic.” “Miss Murder,” the first single, opens with pop from Havoc and underlying, almost dancy, electronics and features AFI’s fan club on gang vocals. “Summer Shudder” follows up with more electronics and this uber-catchy chorus that actually makes AFI sound like all those mainstream pop punk bands that you can’t tell apart. Just when you thought that AFI couldn’t offer up any more deviations in sound, “The Interview” silks in with bass leading the charge and an excellent soft-loud contrast. “Love Like Winter” walks up like a Euro dance club, while “Affliction” is too long to only utilize a general punk structure. “The Missing Frame” includes all too familiar vocal cadences and a chorus that screams new wave. After the off “Kiss and Control,” “The Killing Lights” re-establishes catchy AFI and plants another future single to make use of. Leaving the electronic “37mm” behind, Decemberunderground closes on the average “Endlessly, She Said.” Decemberunderground is a crossover punk rock record that will appeal to people across the spectrum. The question is whether there’s enough to hold a core group of fans for more than a couple of songs.
Against All Authority If you think that AAA has been around forever, well they have. Nearing fifteen years as a band and ten on Hopeless, this Miami outfit knocks out their dirty version of political punk ska on the fourteen-track the Restoration of Chaos & Order. I haven’t listened to an AAA full-length since their debut on Hopeless, and not much has changed except for a tighter, cleaner sound – and smaller emphasis on horns. This is both a good and bad thing. For those wanting amazing song-writing and brilliant musical ideas to flash across your brain listening to AAA, you are looking in the wrong place. For those wanting another offering to the street punk sound and have been following AAA all along, then the Restoration is your perfect desert. Thanks to the Bush administration’s nightmare policies, AAA, along with all political punk bands, has an enormous set of source material to draw from for song themes. In fact, the record title is taken from a Bush speech to the Iraqi people. With minimal sampling, several highlights include “All Age Show Tonight,” “Sweet Televised Destruction,” the funny super old-school style “I Just Wanna Start a Circle Pit,” and “Grinding My Life Away.”
Aiden It wasn’t until Aiden released their Victory debut Nightmare Anatomy last fall that the hardcore and punk worlds awoke to this juggernaut from Seattle. Well, now Victory has re-released their debut full-length Our Gangs Dark Oath in order to keep new Aiden fans up-to-speed for their live sets. While big Aiden fans surely have attained these songs in some fashion, legal or not, for the rest of us Our Gangs Dark Oath is sweetly re-packaged and enhanced with three videos – “Fifteen” and “I Set My Friends on Fire” from this record, and “Knife Blood Nightmare” from Nightmare Anatomy. As both the early videos and the set of eleven songs illustrate, Aiden had their shit together for a long time and looked way cooler without their current over-the-top vampire shit. As mentioned on this site before, Aiden’s brand of melodic goth-punk often doesn’t fit the black vampire metal image that particularly lead singer wiL presents. Regardless, Aiden rips out some amazing songs on Our Gangs Dark Oath including “The Dawn Breaking Tide,” “I Set My Friends on Fire,” “Looking Glass Eyes,” “Fifteen,” and the fan favorite “World By Storm.” For those itching for more Aiden material after hearing Nightmare Anatomy, going back to Our Gangs Dark Oath is worth the trip.
Angels and Airwaves If the Artic Monkeys didn’t exist, then Angels and Airwaves would take the crown as the most hyped band and album of 2006. With Blink-182 on basically permanent hiatus, guitarist Tom DeLonge decided to form a new band with a slightly different agenda from Blink and his punk side project Box Car Racer. Enlisting guitarist David Kennedy (from Box Car), bassist Ryan Sinn (ex-Distillers), and drummer Atom Willard (ex-Rocket from the Crypt and Offspring), DeLonge set out for a power pop, effects-driven epic rock album on We Don’t Need to Whisper. From the band name to the album art to the band’s website to the opening song, “Valkyrie Missile,” there are the images of space, flying, pilots, etc., all offering a calming yet oddly-inspiring feel. Angels and Airwaves wrote much of the music in a dark studio with Kubrick’s 2001 on TV and aerial photos of bombed out cities in WWII on the walls, thus creating the feel. The thing that holds up AVA is DeLonge’s easily recognizable vocals – they are considerably less whiny than his work with Blink, but still it seems to kill the buzz on the songs. Almost like someone you knew and hated, who has made a change for the better in their life but the bad still simmers underneath. You first see this on the heroic opener as ambient electronics slowly build for a minute, then drops to the beginning of the rock with heavy flange. But, once DeLonge’s vocals kick in two-and-a-half minutes in the song seems to lose its magic due to you thinking back to Blink days. That said, if you love DeLonge’s vocals then you will have no problems on the ten-song We Don’t Need to Whisper. Almost all of the songs are extended affairs – four to five minutes – that build up on guitar effects and pop. Hence, all are built to completely rock arenas, or to be used for laser light shows in the future. Sometimes this is grand and other times it’s just ok. The songs that get the nod include “The Adventure,” “Distraction,” the aforementioned opener, “The Gift,” and the guitar-heavy “The War.” (One song that band (and label) is pumping, “It Hurts,” is probably the most annoying one here.) If you want some power pop served with spacey, atmospheric electronic guitars then Angels and Airwaves is your salvation.
Anushka Pop Out of Boston, the three-piece of Anushka Pop have that local fave poppy indie rock sound on the seven-song EP Akathena. Sticking with mild-tempos, complacent rhythmic solos, and simply harmonies, Anushka Pop add just a teeny-bit of country, almost immeasurable, that separates them from an ordinary indie bar band; this is heard in the vocals of John Soares and his sometimes twangy guitar. Songs like “Gurlfriend,” “Carry On,” “First Step,” and “Autumn, 1993” serve as highlights on the EP. One downfall of the EP is the recording, particularly the drums which sound like cardboard boxes sometimes. There is nothing wrong, just not smooth and slick. Playing in the college mecca of the world will surely serve Anushka Pop with enough demand for as long as they want.
The Appleseed Cast On their debut for the Militia Group, and their fifth full-length, Lawrence, KS’s the Appleseed Cast offer expansive, spacey soundscapes across the thirteen-track Peregrine. After their previous label Tiger Style want RIP, Cast founders Chris Crisci (vocals/guitar) and Aaron Pillar (guitar) landed on TMG, bringing their Midwestern indie-rock to the left coast melodic punk label. Now with Marc Young on bass and Nathan Richardson (ex – The Casket Lottery and Coalesce) on drums, the Appleseed Cast seek to provide you both with Explosions in the Sky instrumentals and poppy, catchy indie rock wet dreams. This is no more obviously established than on the opener instrumental track “Ceremony” that drifts you along on waves that is followed by the slow starting, then smashing “Woodland Hunter (Part I);” when “Woodland Hunter (Part I)” kicks into full gear a minute-and-a-half in, you about lose your indie rock bowls. The rest of Peregrine falls out as a sweet mixture of these two styles – along with electronic flashes on such terrific tracks as “Mountain Halo,” “Woodland Hunter (Part II),” and the Cure-like “Sunlit and Ascending.” You should reintroduce to the Appleseed Cast, as you will likely not be disappointed by the growth.
Bi-Level On their latest offering, the St. Louis-area four-piece of Bi-Level offer six songs of catchy rock that hinges on a melodic punk edge. The Songbird has a genuinely fun feel to it, even if Bi-Level doesn’t exactly blow you away. Save for a couple of places all the songs are upbeat, uptempo, and feature some sort of guitar twist. When the EP starts off on “Calling” and broaches the chorus, you think that there may actually be something more than another generic rendition of radio rock. “Favorite Color” supports that impression, but several ordinary songs follow before the second to last song “Oh, Oh, Oh” reaffirms the message. Even though Bi-Level have been releasing records since 2000, they still sound raw, their timing is timid, and some of the guitar work is questionable vis-à-vis pieces that might fit better. With all that, Bi-Level are a band to keep in mind.
Big City Dreams Coming out of the punk mecca of Gainesville, FL, Big City Dreams chases different avenues of punk then many of their town colleagues (e.g, Hot Water Music). For Big City Dreams on their latest self-released, five-song EP, they are after catchy and melodic pop punk (dare one say emo) that can woo high school girls and make parents content from miles around. And, thus, if you can’t stand uber-poppy punk that is destined for the mainstream, you should stay far away from Honesty. But, if the likes of the All-American Rejects and friends are your picture of a perfect evening, then you just found your newest favorite with Big City Dreams; and you may even look cool for liking an unsigned band (though a major should be calling soon).
Big City Rock One is thankful to hear that Big City Rock named their band after the sound that they pursued. The question is whether it is good or horrific? Ask yourself whether you like super commercial, generic rock hooks with manly vocals? If the answer is yes, then you will enjoy Big City Rock’s debut full-length. If the answer is no, then the ten songs may make you commit suicide. Big City Rock is tricky at first, possibly beckoning to their indie rock roots in the Siren Six!, as they offer the uber-catchy “Sink” and requisite guitar hook. “All of the Above” furthers the charade, this time inserting a disco flow on the bridge. Yet, the kinks begin to show on the generic “As Soon As I Find Out” and the chorus guitars that sound like they’re from Labyrinth. The most terrible song on the record is one that the one-sheet actually highlights – “Human.” The lyrics border on special Olympics and make you wonder how anyone could be like ‘yeah, this sounds great.’ At best, the song is pretentious. Big City Rock should lay off the LA and return to their Wisconsin indie rock foundations.
The Big Tease For a bad band with no label, Knoxville’s the Big Tease are at least getting the image thing down. But after that, the eleven songs on Beautiful Addiction are a train wreck of fairly large proportions. For some reason, the Big Tease decide to open up with one of the worst songs here – the title track. “Beautiful Addiction” immediately makes you think that you are listening to total shit right away; not the impression that you want give. The pop-punk follower “Know What You Know” is so much better that you think things will get better as you progress. Yet, the crap storm begins in earnest again on “Fact or Fiction,” and as the Big Tease try to change their sound throughout you projectile vomit on the wall. My personal favorite is the Sublime-like “Old Man Winter,” which comes after the piano jazzy “The Chill Song,” and at which point you cut your wrists with remarkable speed. The Big Tease are fine playing for college parties at UT and other schools, but otherwise stay away.
Boysetsfire As mentioned on our reviews of the two previous Boysetsfire releases this year (the reissue of The Day the Sun Went Out and the b-sides/rarities collection aptly-titled [Reissues. Odds and Ends. Rarities]), the five-piece from Delaware has had a long and sometimes tortuous career navigating the standard bullshit plus a new label for each release. The latest change was the dipshit Wind-up Records dropping BSF, in favor of their generic shitty bands, and EVR scoring these hardcore punk giants. On their first release of new material since Wind-up, BSF drop one of their best records in their career only rivaled in pivotality by The Day the Sun Went Out. It helps that this thirteen-song, fifty-one minute onslaught has the most aggression the band has displayed in awhile. Yet, instead of a raw, emotional fuck fest, The Misery Index illustrates how damn good BSF are at songwriting, balancing their patently soft-to-hard shifts with melodic and catchy segments. Unlike the mockingly bad emocore bands, BSF hit you with the shifts in an unconscious manner; you follow the shifts without a standard verse-chorus-verse structure staring you in the face. To some degree, BSF seem to have learned from Wind-up’s constant desire for melodic and easily digestible pop, and mixed it into their version of hardcore songwriting. EVR doesn’t necessarily look for singles as Wind-up does, but the label and the band have a number of choices if they so desire. You might choose “Requiem” with its monster chorus. Or, the title-track, that in other hands would continue the generic rock start, but BSF take the four-minute number and slice into an array of interwoven moving parts. A wise choice would be the slow acoustic starter “(10) and Counting” that builds into an emotional juggernaut about the band; with the same passion as Hot Water Music’s “Western Grace.” For chills, just hit repeat on “(10) and Counting.” To purge themselves of this lighter fair, BSF take what they learned touring with Snapcase and nail the opening of “Falling Out Theme.” Or you can take “Social Register Fanclub” that rocks you while laying a thin piano underneath halfway through. (Then, there’s the oddly poppy “Deja Coup” and “So Long…And Thanks For the Crutches” which both use horns, a move that is seriously out of line.) If you want an example of what emotional hardcore is supposed to sound like, pick up the Misery Index (and The Day the Sun Went Out if you haven’t already).
Celebrity At their best Celebrity are generic mainstream Brit-pop rock; are their worst, Celebrity are torturous slow rock that may be able to make terrorists give up information. On their latest record, Mining for Twilight, there is unfortunately too much of the later for more than a passing interest. Even when Celebrity try to speed up the game, as on the aptly-titled “Hellbent” and “Solstice,” Lance Black’s vocal cadence just seems to drag down the whole thing. Black’s vocals aren’t bad, they just seem out of place; he’d be much better suited for some type of dark new wave act, as Celebrity could be with the addition of electronics. Likely if you enjoyed Celebrity’s previous record Lovesick then you will enjoy Mining for Twilight – as an added perk, the record comes with a DVD of four videos and an interview with the band.
Cracker After interludes of game playing with Virgin that saw a tug-of-war over the cash cow of their greatest hits collection, resulting in the release of two such albums, it is business as usual for the wispy indie old guard of Cracker. The crystal backing vocals of Caitlin Cary contrast with the dry and dusty lead of David Lowery to layer the opener ‘Something You Aint Got’, with broad reflection. This offering is slower, both instrumentally and vocally from previous albums that have spawned memorable indie hits such as ‘Euro-Trash Girl’ and ‘Get Off This’. Thus indicating that the guys have reached the days of musing and contemplation, but they pull it off with sincerity via ‘Where Have Those Days Gone'. A cheeky flirtation with 70s atmospheric rock, ‘Gimme One More Chance’ revives some of the exuberance of old. The ballad of ‘I’m As Glad As You She Aint Never Coming Back’ and the Hemmingway-esque utilisation of images of the Spain and African sea, while pondering lost loves contained in the dark ‘Sidi Ifni’, bears out the fact that this is Crackers most real life covering album to date. Lowery has been at the Keats books again, with his dark poetry performed with an Eels touch, both musically and vocally, stunning the listener into deep thought. Cracker has certainly wrestled a few demons here and it looks like they will continue to fight for a long time yet. (- David Adair)
Dead to Fall As one of the more metal bands in Victory’s lineup, Chicago’s Dead to Fall go completely Swedish metal on their third full-length the Phoenix Throne. Unlike the five-piece’s first two records, Everything I Touch Falls to Pieces and Villainy and Virtue, the ten songs here are an unrelenting dark, tight attack on your senses that only lets up for brief moments to chug-a-long. Enjoyably Relapse-style indeed, particularly with the excellent packaging, yet Dead to Fall doesn’t necessarily destroy your brain enough for them to be the sole focus of your metal wishes. Songs like the opener “All My Heroes Have Failed Me,” “Womb Portals,” the extended “Guillotine Dream,” the excellent “Doomed to Failure,” and “The Reptile Lord” bring evil to your heart, but more dynamic shifts within their songs would certainly benefit Dead to Fall. Keep the Phoenix Throne close at hand, and if the band can pull off a tight show live keep it under your pillow.
With song titles like ‘All Kids Are Dead’ to their name, it will be of no surprise to learn that The Drips are garnering quite a reputation, for their guts in the air rocking that pulls no punches. However, with ‘16,16, Six’ a more laid back, almost hanging The Clash feel is displayed to portray feelings of longing. The buzzing guitars lift the mood up and down, rendering this number an answer to the many hacks who question their utility, by dubbing them shrill rockers. (DA)
Dub Trio consists of a group of studio musicians that have worked with various big names in the hip-hop world. Self-described as “a tight rhythm section that basically turned into a band,” Dub Trio fuse punk rock and reggae/dub on their sophomore album New Heavy. As is common with instrumental rock albums, the sole guest vocal appearance by Mike Patton is easily New Heavy’s highpoint. Ironically, the song “Not Alone” is also included as the last track on Patton’s own Peeping Tom (Ipecac), albeit in a subtly different mix, which diminishes its presence here, as Patton fanatics will undoubtedly prefer to seek the song there first. “Not Alone” aside, Dub Trio is at its best when venturing into the more electro-acoustic aspects of dub (think German auteur, Pole) on tracks such as “Table Rock Dub” and when they get their loosest, such as the inspired use of accordion on “Sunny I’m Kill”. At their worst, Dub Trio try to funk things up a bit too hard on tracks such as “Jack Bauer” which seem to borrow almost every convention of past commercial acts such as Sublime, and even Stone Temple Pilots on “Screaming At The Sea”. And that brings me to the main problem with New Heavy, it’s ultimately a victim of the band members own studio prowess and comes off as being almost too tight, so clean that its grooves are often rendered virtually sterile and effectually flat. (- Andrew Pryor)
Envelopes When Envelopes concentrate on their brilliantly catchy, quirky new wave love fest, you nearly crap your pants in joy. It’s just that when they move away from the magic, do you walk away in frustrated annoyance. In that respect, and others, Envelopes share commonalities with the Shout Out Louds and Stereo Total. Featuring four Swedes and one Parisian, Envelopes usher you through a selection of glorious and less glorious moments on the eleven-song Demon. The record is essentially front-loaded with a set of stellar star tracks and the rest of the album presents a calm wave of supporting material. Demon kicks off on “It Is the Law” with a little simple riff that’s utterly catchy as-all-get-out as the full band soon joins in and presents this short introduction track. The slower moving “Glue” follows next and contains the same positive elements as “It Is the Law” just stretched out and measured. You have to push your way through the verses of “Sister in Love” to wind up at the glorious chorus, a chorus that will stick in your head for days. “Your Fight Is Over” is a nice, slow acoustic male-female number, but what you don’t know at this point is that much of the magic of Demon has already been shedded off. Sparing moments come from “Isabel & Leonard,” “Audrey in the Country,” and “My Fren,” but otherwise not much. Several of these songs will surely endear Americans to Envelopes and make them their new friends.
Escape Grace Adding to the legacy of Gainesville’s music scene is the noise-hardcore act Escape Grace on their second release conveniently titled II. Like late-90s, hardcore-power violence bands transitioning between sounds, Escape Grace manages an enjoyable thrashing of hardcore and metal on this four-song EP. In many ways, Escape Grace come off like a less absurd and absurdly angular Converge, and that is duly sweet. II could have benefited some slightly better production, particularly on the wall of guitars in order to make it sound like a foot-thick wall instead of an inch-thick, but it’s still strong amongst peers. Touring with like-minded bands and extension of their sound will surely endear the band to hardcore fans.
The Everyothers With their debut EP for KRS, the Everyothers keep the dirty glam rock hot and alive in the big city of NYC. As on their previous full-length, the Everyothers keep close to the original rock sound, but execute with tighter precision and perfection across the EP’s five songs. If you really dig glam rock then you’ll think Pink Sticky Lies is one of the best records of year. The problem is that frontman Owen McCarthy’s vocals are so exaggerated glam that if you don’t get down on the sound you are going to quickly head for the hills. In the right environment, you can see the Everyothers gunning down everything in sight, but it’s difficult to judge whether the current atmosphere is right for their sound.
Freshkills By nailing Dischord-area late 80s post-punk to the wall, NYC’s Freshkills is a sweet change of pace both for Austin’s Arclight Records and the NYC-area in general. Composed of a group of long-playing underground NYC rockers, Zach Lipez (vocals), Bill Miller (bass), Tim Murray (guitar), Jim Paradise (drums), Johnny Rauberts (vocals/guitar), Freshkills unleashes a firestorm of awesomeness on the nine-song Creeps and Lovers. When the record opens on the title-track and Lipez’s intense gruff vocals meet up with the speed downward picking of Murray and Rauberts, the thumping bass of Miller and the straight-ahead drums of Paradise, you doubt that the band can keep up the level and energy on followers; just like all these new bands with one or two great songs, only to fall into generic crap. Yet, Freshkills are different from the swath and do deliver on following tracks including highlights from “Future in Publishing” with its great breakdown, “Taste of Metal,” “Is There Enough Cocaine in the World to Make You Care About Me?,” and “If Things Don’t Change.” If you thoroughly enjoy post-punk, and the Dischord/Lovitt sounds, then Freshkills is a band to get excited about.
The Grates Feisty femme fuelled rock twirls around, propelled by punchy guitars and rattling percussion, winking at the sound Be Your Own Pet, Blondie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Regina Spektor making the Australian trio, The Grates a swirling curveball in the game of music. All this follows the summery, operatically sung introduction track ‘I Wont Survive’, containing rumbling guitar snippets to provide contrast and a startling element. ’19-20-20’ is a potent display of the Karen-O ilk vocal stroll and a hurried accompaniment to make the track shudder with frivolity and mischievousness; “My baby is soft, yeah he’s shooting tigers, my baby he’s such a fucking liar.” My baby, boo yeah, looking for a 19-20-20, 19-20-20. My baby, oh yeah he’s leaving town, my baby doesn’t want me around.” The versatility in Patience Hodgson’s voice allows the band to have a musing blues interlude by way of 'Rock Boys' that allows percussionist Alana Skyring to dominate proceedings with her drilling beats. The frolicking nature of this snappy indie/pop outfit is put in a nutshell in the punchy ‘Science Is Golden’, featuring a snappy chorus, roving guitars and precision percussion to make up their catch-all song that will help them draw in a wider radio-friendly element. The shake your ass number on this full bodied fourteen track exploration of a free spirit, has to be the folk frenzied with yearning breaks of ‘Inside Outside’. The verbally hypnotic repetition of the title in a rugged Jemina Pearl manner would induce gleeful gyration from a Jimmy Carter statue. Already creating tremors in their home country, The Grates have managed to replicate on record, the buoyancy and eccentricity that comes out in their live shows through Patience’s “lost in the moment” antics. (DA)
Haram If you wanted a band to nearly-perfectly represent the DC angular indie-punk sound it would be Haram. Featuring ex-members of Majority Rule, Pg.99, and City of Caterpillar, the four-piece of Haram blast through eleven tracks of the aforementioned punk on their debut on Lovitt. While they punch, stab, and slay you with guitars and maniacal drumming, the vocals are shouted from above which all come together to produce an organized assault on your person. Songs such as “Slob,” “Fade Away,” the melodic Sonic Youth-y “Mountain of Youth,” and “Clean Sweep” keep you entertained, but the album does drag in places, thus preventing an entirely stellar affair. If Haram can energetically re-create, or create, this sound on stage, they would be immediately mesmerizing.
Hard-Fi Hard-Fi are both a band that could only come about now, but also could have come about during any of the past twenty years. That is, they have a simple pop foundation layered with all types of sounds including punk, dub, electronica, and hip-hop, a mix that is modernly timeless. In this respect, Hard-fi offer similar grooves to the Gorillaz combined with a more pop heart, as well as nods to the Clash. Yet, they couldn’t have gotten to where they are today without the help of computers making recording and producing cheap. Endearingly British, the four-piece of Hard-Fi come from the distant gritty suburb of Staines (the place Ali G reps) and the eleven songs on Stars of CCTV all reflect their dire surroundings. Featuring Richard Archer’s impressive vocal prowess and filled out by guitarist Phillips, bassist Kai Stephens, and drummer Steve Kemp, Hard-Fi do their best to offer up a new hit single on every track; and they fairly well succeed. Already with a string of singles, highlights from the record include the opener “Cash Machine,” the hotly layered “Middle Eastern Holiday,” “Tied Up Too Tight,” the dance-centric “Gotta Reason” and further electronic bolstering on “Hard to Beat,” and the closer title track. With a self-professed mission of being huge stars in the U.S., not just the UK, Hard-Fi take a strong step with Stars of CCTV.
Hey Negrita After successfully reeling in a variety of folk, americana, blues and pop lovers with their charming and dusky debut album ‘We Are Catfish’, Hey Negita give us a neat glimpse of their current mindset with this single from their forthcoming, second full length foray ‘The Buzz Above’. Now Felix’s vocals take on a longing Mark Chadwick feel and ‘Abandon Ship’ comes across with a musically laidback Levellers feel. Also, the lyrical bemusement facilitates this vibe. Pangs of regret strike a chord of woeful regret in ‘Penny Drops’, as the pull of the weaving acoustic guitar grips you to the spot. However, it is not all pondering reflection, ‘Nine To Five’ expands instrumentally and turns into an uplifting, bubbly pop song to help you shake of the shackles of the working day and life, for that matter. Hey Negrita possess the ability to empathise with its listeners and does it without a trace of patronization. (DA)
Hi Red Center While Hi Red Center possesses the ability to riff out fuzzy, electronic movements, their apparent purposeful off-timed randomness does the ten-track Architectural Failures in. Clearly, the four-piece is traveling the trail of Deerhoof, and side projects, but it just sounds like they’re trying too hard to do it. What really kills is that you can tell Hi Red Center are highly competent musicians trying to be jazzy and unpredictable, but it seems fake and awkward. It’s sort of like someone who spends a whole lot of time trying to look like they didn’t spend anytime getting dressed. Hi Red Center have a good foundation, they just need to nail things down better; allowing for the possibility that the songs may come off quite well live.
If All Else Fails Southern California’s If All Else Fails starts out on the twelve-song Do Not Forget to be Angry with flailing punk ska on “Martyrs Made and More Forgotten” and “Christian Vengeance (exodus 12).” Then comes “Inside the Lie,” and you are thinking what the hell is this? At which point, you also realize what punk band would call their album “Do Not…” instead of “Don’t.” Possibly trying to illustrate their range as a band, the five-piece offer some type of psych-rock trainwreck on “Inside the Lie.” Maybe this is just a one-off mistake? Unfortunately, Do Not begins to unfold in similar tragic fashion with the odd acoustic numbers “Streetlights” and “Her Song,” the horrible rock “Throwing Stones,”…. As a debut record for a band that’s been around for eight years, If All Else Fails should stick with what their good at (punk ska) and stop trying to be eclectic.
Juniper Sky With the first vocals of Dave Deceglie on “Death of Me” you want to strangle Juniper Sky with a plastic bag, in order to stop Deceglie from cock-rock, thrashy, manly pronouncements. Add to that just absurdly, badly mixed over-distorted guitars and it’s just a pile. Yet and for the betterment of mankind, Juniper Sky soon illustrates on “So It Ends” and “’Till Death Do Us Part” that when they move to slower more eclectic electronic numbers they are considerably more enjoyable. Not necessarily good, but their dark melodic hardcore is simply more palatable in this version. Unfortunately, as you skip along the songs on Don’t Forget, Juniper Sky sometimes takes the slower mentality a bit too far with such serious missteps as “Far Away,” “Song For A Minor,” the horrific “Solitude,” and the closer “Tears.” All in all, Juniper Sky have the ability to create good songs, but they seem mired in tangents and need to do a better production and mixing job.
Kaada On his third recording on Ipecac, John Kaada explores the soundtrack-without-a-film genre, gathering a small army of guest musicians from around Europe and recording his compositions in a large hall on the outskirts of Oslo. The influence from his collaboration with Mike Patton on the similarly ambitious Romances (also on Ipecac) is almost immediately apparent. Gone are the electronic pop songs of Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time and MECD; lyrics are replaced by the atmospheric scat (think: ooo’s and aaah’s) of film music by way 60’s era Cinecitta and samples are replaced with live instrumentation ala the spaghetti western ambience of Morricone. The result is actually both fascinating and at times quite moving. Under Kaada’s capable direction, Music For Musicbikers never succumbs to cliché or new age sterility, which are common pitfalls of the genre. Part of what makes this work is Kaada’s decision to stick with live performances (assisted by conductor Baldakhin) which lends the album a layer of warmth and humanity that reaches its apex in the shimmering tremolo guitar in “Daily Living” and the haunting strings of “Celibate”. (AP)
Lonely China Day In the world of absurdly good, this is fucking absurdly brilliant! Lonely China Day are a four-piece from Beijing that play ambient, gorgeous indie rock soundscapes thanks to the instrumental feel of Explosions in the Sky, the slight electronics of the Album Leaf, and the perfectly apropos vocals of Deng Pei. Deng Pei is Lonely China Day’s anchor as he’s the songwriter, programmer and, most importantly, vocalist. Thankfully, LCD don’t try to sing in English and instead sing in their native Chinese – which you might think would sound strange to Western ears. Yet, Deng Pei sings in almost phonetics that match the music so perfect, not unlike a number of Scandinavian artists, that you barely notice it’s not just some drawn-out English. Of course, one has no idea what the hell his singing about, but usually that’s the case anyway. Joined by Wang Dongtao on guitars, He Feng on bass, and Luo Hao, the band offers five songs on the debut EP. The EP starts out on “Thou” with low volume drums and electronics as a simple spacey guitar riff leads the way to vocals. “Thou” also probably has the most sampling and programming, and it narrowly avoids messing up the picture. Yet, “Thou” simply serves as an appetizer to the magical “Red Blossom of Plum and Me” – one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. “Red Blossom” starts in a similar fashion to “Thou,” but LCD seem to find all the right pieces to make the seven-minute song a stunner – particularly Deng Pei’s vocals are right on. Like Explosions’ “Your Hands in Mine,” “Red Blossom” stays with you for a very long time as it brings chills and brings hope for a better tomorrow. This is what music should do! For some reason, LCD move to a more pop sound on “Beijing, Realise” and it somewhat distracts from the previous experience. The world is corrected on “Sorrow” as the band pursues slightly more traditional music with electronic updates, and is neatly followed by the ten-minute “Untitled.” “Untitled” is slow, haunting number with lo-end noise piercing throughout. You can’t imagine that LCD have a lot of leverage in China to pursue their whimsical indie rock fantasies, but they’ve helped me towards mine. If Lonely China Day gets to the states for a show, be there yesterday.
The Lovely Feathers Montreal’s the Lovely Feathers begin their debut full-length on “Pope John Paul,” conveying an image that they hardly know how to play their instruments as the guitar jitters unevenly. Yet, once past this opener and on to the other twelve songs, you are greeted by an eclectic and quirky set of indie-pop that both supports the Lovely Feathers’ initial impression and trashes it. In fact, the Lovely Feathers can play and play well; it’s just that their sound transitions are very much like Stereo Total’s slight offness. If you think that the Lovely Feathers must have some connection to the absurdly hot Montreal crew, you are correct – members features folks from the Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade. The Lovely Feathers, though, are a breed all of their own and are often more concerned with squeezing in a massive set of lyrics into small places (e.g., “I Really Like You”). Further, the songs on Hind Hind Legs are all over the place, with some that dazzle and others that spoil. Ones to be on the lookout for include “In the Valley,” the hyper “Frantic,” the commercial rocker “Rod Stewart,” and the Pavement-like “The Appalachian Cornfield.” Add another, slightly lesser brother to the Montreal indie rock entourage.
Low Cycle Hum Through a series of somewhat random events, I came into possession of St. Louis-based Low Cycle Hum’s thirteen-track Rainmakers & Soul Shakers. With bluesy rock and twang at their core, Low Cycle Hum is comprised of Simon Byrne (vocals/guitars), Chris Kroenlein (guitars), Scott Jewell (bass), Brad Cavanagh (drums), and Brian Mathus (guitars). With production help from Miles of Wire guitarist Shawn T. Bell, a sporadic, odd hesitation in the guitars and Byrne’s vocals is the only thing holding back Rainmakers from being a rip-roaring rock record. Low Cycle Hum vary their songs in such a way that they’re able to stick on you even after one-time through the record. Those with the best adhesive include the stronger opener “Never Truer,” the excellent uptempo “Knocked Down” complete with pedal steel and cowbells, the rocker “Hangin’ Around,” the short acoustic mellower “The Great Fortune Teller Buyout” that sounds like Sam Beam’s brother, the intense gravitational-pull of “New Orleans,” and “Paper Moon.” You could legitimately hear both “Knocked Down” and “New Orleans” being played on major radio stations – some promotion is screaming out for attention. If you’re able to catch Low Cycle Hum and Miles of Wire playing together in St. Louis, get there early.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the eleven-track We, the Vehicles is absolutely brilliant indie pop. The reason is that the three-piece of Maritime is comprised of Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier of the Promise Ring, and Eric Axelson of the Dismemberment Plan. Now, imagine those two bands meeting at a crossroads where mature indie chill is elevated with dreamy pop melodies. This knowledge alone should make you pick up We, the Vehicles today. Unlike their debut, Glass Floor, some of the themes on We, the Vehicles are darker, but it only really shows in the lyrics and not in the music itself. Maritime open their second album on “Calm” which lays the simple, yet catchy blueprint for the following ten songs. “Tearing Up the Oxygen” follows “Calm” and is lavishly beautiful – reminiscent of a Postal Service track without tons of electronics. After these two strong openers, the rest of the album unfolds with solid track after strong track, including highlights by the up-picking “Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts,” the excellent “We Don’t Think, We Know,” the bass and guitar thumping on “Don’t Say You Don’t,” and the oddly catchy “German Engineering.” If you are a fan of indie pop, then We, the Vehicles should reside on your shelf. With a couple of high profile tours, like opening for Sondre Lerche or something, Maritime should attain the attention they deserve.
Melvins From the horse’s mouth… guitarist Buzz Osborne describes the Houdini live album “[as] a thoroughly modernized live version of the 1993 ‘classic’ Houdini record along with a few surprises tossed in for shits and giggles.” Ostensibly, this album is presented as an after-the-fact capstone after the Melvins took part in the “Don’t Look Back” concert series in England last year, wherein participating bands chose one album from their back-catalogue to play in its entirety. Recorded live in a warehouse in South L.A. with a private gathering of friends and joined by workhorse bassist Trevor Dunn (Fantomas), Osborne and drummer Dale Crover deliver a surprisingly faithful treatment of the original album. This “modernized” Houdini does offer a reshuffled song order and some tracks, such as “Night Goat”, are give addendums of sci-fi noise, panning echoes, and droning feedback. For other songs, such as “Lizzie” and “Going Blind”, the differences are subtle, and unless you listen to the both versions back-to-back, probably unnoticeable. The live recording set-up and time constraints do give this new Houdini a slight manic edge over the original and offers Melvins fans an interesting re-interpretation of well-aged songs, but will probably only be of interest to the already converted. (AP)
Mikaela’s Fiend It’s extraordinarily easy to write off Mikaela’s Fiend if you so desire. Here’s a set of reasons: the band is two teenage cousins (Chris Ando and Donnie Shoemaker) who play instrumental noise, and the record is composed of eleven untitled tracks. For many, noise bands are typically one step away from full retardation – random assortment of noises to appear ‘arty.’ Yet, Mikaela’s Fiend are able to harness the squirrelly, insect noise of the Locust and transform it into their own thing. Amongst the eleven songs, you never find yourself thinking that one thing or the other is just randomly put there, but that there’s an actual structure to the noise. But, basically I like that they can reproduce the Locust’s swarming insect sounds.
Moneen The sauntering tension packed post-rock that rushes through the emo genre in opener ‘Don’t Ever Tell Locke What He Can’t Do’, immediately enunciates the fact that this band’s collective power and thrust takes them immediately passed many of the derivative lame-wads that are clogging up the this end of the music market. The Get Up Kids sharing a sabbatical with Funeral For A Friend gives an indication of the soaring nature that is at its most prevalent in the first half of their third full-length offering. This follow up to the blistering ‘Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now’, demonstrates that the incessant touring done for that album has aided their tightness and understanding. Moneen’s focus and fiery nature is captured so beautifully in the sinister ‘Bleed And Blister’, as the grinding guitars provides the perfect accompaniment for Kenny Bridges’ potent and punchy vocal attack. Calmingly harmonious interludes add spice to the gritty bite that snatches your attention in tracks such as ‘The Day No One Needed To Know’ and the big business barracking, ‘This Is All Bigger Than Me’. The tempo turns to cruise control towards the end, as bracing moments are provided with the help of an aching heart in ‘There Are A Million Reasons For Why This May Not Work …. And Just One Reason For Why It will’, as well as in the final track ‘The Song I Swore To Never Sing’. This album is music’s equivalent to a thrilling movie featuring all the usual suspects of anger, resentment, heartache, twists and turn and intrigue. (DA)
Mute Math If you think that Mute Math would play precise math rock or hardcore, you are wrong. After hearing the introductory electronic track “Collapse,” if you think that Mute Math only play such ambient soundscapes, you are wrong. Instead, this New Orleans’ four-piece, that appears more Euro than American, act at a crossroads of pop rock and electronics, and in the process make some amazing music. Using the age-old strategy of drawing influences from past greats and making it their own, Mute Math borrow the guitar effects of U2, the vocals of Sting, and the atmosphere of Radiohead, as they silk their way through the thirteen songs on the record. The guitars and atmosphere are evident on the first legit song “Typical,” and after the short electronic “After We Have Left Our Homes,” the Sting element shows up through Paul Meany’s vocals on “Chaos.” The movement and cadence on the follower “Noticed” further cements the Sting and Police parallels. One might object to such parallels, but it is a great sound and when songs are catchy and inspiring you can’t not acknowledge their attraction. Mute Math continue their appealing interactions throughout the full-length with extra highlights from “Without It,” the chill electronics on “Obsolete,” and the thumping “Picture.” After a full exposure to the record, one can hardly imagine Mute Math in New Orleans, more likely LA, NYC, or Europe. If you get a chance to catch Mute Math do it before they start selling out arenas.
Noisettes Immediately flashing their bluesy, high strung rock on opener “Don’t Give Up,” London’s the Noisettes announce their presence on the world with a thunderous boom. Without question, you are quickly grabbed by the vocal prowess of Shingai Shoniwa who matches the dirty, yet tight power of the four songs on the EP. “Monte Cristo” slows things down and offers a dark image as Shoniwa illustrates (piano-driven) singer-songwriter throat typically reserved for shows in Brooklyn. Thankfully, the Noisettes let things hang out a bit more on “Signs” as they flash a smidge of funk guitar, while “Burn” closes the EP with a thrashy, extended six-minute sludge fest. As an added bonus the EP includes a video for “Don’t Give Up;” just make sure it won’t blow in your computer. The Noisettes are poised to make their mark on the music world; they just need a bit more speed as on “Don’t Give Up” and slightly less broad slowdowns.
Ocrilim Have you ever lived in an apartment building with musicians next-door —perhaps a closet metal guitarist who tirelessly practiced scales and arpeggios every weekday night for hours? Well then, imagine that neighbor, as a hybrid of Buckethead and Derek Bailey, and you’d have an idea of what Ocrilim’s Anoint is like. Essentially a one-man show, “legendary” guitarist Mick Barr (Othrelm) eschews such things as accompaniment, recognizable structure, or even variations in tempo, as he sets his metronome to 120 BPM and noodles through seven indistinguishable tracks nonstop for 47 minutes. The result is self-indulgent, but perhaps that’s the point, as Barr breaks down the jazz-metal genre to the barest of components: droning power chords and aimless riffing. Ocrilim’s sound is a distillation of diminished triads and chromaticism; this is difficult music for the sake of being technical, both atonal and challenging. Though at first Anoint is interesting in a “listening to your neighbor kind of way”, Ocrilim’s “lecture” on the art of shredding quickly descends into didacticism culminating in an overwhelming urge to start banging on the wall. Okay, okay we get it already. (AP)
Path of Resistance Undoubtedly, Path of Resistance’s lineage is hardcore history, but on their second full-length, after an extended absence, the songs fail the test of musical evolution. Featuring an array of Earth Crisis members, notably lead singer Karl Beuchner, Path of Resistance started in 1997 as a side project for the band as drummer Dennis Merrick healed from an accident. Mind you that this was at the height of Earth Crisis’ popularity, so naturally people flocked to the Path’s debut Who Dares Wins. Even though Path’s stripped-down old school hardcore sound was a deviation from EC’s grind, people still tuned in for the straightedge, vegan anthems offered. After various deviations and turns, the band is back after a ‘hiatus’ for the thirteen-song Can’t Stop the Truth. The seven-member, three-vocalist attack includes Beuchner, D.J. Rose, Ian Edwards, along with guitarists Scott Crouse, Erick Edwards, Jonathan Dennison, and drummer Merrick. What kills Can’t Stop the Truth is that all the songs could have been written ten years ago and you wouldn’t know it. The lyrics have been ‘updated’ to include topics such as genetic modification of plants, etc., but all the same messages of straightedge for life (‘the edge never rusts’), veganism, materialism, and animal rights are still on the front of their minds. You’d think that even if Path wanted to offer old-school hardcore hitters, they could do more with their sound to reflect their abilities. For those looking for a reaffirmation of their hardcore lifestyle, then Can’t Stop the Truth is your new testament.
The Payola Reserve Wisely, Baltimore’s the Payola Reserve begins their debut One Long Apology with the best song “Music Is Not Music;” a song that begins slowly, but shortly shines as indie rock piano pop. Unfortunately, One Long Apology literally should become an apology from the band as their skills melt slowly and steadily on the rest of the record. The four-piece of Ben Pranger, Al Pacheco, Ken Fisher, and Bryson Dudley follow up “Music Is Not Music” with the second best song “An Eastern Western,” complete with handclaps – a wise decision. But, once the Payola Reserve lose sight of the piano indie pop, it’s a crash into commonplaceness. There is a bump from “Illegal” – another piano-driven number – yet not enough to save One Long Apology.
Peter Walker On his latest record for Dangerbird, Peter Walker continues his forays into catchy pop songs that are quickly appealing, even if not overwhelmingly memorable. With a bunch of friends helping out and new bandmates in bassist Tim Hutton and drummer Chris Reynolds, Walker has matured over his previous record Landed. All written by the piano and guitar-centric Walker, the eleven songs on Young Gravity move at a mid-tempo with nods to folk and twang. Walker consistently tries to convey a calm ambience, almost like someone simply relaxing on a beach. Part of that feel comes from the production help of Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) and Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy). Yet, when he moves away from rock numbers, Young Gravity slips and slides all over the places (see “Don’t Think Twice,” “On TV,” “By a Thread”). Thankfully, those are few and songs like “39 Stars,” “Flagship,” “Talk to You,” and “Preacher” are all rockers that keep you tuned in with compelling twangy guitar hooks. Clearly, Peter Walker excels when keeping close to alt-country twang, and leaving the melancholy slow pieces at home.
Raising the Fawn Starting nine years ago as simply John Crossingham alone in a room, Raising the Fawn now sport Scott Remila, Dylan Green, and a series of recent releases after a slow start. Following up 2004’s the North Sea, the eleven-track Maginot Line alternates between pretty melodic indie rock and stretched-out spacey indie rock and instrumentals. What’s the difference? Both appealing, the pretty stuff comes courtesy of somewhat shorter, standard rock structures featuring Crossingham’s mesmerizing vocals that often take flight like Radiohead. Examples include “Carbon Paper,” the front-end of “The Matador,” and closer “Nocturne no. 2.” Songs like expanded rocker “The Maginot Line,” the epic “Christmastime in the Fields,” and “Until It Starts Again,” illustrate the lengthy compositions that often diverge into heavy instrumental sections. The Maginot Line offers enough love for a variety of indie tastes to have a field day on.
Red Hot Chili Peppers The stonewall funk rockers bid to keep their colourful story building with this 28 track epic of funk rock with a smooth edge that is split into two CDs, ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Mars’. Fuzzy bass solos, Anthony Kleidis’ commanding and trouble laden vocals and an orbiting instrumental lift combines to exude defiance and soul. This is only the first track ‘Dani California’ covered, as it appears that in the nigh on four years hiatus since ‘By The Way’, the Chilis have been delving deeper than body exhumers to provide another display of their song writing and building prowess. The pensive marathon of the title track shows that it has been a time of stock-taking for the stadium rockers in the run to this album, but their frivolous buoyancy returns temporarily in ‘Hump de Bump’ that sees them re-visiting their ‘Mother’s Milk’ sound. The slow burning ‘Strip My Mind’ puts the atmospheric contemplation in a nutshell with help from deft, pulsing percussion. ‘Desecration Smile’ starts the second CD off in a pensive and rambling style, as Kleidis uses a weaving acoustic element and soulful vocal backing to portray feelings of emptiness and bemusement. This sees the Chili’s taking a step forward and letting the power of the words take over from their usually hard-hitting instrumental release. This is a general theme on ‘Mars’ and it does build more of a tempo than the first CD, with the insightful, funk fuelled ‘21st Century’ demonstrating that Flea’s biting bass-lines have lost none of their sting, but are more sparingly used these days and this helps to add to their impact. Flea, who in the band’s interlude between albums has vociferously spoken out against Bush and his military policies, seems content to mainly lay in the wings cushioning the sound, as oppose to toeing it along, like in the past. The raw provocation that has epitomised the Chilis over time returns in the epic ‘Animal Bar’, seeing masculinity gush back into the vocals and a sliding guitar solo gives it a frolicking feel. The momentum builds wickedly into a bold and freewheeling rock foray ‘So Much I’, with the coup de grace being snappy lyrical bite; “Rip it out now shake your hips, backing off the apocalypse. I gotta losen up, I gotta losen up to get my grip. “ Those who still hug ‘Give It Away’ as though they never want it to go away will embrace ‘Storm In A Teacup’ with passion. This number resurrects the spirit of the aforementioned classic and shows that despite wandering off in a more expansive direction they are still at one with their roots. 'Stadium Arcadium' is certainly going to test the concentration of the two minute rock fan base that the 4 strong LA troupe holds a lion share of. There will be moments when even the most attentive wander off. However, this prolonged collection will always lure you back into the foraging mindset of a band that is slowly climbing the rope to iconic status. (DA)
Robots in Disguise New wave rawness and bite is swirled around in a fuzzy and colourful electro machine, epitomising the sumptuous spirit of the Ladytron and Client combining provocateurs, Sue Denim and Dee Plume. The thrusting vocal interlocking between the two protagonists of this flighty outfit, decorates a tale of annoyance and the dissipation of an art form through ‘The DJ’s Got A Gun’. The murky, but dominant ‘Girl’ drags the contemporary focus on Blondie away from the haven of acting into a modern musical age, by espousing views reminiscent of P J Harvey. Having recently completed a reputation elevating tour of France, Robots In Disguise impart a cosmopolitan and euro flavoured tinge to their electro exploration, with help from the likes of ‘La Nuit’ and ‘Hot Gossip’.Their British spirit gushes out in the punk flirting ‘The DJ’s Got A Gun (IAMX Shut Up You Dance Remix) and a powerfully channelled, grinding guitar inclusive cover of The Kinks’ song, ‘You Really Got Me’. The potency and provocation of the vocal onslaught is quite intense at times, as you are lured into the web of seedy exposure by the girls' playfulness. ‘Get Rio’ is a well put together mixture of roving beats and synths, coupled with thought provoking lyrics and confident vocal delivery. (DA) Rookie of the Year We always get the same sans-art, generic packaging for promos from One Eleven/East West. The problem is that all the bands that come out of their camp also all sound the same – so much so you can’t keep anything straight. The sound is attractive, radio-friendly pop punk, where typically the punk is minimized in favor of the pop. Rookie of the Year is no different on their sophomore record the Goodnight Moon, and Ed Rose’s deft-production adds to the warmness. The four-piece offers up a lovely set of twelve songs that will make all the high school girls swoon and make emo hearts bleed emotion. Yet, save for songs like “Liars and Battlelines,” well you can include “Liars and Battlelines,” the Goodnight Moon is completely generic within the aforementioned pop sound. It’s all great the first time you hear it, but after the n-th rendition you’ve had enough. That said, Rookie of the Year fall nicely into an appealing sound that non-jaded listeners likely may enjoy.
Russian Circles Thank God for bands like Russian Circles; there aren’t enough of them. That is in reference to the Chicago-based three-piece’s instrumental attack that nails a wide swath of sounds – indie rock, punk, prog, metal, ambient – into one flowing package of goodness. Composed of guitarist Mike Sullivan, bassist Colin DeKuiper, and drummer Dave Turncrantz, the six songs on Enter don’t shift awkwardly between sounds, but instead weave and layer to make a gorgeous picture. If you are getting the correct image in your head, Russian Circles bring up comparisons to Explosions in the Sky and Pelican. While Russian Circles are heavier, more rock structured, and slightly less majestic than those two bands, there is enough across the forty-four minutes to enjoy. Hopefully, Russian Circles will further progress and unleash mind-blowing uber-tight affairs in the near future.
Second Story Man With some time off for college, loose ends, and a band member switch (Justin Davis for Kelly Scullin), Louisville’s Second Story Man provide us their latest talents on the Red Glows Brighter EP. Missing the support of the Kentucky Foundation of Women this time, but still on the guitarist Jeremy Irvin’s label Landmark, the seven-song EP continues the male-female indie rock love fest of the past. Besides from Irvin and Davis (on bass), Second Story Man are rounded out by drummer Evan Bailey and guitarist Carrie Neumayer. Yet, the magic seems to have been dulled somewhat in the intervening years; maybe it’s the loss of Scullin. At least that’s the impression that the opening number “Mitey Might” presents, as it slowly chugs through a morass of musical non-sequiturs. Your faith is partially restored on the following number “Catalyst” as it contains the requisite melodic sections to make you swoon. “Letter To Be” helps bring you back with a cool male-female vocal interplay, while “When Your Dreams Expire” is an odd electronic ambient number featuring Neumayer’s vocals. “Cancer Dance” is passable as the title track has Neumayer warming up the plate even if the band doesn’t entirely deliver. The EP closes on the slow “Let Me Start Again” and flutters on to a hidden track/extension. All in all, Red Glows Brighter continues Second Story Man’s mission, but the songs seem to lost their fun and become more serious.
Sinai Beach Only a year ago, Sinai Beach threw down their debut for Victory, Immersed, offering another boulder for the heavy metalcore world. As with Aiden, Victory is now reissuing Sinai Beach’s 2003 debut When Breath Escapes; which is somewhat odd as it has only been three years and the original release sold fairly well. Unlike Immersed, where Sinai Beach decide to offer manly vocals to couple their rock, When Breath Escapes is just ten songs of beat downs, with walls of guitars, drums, and intensity. There are a couple of instances of melodic breakdowns (e.g., on “Of a Man”), but they come off more like old Cave In mergers than lame requisite adds. As such, When Breath Escapes is considerably better for those wishing for more straight-up metalcore. If “Apocalypse” got you pumped on Immersed, only to be distraught by later failings, go back to When Breath Escapes.
Stavesacre Miraculously, as you How to Live with a Curse progresses through its twelve songs, it just gets worse and worse. As the latest release in this Orange County-based band’s ten year career, Stavesacre are at their best with post-hardcore sounds a la a weak Quicksand…and at their worst with some type of pompous, man-rock Wind-up Records train wreck. Consistent with the opening sentence, the best songs on How to Live are early on, say the first song “A Reason to Believe,” but as soon as the slower moments of the follower “It’s Beautiful (Once You’re Out There)” you can see the forecoming doom. It is just down hill from there. The best part of the promo I have is that the songs are split up into 30 seconds tracks in order to prevent you from ripping it to your computer; an action that seems unlikely in any event. If someone would actually want to rip How to Live with a Curse, they should just be summarily executed.
V/A Coming late to the game on Kemado, much of the material we’ve seen has been total esoteric rock fucking nonsense. But, good stuff would peak its head up from time-to-time. This collection of brilliant of stoner/psych rock and metal bands restores our faith in Kemado and we welcome them in whole-heartedly. Invaders consists of eighteen songs, ten of them unreleased, from some of the top path-burning bands in music. Highlights come from Saviours “Circle of Servants Bodies,” the seven-minute “By the Mark” by Danava, the awesome “Behind the Fall” from Black Mountain, “The Loge” from the Fucking Champs, the incredible instrumental “Ran Amber” from Pelican, the radio edit of “Devilution” by High on Fire, Diamond Nights’ “12 Walls,” Wolfmother’s “Love Train,” and the perfectly-named “Backseat Astronaut” by Night After Night. Invaders is both an excellent introduction to the sound as well as treasure trove for veterans.
V/A Three.One.G. is both the craziest and coolest label ever, and this tribute to the Birthday Party is just another chapter in a long list of performance art rock pieces on the label. The problem is that the Birthday Party’s songs aren’t exactly common knowledge music unless you were a fan; this is especially so with relation to Three.One.G.’s tribute to Queen “Dynamite with a Laserbeam: Queen as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G.” Release the Bats features eighteen Birthday Party songs as interpretated by such artists as Ex Models, Cattle Decapitation, Rah Bras, Melt Banana, Daughters, Some Girls, and Chinese Stars. Now imagine those bands taking any rock song previously written and savagely molesting it to fit within their own sound, and that’s what Release the Bats is. Give an especially close look to Rah Bras on “Mr. Clarinet,” Melt Banana on “Faint Heart,” and Some Girls on “Release the Bats.” If you need a new soundtrack to your latest meth-binge, this is it.
Wolfmother With each passing day, Australia’s Wolfmother gets bigger and bigger, and into becoming one of the coolest heavy psych-rock jam bands ever. The three-piece of Andrew Stockdale (guitars/vocals), Chris Ross (bass/keyboards), and Myles Heskett (drums) first got Americans attention with their teaser EP Dimensions. Now, and shortly after the EP’s release, comes this twelve-song juggernaut of acid-drenched 70s metal. Starting with “Dimension,” the sprawling, screaming, thumping rock number that found its way onto Dane Cook’s Tourgasm as the theme song, this self-titled release makes it easy to call Wolfmother the most excited non-American rock band right now. If you bought the EP, you’ll be happy to know that besides from “Dimension,” the only other song off the EP here is the slow, drugged out “Mind’s Eye.” While you wish that everything song would sound like “Dimension,” Wolfmother move between sounds which produces both positive and negative consequences; the former being memorable differences, the latter being deviation from magic. “White Unicorn” follows “Dimension” here and, as the title may tell you, is a riff-heavy balls-out rocker. Other songs to bring up such glorious comparisons include “Colossal,” “Witchcraft,” as well as the bluesy “Joker & the Thief.” You also get stripped-down punk rock on “Apple Tree,” the wild riffer “Woman,” and another slow-burner “Where Eagles Have Been.” Did you notice that some of the best songs have the most majestic names; and that campy 70s rock is where Wolfmother treads slightly, but just slightly. If there was ever a contemporary band you would want to trip out to and walk around the desert, it is Wolfmother!
Zack Hill + Mick Barr When this arrived in the mail and I saw that it was Zack Hill from Hella/Team Sleep/etc. and Mick Barr from Octis/Orthrelm, my only thought was how bad this noise product was going to be. The jazz noise that encompasses the nineteen tracks on Shred Earthship are clearly best experienced live and not on record; unless, of course, if you saw them perform then bought it to relive some of it, or some notion of it since it’s jazz. As a recorded notion, Shred Earthship just sounds like random bits of noise slapped together – something that shouldn’t necessarily be released on hard copy; maybe on the internet. I admit that I’m glad this project is simply named after the Hill and Barr, and not another band name to keep track of. If Zach Hill + Mick Barr ever play in my city, I’ll go, but listening to Shred Earthship, I’ll pass.
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