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June Reviews Artist of the Month: Anti-Flag There will likely be a number of fans and others who are super-bummed by uber-political punk heroes Anti-Flag moving to RCA, a subsidiary of Sony. But, a band that has been banging against the military-corporatist world for years isn’t about to just lay down for a corporation. With a large degree of control over the record and indie publicity handled by their label A-F Records things are how they should be. And, regardless, For Blood and Empire is one of the hardest hitting punk records of the year. You have likely been hiding under a rock over the past few years if you never heard of Pittsburgh’s Anti-Flag; a four-piece filled out by Chris Head (guitar/vocals), Justin Sane (guitar/vocals), Chris #2 (bass/vocals), and Pat Thetic (drums/vocals). Gritty as their hometown, Anti-Flag have been releasing 7”s and full-lengths since the mid-90s, and playing an absurd number of shows to anyone anywhere. Their most recent material has gone through Fat Wreck Chords, including the excellent Terror State in 2003. Always a good combination of folk concepts milled through Clash-type punk, Anti-Flag get a good deal of attention through their political activism. This crested with the 2003-2004 Rock Against Bush campaign, fronted by Fat Mike, which helped heighten attention to the Bush administration’s actions and policies, but unfortunately didn’t succeed in their ultimate mission. Whether the campaign existed or not, Anti-Flag would still be doing their own leftist punk activism…assuring the tradition survived. Within the first few songs of For Blood and Empire, the only recognizable change from previous material is that the production is amazingly tight and polished; but totally devoid of the dirty word ‘slickness’. This is no doubt helped by RCA’s backing and the co-production of Dave Schiffman. Whatever the reason, we are all the beneficiaries. You also benefit from the thick record booklet filled with not just lyrics, but also essays and facts provided by political authors, activists, and various groups, which serve as the lyrical foundations of the songs. Thus, the record is a bit more explicitly political thematic than past records, but still within the normal range. For Blood and Empire kicks off on the speed guitar-soloing of “I’d Tell You But…,” which nails Anti-Flag’s message immediately to the wall. As one of the hardest numbers of the record, it’s a great way to start. Next comes the ska, up-picking of “The Press Corpse” and provides the first great chorus of “We don’t want to talk about” – a rip against the lazy, compiling White House press corps not going after the administration. If you missed the political-themes of the first two songs, the opening of “Émigré” will make things plain – “First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out….” As a song, “Émigré” is a mid-tempo, ho-hummer in the face of the other explosions. The rock comes kicking on the follower, “The Prophet for a New American Century” about the current conspiracy of Pax Americana. A quasi-military drum greets you on the opening of “Hymn for the Dead,” before the band blasts into their classic downstroking punk attacks, as well as a superb horn breakdown. “This Is the End (For You My Friend)” is an odd song that is both aggressive and poppy at the same time – maybe in reference to its criticism of the advertising industry. Echoes of hip folk protest is the theme on “1 Trillion Dollars” as acoustic guitars lead the march against the sales of military equipment by the U.S. “State Funeral” is a classic short burst of punk hardcore, before the more melodic “Confessions of an Economist Hit Man” slams into your brain. “Confessions of an Economist Hit Man” is an ode to John Perkins’ writings about how it is not the military creating an empire, but the economic policy of industrialized nations on the rest of the world. With nods to irony, “War Sucks, Let’s Party!” includes handclaps and an upbeat-sounding chorus. To make their message clearer, Anti-Flag named the next song “The W.T.O. Kills Farmers.” “The W.T.O. Kills Farmers” moves back-and-forth between up-picking ska/reggae and straight-ahead punk choruses, but is quite wordy and sometimes hard to grab onto. For Blood and Empire closes on “Cities Burn” and “Depleted Uranium Is a War Crime.” “Cities Burn” is one of the most melodic and appealing songs on the record, as Anti-Flag power through a more standard verse-chorus-verse and include a bunch of gang vocals and muting. “Cities Burn” should be serious college radio fodder. Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) guests on “Depleted Uranium Is a War Crime,” a railing against the use of depleted uranium in munitions which intersperses quotes of Rep. Jim McDermott into the forceful punk. There is likely no other band on the planet right now that has the ability of being super-political without coming off as lame and preachy like Anti-Flag does on For Blood and Empire. Even if you completely shun all the political messages and ignore the booklet, For Blood and Empire is simply great punk album that anyone should bounce along to.
Atreyu A funny thing has happened to SoCal’s Atreyu over the course of the last few years: the more popular they’ve gotten, the worse their records have become. Not that the nine-track A Death Grip on Yesterday is bad; we’re just talking degrees of quality. With a near permanent spot of the Ozzfest, Atreyu have become less angular aggressive and more concerned with being super heavy, along with their melodic shifts. Could it simply be that Atreyu helped define the new generation of metallic hardcore bands and now are too mixed into the mainstream of it to standout? Certainly possible. Atreyu’s brilliant debut Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses was flailing-arms genius and was followed up by the tighter produced, vampire-nodding the Curse. For Death Grip, the band used Josh Abraham, producer of records for Korn and Staind, and this may have entered into the band’s movement towards a heavier though more monolithic sound. Some of the magic still remains in parts as well as whole numbers, for instance, the excellent “Our Sick Story,” “We Stand Up,” and “My Fork in the Road,” but there are also some serious transgressions against decency, most notably the horrendous synth-pop of “The Theft” (the one-sheet calls it “…builds arena-size backgrounds of lush synth, joined by pretty guitar figures….” WTF? This is what Atreyu wants to do?). Since the studio often slows up a band a like Atreyu, one can imagine their live show doing much better justice to A Death Grip on Yesterday.
Band of Horses Would you believe that Band of Horses is from Seattle? One supposes there are stranger locations for a band that plays Americana indie pop rock, but if one had to place a bet it would be that Band of Horses hail from a southern college town. Regardless, Band of Horses put their hat into being Sub Pop’s latest hip band on their debut full-length Everything All the Time. Composed of Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke (both of Seattle’s Carissa’s Wierd), along with Tim Meinig and Chris Early, the band powers through ten songs of classic indie rock on Everything. At times mimicking the vocal cadence of the Shins (e.g., “The Funeral”) and other times pursuing more of their own path (e.g., “Wicked Gil”), the music is both familiar and different and all together enjoyable. Besides from the above songs to check out include the bass-driven “Our Swords,” “The Great Salt Lake,” “Weed Party,” and the acoustic folk closer of “St. Augustine.” It is only a matter of time before Sub Pop indie rock devotees are all a buzz about Band of Horses.
Bayside Unquestionably, Long Island’s Bayside is a sentimental favorite, but they push beyond such a simple designation on Acoustic. As most know, Bayside’s drummer John Holohan was killed in an accident while on tour…and the band persevered playing shows acoustically with singer/guitarist Anthony Raneri and guitarist Jack O’Shea. This CD/DVD is the offspring of that temporary sound shift and in honor of Holohan. The CD contains acoustic versions of previous Bayside songs – “Blame It On Bad Luck,” “They Looked Like Strong Hands,” “Masterpiece,” “Montauk,” “Devotion and Desire” – along with a cover of the Smoking Popes’ “Megan” with Josh Caterer of the Popes adding guest vocals, an excellent full-band cover of Elliot Smith’s “Baby Britain,” the unreleased “Paternal Reversal” off their previous self-titled record and a live version of “Don’t Call Me Peanut” from one of their live shows. But, probably the star addition to the CD is the new song “Winter” – a four-and-a-half-minute ode to Holohan. Oddly, Bayside – or I should say Raneri and O’Shea – sound way better on the live DVD of their final show in Chicago of The Never Sleep Again Tour; usually it is always the reverse. On the CD, Raneri’s vocals are questionably powerful and confident, which is a problem when you are playing acoustic numbers. The other thing that pops out of the acoustic versions of the songs is that how much Bayside resembles the Chicago pop-punk sound, most obviously championed by the Smoking Popes and Alkaline Trio. While Acoustic may be for Bayside fans only, the DVD will really push fence sitters over to the supporter camp and changes your opinion of the band.
Blackbud Barely old enough to stand as candidates in elections, Blackbud seem to have been around the underground scene making waves for some time. With a Glastonbury appearance under their belt, they now have the clout of Independiente behind them. ‘Barefoot Dancing’ sets a zipping, bass line bounded accompaniment to lift up the Tom Bellamy and splattering of Ben Otwell vocal range of Joe Taylor, providing for a wistful contrast to the chugging blues edge given off. The B-sides of ‘So It Seems’ and ‘Spiders’, shudder vibes of Jeff Buckley and Damien Rice, as the guys slow down and muse upon life with humbling clarity. Blackbud display a maturity and musical restraint that is stirringly refreshing. (-David Adair)
Boy Kill Boy Past single ‘Back Again’ opens this debut album of thrusting, ebb and flow indie riffs that toss and turn betwixt the raw nature of The Strokes and the rhythm of Supergrass, creating a pathway for the strutting vocals of Chris Peck. The haughtily cock-sure ‘On And On’ is the most pounding offering, utilizing punchy vocal swipes and racing guitars to create a driving feel that helps to get the album motoring. Matters take a bit of a dip towards the middle, as the East Londoner’s try to maintain a tempo, but tracks like the dragging ‘Six Minutes’ that sees them catching The Subways bug and repeating the chorus as many times as possible, seemingly for want of anything else to include. ‘Ivy Parker’ is the band’s best effort at a slow burning love-out, personally, on this evidence, I think they should’ leave that to Snow Patrol. It is not long before Boy Kill Boy return to form and demonstrate why they have been picked to support Hard-fi in the past and to headline the NME New Bands tour, as the title track contains some pungent grit that lies underneath the prowling singing and bolstering guitars and keyboard element, while feeding from a brazen percussive trough. The ascent back up from the above mentioned dip is completed in the Hard-Fi territory stomping ‘Friday-Friday’. This has the most noticeable keyboard kick and is a provocative poser of a modern indie tune. As debut, ‘Civil Sin’ is a laudable effort, but you just get the impression that the creases in the middle could have been ironed out with a little care and attention from a band with undoubted potential. (-DA)
Cracker Having previously countrified their indie hits with help from Leftover Salmon, Cracker now see fit to unleash their own collection delivered through angst at their previous label Virgin, who sought to profit from the band they deserted by releasing a compilation of their material a few years back. Again, this band/label cockfighting leaves the consumer in limbo, as this compilation doesn’t offer much from Cracker, yeah the cockily brazen hits of ‘Mr Wrong’ and ‘Get Off This’ still possess the same bite, but most people will already own them on record, several times over. You cannot help but get the feeling that Cracker’s anger and bemusement would be better off channelled into a flighty rock out of new tension release, featuring their lyrical bite, rather than trying to remind us of it, yet again. It is going to be difficult for the music public to keep Cracker out of the “They were good in their day category”, unless the spirit and lyrical flamboyancy that grabbed the attention in offerings like ‘Euro-Trash Girl’ is rekindled. Let’s put the past behind us, eh guys? (-DA)
Cue the Doves This debut full-length from Minneapolis-based Cue the Doves is really a precursor for grander things to come in the future. Featuring guitarist Jon Berndtson (ex-Beautiful Mistake), along with Ryan Von Bergen (vocals), Jake Quam (drums), Greg Burmeister (guitar) and Nick Gerhart (bass), Cue the Doves sound like your favorite local post-hardcore band…but at this point that’s it. They add little rumblings of electronics here and there, most obviously throughout the opener set up track “Majestic Twelve,” but their heart is post-hardcore. The ten songs on Architectures of the Atmosphere resembles the set of melodic NYHC/LIHC bands from about ten or so years ago (e.g., Inside, Silent Majority); and a further comparison can be made to really early Taking Back Sunday, pre-debut, demo-stage. This image is backed up by the then common, but now less used movie clips between songs on Architectures. Again, there is good material here, but it is still rough and the shoddy recording isn’t helping them out. Give Cue the Doves a few years, a slick production, and they’ll provide a powerful performance.
Depth Affect On Depth Affect’s debut full-length, the four-piece lay down an absurd degree of electronic layers on the thirteen songs. Essentially, Depth Affect balances their proclivity for European indie electronic fluttering with an edge of chic, mellow hip-hop. People have their own preferences, but when the group moves to offering actual rhymes and verses, a certain degree of awkwardness seems to float in. It could simply be that the instrumental tracks are so good that when they move to words it shifts the attention away from what makes Depth Affect and Arche-Lymb special. For instance, “One Day or 50 (featuring Cyne)” is sandwiched by the striking electronics and it’s so different it’s odd. Baring this, tracks to immerse yourself in include the excellent “Perpendicular B-Boy,” “Honey Folky,” “Sarah Carbone,” and “Vegetable Valley.” Depth Affect may be best served reserving their lyrical collaborations for festivals only.
Down to This This short three-song EP (?) is great if Down to This is trying out for Wind-up Records’ roster; otherwise it is torturing contemporary heavy rock that emphasizes manly vocals and guitar riffs. The more shocking thing is that the production is actually high quality for such a tiny band, so maybe they are really getting the Wind-up thing down. If don’t get wet to Breaking Benjamin then don’t touch this or you’ll get HPV.
The Fiery Furnaces When The Fiery Furnaces signature rustic keyboard sound kicks in, you cannot help but gripping yourself for a journey of gritty quirkiness with heart and a little eccentricity. The epicentre of this quirky outfit, the Chicago born siblings Mat and Eleanor Friedberger have now penned four original albums and released a B-sides collection, all since 2003. The winding instrumentals contained in ‘Benton Harbour Blues’ are freshened up by Eleanor’s soothing, yet melancholy driven vocals that gives a refreshing edge to this song. This offering extracted from their recent ‘Bitter Tea’ album, sees this intriguing outfit turning up the heat with lyrical bite and quaint musical craft. (-DA)
The Finals Moving from radio-friendly melodic punk to contemporary pop rock, New Jersey’s the Finals play it very safe on their debut full-length Plan Your Getaway. Formed a couple years back, the Finals offered the EP Long Story Short on Stab Me Recordings in 2004, and with touring landed on Immortal. Throughout the twelve-song record, the Finals offer a wave of generic though pleasing rock that is clearly geared towards radio attention; as well as appealing to parents. The five-piece do try to add wrinkles to their sound in places; typically through electronics and keys as most strongly demonstrated on the creaking, static-fueled “Lighting and Fireworks” and the dancey “It’s Always Something.” Save for a few moments where you want to tuck for cover from the piles shit being thrown (“Life As a Car” and “Plague Escapade”), the Finals provide several memorable songs such as the strong opener “Right Here, Right Now” (no, Jesus Jones tie in) and “They’ll Never Know.” I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Finals getting some radio attention due to their sound, but they’re going to need to sharpen up in future releases.
Gus Black Gus Black’s etched-out voice and instruments intertwine to create a gorgeous set of fourteen songs on his fourth full-length. Uncommonly overlooked, Black melodically dances with alt-country and folk flair with an array of whispering songs and more rocking lite FM numbers. Along for this surprisingly catchy, knee-bouncing journey are longtime band members drummer Rocco Bidlovski and bassist Gianni Neiviller, including guest spots by Dave Palmer, David Henry, Sara Watkins, and Sarabeth Tucek. For a self-produced, quiet little affair Autumn Days is chock-full-of great songs with compelling choruses. Generally, they fall into two camps: acoustic singer-songwriter and with a full band. Nearly, all the songs have a piece or two to delight, but the highlights among the acoustic songs include the opener “Don’t Go Tellin’ the Whole World,” the slowly crescendoing “Traffic and Sound,” and the dirty “Devil Spine.” The songs when Black uses a full backing band tend to be more upbeat, at least in tempo, than the acoustic numbers. Those worth your time include the great chorus on “Long Beach (It’s a Miracle),” the poppy “Certain Kind of Light,” and the light whispy “Fire Escape.” It’s true that Autumn Days may be something that needs to grow on you and first impressions might be of an artist who spent too much time in coffee houses…yet give Gus Black some love.
Hailey Wojcik Hailey Wojcik’s appeal is her tremendously interesting voice and a slightly non-traditional approach to the whole singer-songwriter thing. Currently a college student, Wojcik has been releasing records on her own since 14 and Jealous Sees is her fourth. With a similar flair to Nellie McKay, the central problem with the nine songs on Jealous Sees is that many of the songs aren’t that good. Her voice carries most of the songs and you can get tricked into thinking that the songs themselves are fine. Wojcik’s best are also the most eclectic, “Nabokov’s Butterfly,” “Colorfully Active,” and “Bad Modern Art” – all played with a ukulele. Hailey Wojcik would greatly benefit from better songwriting and possibly fronting an indie rock band.
Hell Promise Seattle-based Hell Promise’s debut is grab-your-balls metalcore with equal leanings to tough-guy throwdown hardcore and thrash metal. One of the more impressive things about Hell Promise is that they accomplish so much with only three members – Brian Johnson on vocals/guitars, Nate Baker on bass, and Frank Bererra on drums. That Johnson is able to gargle up intense vocals and rip sweet riffs and solos is impressive – though the ultimate judgment will have to wait for a live rendezvous. Clearly, Hell Promise wants you take away an image of the band as an underground Pantera both given their sound and their record art. The problem Hell Promise runs into is that they don’t differentiate themselves enough within the metalcore world for any memories of Aim for Hell to linger on in your head. A separate issue is that the recording is a bit off, where the vocals and guitar are at noticeably higher level than the drums and bass. Particularly, the guitar is too fuzzed and needs a bit of cleaning and the double-bass needs to break through clearer. Obviously, these guys are up and comers and one expects grander things to come in the near future.
Irving How has the post-modern rock of Irving been able to lurk in the background for the past few years when they can offer up such incredible numbers like the opener “The Gentle Preservation of Children’s Minds” on their second full-length, and third release overall, Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers? Formed in 2003 simply to help a friend out, Irving is now comprised of Alex Church (bass), Steven Scott (guitar), Brian Canning (guitar), Brent Turner, and Aaron Burrows (keyboards), and they combine to play haunting and dark poppy new wave. At times, Irving pushes more to the 80s theme on songs like “Jen, Nothing Matters to Me” and “I’ll Write the Song, You Sing For Me,” but otherwise they are more contemporary as on the Dandies-like “The Longest Day in the Afternoon” and “I Want to Love You in My Room.” You also get purer 60s psychedelic pop on songs like “Situation” and “Care, I Don’t Care.” But if Irving is looking for any direction in how to move their sound all they have to do is replicate the magic on the aforementioned “The Gentle Preservation of Children’s Minds.” The song begins slightly with either light bells or playing the backbridge, soon joined by a single guitar and glorious, deep vocals uttering these lines: “Remember when they used to make us/wake up and spray all the blood from the flowers/it was so hot, in the afternoon/they told us that we couldn’t stop until the garden bloomed.” After this first refrain, the rest of the band joins in and punctuates the sound on the group sung chorus. Why Irving moves away from this motif on much of the rest of the record is bothersome. Anyway, Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers is a record that you need on your shelf now.
Islands Islands’ Return to the Sea is borderline genius with just a few missteps and a bit of waywardness that takes them from the petal-covered path of brilliance. Featuring Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur (ex-Unicorns), Islands came together last summer as an island of last resort or miffed separate aspirations in Montreal to record the eleven-track Return to the Sea. Since Islands were rocking Montreal, they had to call in all the scene’s heavy hitters to help record the record including Spencer Krug, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld, Dan Boeckner, besides from technically their band of Patrice Agbokou, Patrick Gregorie, and Alex and Sebastian Chow. The reason that Return to the Sea isn’t the greatest record ever is that it’s clear what Islands are incredible at and what they’re just ordinary at. The former are short, quirky indie-pop songs where electronics bounce everywhere as illustrated by the one of the best songs of the year “Rough Gem.” “Rough Gem” is likely to be your kid’s favorite song as well as the hottest indie fun you’ve had all year; like Atom smashed into early Of Montreal. Other songs of such pedigree include they Paul Simony “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby,” “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Whale Bone,” and “Jogging Gorgeous Summer.” The other side of Islands is competent indie rock numbers that belie their Montreal background including the uber-long opener “Swans (Life After Death),” “Humans,” and “Ones.” Return to the Sea provides some great material especially as a debut love affair…and hopefully more magic will be coming forth.
Jonah Matranga There are a lot of reasons to love Jonah Matranga – but this CD/DVD is shockingly awful from such a heavyweight. Matranga has spread himself throughout the indie and punk scenes of the past two decades in bands and under such names as Far, New End Original, Onelinedrawing, and Gratitude. Matranga’s solo work in Onelinedrawing has particular resonance with the soft-hearted scenester crowd and there are some great songs off his past record Volunteers. That’s why the terrible quality of this release of live shows – both with a band and solo – is so mind-boggling. The CD is a total fuck job that you should just completely skip as the recording sounds like it’s done through a Fischer Price kid’s recorder at the ‘Living Room’ show. The show at ‘Chain Reaction’ is a bit better, but don’t these places have a sound board? You should spend your time on the lengthy DVD. The DVD has both shows, but a lengthier version and the picture with the sound makes things better for the Chain Reaction show. The Living Room show is very weird, quirky, as Matranga is throughout all his performances, but it adds context to the audio. It’s easy to point that Matranga talks way too much during his shows, more like he’s in high school and really nervous about impressing a girl. The DVD also includes a series of videos by Matranga for all the songs off of Volunteers. The videos are a bit art school, that’s expected, but you are treated to the original studio recordings of the songs which are all excellent. Actually, they’re so much better than the live material on the rest of the DVD and CD that Matranga is smart to include them as a way to salvage the overall project. Mad respect to Jonah Matranga, but this live release is just way off base…sitting, waiting for the next studio record….
Josh Rouse Josh Rouse walks a fine line on Subtitulo between cool folksy singer-songwriter bliss, 70s light FM pop, and the lame ramblings of a self-involved bird. With numerous records behind him, the consistently transient Rouse now calls Spain home after a decent stay in the Nashville scene. Subtitulo (“subtitle” in Spanish) features ten songs of well-timed if non-inspired pop and roots rock. It is almost as if you need to catch Rouse at the right moment – there’s a decent degree of black-and-white on song-to-song quality and very few ‘fine’ numbers. For instance, Subtitulo opens on the excellent acoustic shaking “Quiet Town,” an ode to his current home in Altea, Spain. Yet, the follower “Summertime” is flat-out terrible and the lyrics make you want to vomit. Save for the closer “El Otro Lado,” the best songs on Subtitulo are the light FM movers of “It Looks Like Love,” “Givin’ It Up,” and “The Man Who….” If you want to feel California sunshine on your face like your favorite 70s TV show then those songs are the ticket. Stay Classy, Spain….
Katrina Parker Katrina Parker’s prowess comes from her intensely breathy vocals rammed against her piano playing. Honing her skills in LA-area small clubs and coffee shops, Parker definitely carries the listener through her songs but often you don’t wind up where you want to. Most of the six songs on the EP are epically long and you scratch your head trying to figure the sound Parker is getting at. Only Dreaming opens on the dark “Killing Me,” which is a highlight, but then begins dribbling out these quasi-pop songs with very slight touches of jazz drumming. The pop numbers don’t do Parker any justice and simply makes her run-of-the-mill. In this case, darker and dejected is better.
The Killing Moon On Portland, Maine’s the Killing Moon’s debut EP, the five-piece lays out standard melodic punk with stronger nods to straight-up rock and, inexplicably, inclusions of sax and trombone in the far background. The Killing Moon are not a ska band by any stretch, so the horns just sound out of place; almost as if they wanted their friends to be in the band but that’s all they knew how to play. Sure, it adds a slight difference, but it doesn’t fit. What carries the Killing Moon through the five songs on the EP is Ryan Hannan’s vocals and occasionally impressive guitar work (e.g., the solos on “Bottomfeeder”). The band would be much better off ditching the horns and adding another guitar to play rhythmic solos or something.
La Rocca This short four-song EP is just a teaser to draw you into the gorgeous pop rock of Dublin’s La Rocca and make you a believer in the latest greatest Irish export. The four-piece channels Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel into something more contemporary and poppy and the result is simply fantastic. The opening song is the title track and slowly sets you to rock out with cock out as you bounce along for a short fun two minutes. “Sing Song Sung” quickly establishes the two things that make La Rocca instantly attractive: lead singer and guitarist Bjorn Baillie’s amazing vocals and the simple though extremely well-executed music carried out by Baillie, his brother Simon on bass, Alan Redmond on drums, and Nick Haworth on keyboards. The follower “Sketches (20 Something Life)” enforces this belief and shows the band can float more intricate songs and be successful. “Home” kicks off with contemporary trendy rock and is supported by La Rocca’s biggest nod to Springsteen and contains a superb chorus. The EP closes on the thrashy “Cambodia” and shows La Rocca getting loose and intense as Haworth pounds away on piano. Anyone of these four songs could be hit singles and gets us excited for the soon-to-be full-length.
Leaving Rouge If every song were of “Chain Letters” oddly familiar REM-style melody and structure, then Elsewhere would be a great record. Yet, Leaving Rouge’s latest effort is a smattering of both compelling and boring classic indie rock compositions. With a new lineup since 2004’s White Houses, frontman Sean Madigan Hoen leads you through ten songs of often dense, guitar-thick indie rock that delight when they settle on a hook, but otherwise drive you impatient. Part of the impatience comes from many of the songs being too long to be missing a catchy angle. “Chain Letters” literally is the star on Elsewhere – a song that is old college days REM with the same cadence and everything. Although people may rile that an entire record of similar songs would be ripping off REM, it is an unmined gem of a sound. Hardly any of the songs on Elsewhere come close, but check out the opener “Skeleton Girls,” “Airports,” and “Words Aflame.” For Leaving Rouge to not come off as lackluster, they are going to have to punch the melody and perhaps turn their soul over to REM.
The Mae Shi/Rapider Than Horsepower This split CD is a smashing of eclectic noise pop sounds from LA’s the Mae Shi and Bloomington, IN’s Rapider Than Horsepower. One is probably more familiar with the Mae Shi as they’ve been rocking out on 5RC and paid their dues over the past couple of years. That doesn’t necessarily make the Mae Shi greater than Rapider Than Horsepower, but this split does. Both with similar sounds, one can easily get behind the quirky electro-noise love from the Mae Shi; particularly when they unleash Atom and His Package-type love on their final song “The Bear.” Rapider makes up the next eleven song on Don’t Ignore the Potential and in the course of that time have a series of ups and downs on their spazzy rock. The ups include “OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH,” “Ha-Chew,” and “Radio Activity.” Among the noise crowd, this split is more approachable to the non-involved fan.
Miles of Wire Within a few songs of St. Louis’ Miles of Wire’s second record Can You Feel It?, you ask the obvious question of why the hell aren’t these guys signed yet? Playing a brand of alt-country and indie rock, that some classify as Americana, Miles of Wire offer enough joy on Can You Feel It? that it is easily one of the best self-released records of the year. Filled out by Raphael Maurice on vocals/guitar, Shawn T. Bell on guitar, bassist Randall Eickmeyer, and drummer Adam Anglin, the band leads you through fifteen songs that when at their best are engaging. Of the central ways that Miles of Wire differentiate and endear themselves is through the guitar work of Maurice and Bell, coupled with Maurice’s vocals which at times completely draw you into the songs. Without those two elements, Miles of Wire would be playing ordinary bar rock. The downside of the record is that several songs could have be been trimmed, thus, making a tighter, better overall experience; the problematic tracks tend to be those leaning towards slower, generic country, but nothing fatal. Still, highlights come from the catchy “Funny Feeling,” the slower “I Am a Cigarette,” the rocker “Big Dick Rocker,” “We Are the Entertainment,” and the Righteous Brothers’ cadence on the piano-driven “Nice Things.” For those riding high on the recent wave of hip alt-country indie bands (e.g., Constantines, Lucero, Band of Horses, Limbeck), you have now found your hidden gem in Miles of Wire. Movies With Heroes It is not a cliché to use the dirty word of emo to characterize Lancaster, PA’s Movies with Heroes. Yet, Movies with Heroes don’t follow one safe range of that characterization, but branch out with more of an emphasis on catchiness, pop arena rock and electronic effects background. Their appeal undoubtedly benefited from the deft hand of producer Ed Rose – the man that could make the most horrible band sound good on record. Movies with Heroes also greatly benefit from Keith Wilson’s strong, yet under control, vocals coupled with a smart use of tempos and breakdowns. Their only really trap in the future is to avoid falling into bland, commercial rock (see “Wildflower” and “Nothing”) and maintain their indie rock base. Tracks to take note of on Nothing Here Is Perfect include the stellar opener “Wake Up,” “Ink,” “Believe,” and “The Wave.” Look for good things from Movies with Heroes this summer.
Mudhoney Mudhoney deserves an enormous amount of respect for both their longevity and the path they cut before and for the grunge wave. Yet, Mudhoney has rarely offered enticingly appealing records beyond your fixation of strung-out dirty distortion-fueled classic rock and blues numbers. The argument is easily made that the more appealing Mudhoney came courtesy of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana – and you would be at least partly right. No one doubts Mudhoney’s influence. After several label changes, a small lineup change (bassist Guy Maddison), and eight previous records, Mudhoney’s Under a Billion Suns follow their general path except with a slower tempo but quite attacking fuzzed-out guitars and exceptional production. Safe to say if you are Mudhoney fan then you are going to love the eleven-track Under a Billion Suns. Others need to decide how much they like uber-distorted rock and grunge before their adventure into Under a Billion Suns. Songs that get a nod include the opener “Where is the Future?,” the slower guitar heavy “I Saw the Light,” the hyper repetitive “On the Move,” and the potential stoner classic “In Search Of…” where you will be flailing.
National Eye You can be forgiven for thinking you are entering your acoustic death march on National Eye’s latest full-length Roomful of Lions. Almost everything about National Eye and Roomful of Lions matches up in the production of hip, conflicted indie rock that has a magical pop core underneath the interwoven instrumental layers. Featuring William Baggott, Gianmarco Cilli, Richard Flom, Douglas Kirkby, and Jeff Love, along with help from several guests, you are walked blindfolded through the at times confusing fifteen-song Roomful of Lions. Through much of the rambling grand moments emerge around corners but then just as quickly disappear to pop out at other times. Examples include the mostly stellar “Juno 3,” “Silverages,” strangely rhyming countrified “Halo,” “Left Out Dynamite,” “Abwehr,” and the closer “Ag2.” Roomful of Lions is rather dense, but if that’s your thing then your indie dense dreams will come true here.
New Bruises Want an idea of Tampa, FL’s New Bruises’ sound on their debut record? Try that they’re composed of former members of Mid Carson July and Grey A.M., readily admit to the Florida melodic punk/hardcore sound, and they also echo the Richmond punk sound. That provides a pretty good picture of New Bruises’ sound – the lingering question is how well the five-piece executes and pulls off said righteous sound? Well, the twelve songs on Transmit! Transmit! are a few steps short of perfect, but way above average. That’s saying something given the utterly flaccid current state of generic melodic punk/hardcore. Using a well-conceived formula of slight shouting vocals, soloing bass, and multi-layered weaving guitars New Bruises offer up their best material on “Hell Is a Highway (Connecting Tampa and Orlando),” “Being Broke and Broken Down,” “City Hearts and Trailer Parks,” “Bigger Isn’t Always Better. Yes, Texas This Means You,” and heavy bass of “Coffee with a Side of Confrontation, Please.” Already grizzled vets, New Bruises will greatly benefit from a tighter production as they unleash their live show throughout the year. Honestly, I’m just happy that bands are still playing this style of melodic hardcore that once dominated the late 90s.
Nine Black Alps Having a cool website and somewhat cool name doesn’t get Nine Black Alps far enough on their twelve-track debut Everything Is. This Manchester, UK outfit starts out in strong aggressive form on the dirty fuzz punk of “Get Your Guns,” but slowly and surely they begin to slip into some type of generic morass. Among the serious problems are that Nine Black Alps are simply trading in rock progressions, cadences, and songwriting that has all been done before, many times and often way better. At times, they can bring enough energy to clear the dullard boundary, but when they don’t you are left cold and alone. This is what happens on the second song “Cosmopolitan” with its highly repetitive structure and continues forth from there. Hints at other possibilities include the lighter “Unsatisfied” and the dirty “Ironside.” If you want to jab pencils in your ears take a gander at the slow acoustic “Behind Your Eyes” and “Intermission;” both just absolute crap.
Partisan If you sit and listen to the entire sixteen-track, seventy-four minute the Gothic and the Gospel from Atlanta’s Partisan you feel like you just listened to three full-lengths. This is propagated from both the length of the record and more importantly the million different sounds that Partisan induces. When Partisan runs off the rails and make complete use of all eight members and guests, the strange and esoteric comes in and totally smashes their otherwise awesome post-punk/hardcore sound. For instance, after the opening untitled track, you are smacked with the brilliant “Screaming Man” that is contemporary Fugazi merged with the general DC Dischord/Lovitt punk sound. You want all the songs on the Gothic to be like “Screaming Man,” but that dream is only half-realized. Instead, you are greeted with the free jazz, poetry/story reading nonsense on such tracks as “Georgia Goddamn” and “A Hunger Artist,” to go along with other dumps like “The Method,” “One Who Has Death in His Pouch,” “Search and Defend,” and “Yoruba and Oglala.” Seriously, after hearing “Georgia Goddamn” and “A Hunger Artist” you are going to want to kill yourself they’re so fucking bad. If Partisan simply stripped the record of this fat and concentrated on the rocking punk numbers, The Gothic and the Gospel would have been one of the best punk records of the year so far.
Pilate It is rather odd that Caught by the Window is being re-released or re-promoted or whatever, since it was originally released in 2003 in Canada. Technically, it’s another country, but it’s hard to believe that people had a tough time getting the Pilate record in the U.S., as it might be if it was only released in Japan or Europe. Regardless, Caught by the Window is Toronto-based Pilate’s debut full-length and offers a lengthy exercise in spacey Brit-pop rock; though they might not dig the comparison Pilate is not unlike a less rangy Radiohead (especially when lead singer Todd Clark launches his high-pitched vocals – see “Alright”). Sometimes Pilate goes for a more lived-in, coffee house feel (e.g., “Mercy,” “A Perfect Thrill”), but the warm, fuzzy mild-tempo pop is their dominate sound on the thirteen songs here. If you like spin-offs of Radiohead, then you should check out Caught by the Window and their forthcoming second full-length.
Pinetop Seven Many contend that songs that never make it onto a final record didn’t make it for a reason. While I often don’t think that’s the case, there is some truth floating around with Pinetop Seven’s Beneath Confederate Lake. For those not in the know, Pinetop Seven is anchored by Darren Richard and he is backed by a collective of mostly Americana and folk musicians who come and go on different recordings. This record is filled mainly with songs that didn’t make it onto 2005’s brilliant The Night’s Bloom, as well as odds and ends. The five songs here from the Night’s Bloom sessions seem less grandiose and are rawer than the material that made it on the record. There are two banjo-based songs from the film Numinmata called “Lewis & Clark, pt. I” and “Lewis & Clark, pt. II,” and a couple of songs written early on in the group’s life but only recently recorded, including “Afterthought” and “Downstate.” The only serious misstep on the album is the inclusion of the God-awful “The Promise and the Dream” by Tom T. Hall; you want to kill yourself listening to it. If The Night’s Bloom hasn’t satisfied your Richard-fueled Americana than Beneath Confederate Lake will.
Push To Talk This Oakland, CA, outfit almost trick you into believing they’re something special on the opener “Haunting 56th Street” – a soft, catchy pop number. The image persists on the oddly enticing, dancey “Walk it Off,” but the gloss begins to fade away in part due to James Leste’s vocals. Not bad or anything, Leste sounds like one of those early 90s pop rock bands that quite didn’t make it and now randomly show up on VH1. “Problems” is the first major dent when you begin looking at your clock to make sure that it isn’t the 80s and Oingo Boingo has just gone a date with the Police. This nasty image persists and then you drugged into the pop Smoking Popes on “Rock & Roll Will Never Save Your Soul.” Given Push to Talk’s narrow movements within these pop sounds, their debut record begins to drag on you as it continues because the songs are not nearly distinct enough to justify thirteen of them. Push to Talk should appeal to folks that like their indie rock with a heavy dose of mind-numbing generic pop.
The Radium Screen The Radium Screen is simply the duo of Brian Huffines and Aaron Hodge and White Faces is a side project that started as a fun exercise that moved into something more. The experiment was to move away from Huffines and Hodge’s roots in garage rock bands and concentrate on solely electronic instruments to make an electro-rock amalgamation. Probably due to their rock start, the four-song EP White Faces has a more standard rock song structure, but with the pulses, flutters, and whispers of pure electronic artists. All in all, White Faces is a good time and with a further nod to catchiness the Radium Screen could be a force.
Raunchy Death Pop Romance is a terrific metal record from a horribly named band. You can cut them some slack as Raunchy hail from Denmark and maybe the name doesn’t translate as well. Regardless, the ten songs on their third full-length Death Pop Romance are a near flawless welding of ripping death metal and melodic hardcore; something numerous young American bands attempt but often never achieve. The record isn’t perfect, but Raunchy throws out enough hooks to grab fans from all walks of heavy music and metal. The bigger question is why hasn’t Raunchy totally demolished the metal scene via such tours as Ozzfest? The band has been around since the mid-90s and released two previous full-lengths on Nuclear Blast, but why aren’t they obscenely huge? With the support of Lifeforce, Raunchy should make serious headway thanks to Death Pop Romance.
Royden This reissue and remaster of New Jersey-based Royden’s five-song EP Best Friends Our Worst Enemies is a teaser for their full-length In the House of Attics forthcoming on Hopeless this summer. Part and parcel of the Warped melodic punk sound, Royden tries to add variants to their sound to differentiate themselves from the mass of similar-minded outfits, but in the meantime manage to neutralize out all defining characteristics. Royden shift tempos, change vocal styles, and move guitar effects in their efforts, but what’s left crumbles away. Royden is a strong band, but their vision isn’t realized on this EP…better things may await us on their full-length.
Saves The Day After a year in the wilderness, Saves The Day deployed the adage ‘Better the Devil you know’, by re-signing to Vagrant records in order to be able to release their fifth and most throbbing album. Chris Conley’s soul-felt cries take on greater pangs of passion in ‘The End’, to deliver lyrics that more than likely sum up the way the guys felt during their time in music’s wilderness; “Cut off my flailing limbs, pawn off what’s left within. Land of the living dead, time to face the end.” Rumbling Green Day guitar riffs provide a catchy distraction from the from the downtrodden nature of ‘Shattered’ that brings self-deprecation to a new level, something that only a band like Saves The Day can pull off, as they do it with such sincerity. Their ability to just pick up the pace and take off in a freewheeling rock fashion is displayed via ‘Dying Day’, showing why Saves The Day were striding alongside the likes of Green Day and The Foo Fighters for a period in their past. The troubles that this New Jersey outfit have grappled with since the dizzy heights reached by ‘Stay What You Are’(2003) and ‘In Reverie’ (2001), seems only to make their woe releasing more accessible. Especially now that they fully harness the percussion pull of Pete Prada that rumbles volcanically in the likes of ‘34’ and ‘Bones’. ‘Sound The Alarm’ is exactly what those who like their music to be a bed of roses will do, upon hearing this focused return from Saves The Day. (-DA)
Sierra Swan Are you a struggling musician, unsure whether you’re going to make it? Then listen to Sierra Swan’s full-length Ladyland. I mean how can an artist by the name of Sierra Swan with an album called Ladyland and songs of such titles as “Dr. Love Boy” not be the best thing ever? Under the tutelage of Linda Perry, Swan embarks on eleven songs of dark piano-driven pop that echoes Aimee Mann (who guests on “Get Down To It”). Swan started off in the late-90s band Dollhead before a solo career which took a number of years to get off the ground due to various factors. With musical family lineage, Swan might have a bit of an advantage, because it’s unclear why she is special or any different from the wealth of artists. If you like female-powered, Linda Perry-driven material, then you may enjoy Ladyland.
The Smashup NYC’s the Smashup merges contemporary punk with something approaching the Deftones – perhaps perfect for Warcon’s lineup and their Taste of Chaos image – on their ten-song Being and Becoming. Lead singer Watt White tries to install an intensity and honesty in his vocals, but sometimes the emphasis sounds pushed and contrived. Same goes for guitarist Vin Alfieri – who’s a solid guitarist but the sections sound so preordained that they lack emotion. It may be just that White and Alfieri, along with bassist Rich Liegey and drummer Ant C., come together to make well-executed but generic rock. This marketable element may come from Alfieri writing music for Hollywood and White singing in commercials. Clearly not as nauseating as the wealth of Wind-up bands, there are moments (e.g., “Violencer Part II” and “Dreams”) where the Smashup isn’t that far away from such exaggerated rock movements. Maybe their hints at metal (e.g., “Rachel’s Day”) would serve the band better, but we’ll have to wait to see the Smashup’s longevity.
Smoking Popes Who doesn’t like the Smoking Popes? If you were musically alive in the mid-90s, it was impossible to miss their incredible 1995 release Born to Quit. Soon after the Popes called it quits so that a couple of the Caterer brothers could focus more on religion…. Even if you never heard of the Smoking Popes, you here them in many contemporary pop-punk bands, especially the Chicago-based contingent like the Alkaline Trio and Fall Out Boy. After a long hiatus, though still working in Duvall, the Caterer brothers and, now, Rob Kellenberger on drums got back together for a huge reunion show at Chicago’s Metro and this live CD/DVD is the product. As the Popes race through nineteen songs in an hour, two things immediately standout besides from the excellent sound quality: first, they ‘jam’ on many songs via extended guitar solos; second, they hardly speak at all to the crowd. The no speaking thing presents a tighter and more professional act, but it comes off as rather odd here since it’s a reunion show. Given the number of songs the Popes go through, nearly everything is covered including uber-favorite “Need You Around,” “Rubella,” “Don’t Be Afraid,” “Gotta Know Right Now,”…. The DVD includes four songs that didn’t make it on the audio – “No More Smiles,” “Mrs. You and Me,” “Just Broke Up,” and “Pure Imagination.” With a slight introduction, the DVD is simply the show recorded on a series of high quality digital cameras. Given the matching of the sound with the video, it is a much better experience to watch the DVD than to just listen to the CD. The Popes’ look and stage presence is very reminiscent of their original contemporaries like Jawbreaker. Though they are rather mellow, you are entirely drawn into frontman Josh Caterer’s vocals. With the strong sound quality, if you want an introduction to the Smoking Popes this may be perfect. If you’re a fan then there’s really no question whether you should pick this up.
So They Say With their debut full-length, this St. Louis five-piece continue the melodic punk harmonies laid down on last year’s EP for Fearless. And as with their EP, So They Say continue to offer safe, commonplace contemporary punk that is both frustrating dull and calmingly reassuring. The eleven-track Antidote For Irony establishes that So They Say are a band to be counted amongst the Warped Tour crowd and one of the better bands on Fearless’ current roster. Yet, if you are looking for an interesting and innovative take on the melodic punk sound than Antidote For Irony isn’t your salvation. With production by Matt Squire, several songs such as “In Loving Memory Of,” “Talking In Circles,” and “Antidote For Irony” do justice to both the band and the sound. Hopefully, So They Say will offer something in the future to get genuinely excited about.
Street Drum Corps The best thing about this CD/DVD from LA’s Street Drum Corps is that the opening number “Police Beat Introduction” has car horns that made my dog do head-tilts and think someone was at my house. Otherwise it is a bunch of street punks banging on garbage cans and various items, like fire extinguishers, creating a stomp atmosphere. The CD itself is only eight tracks at twenty-four minutes and it barely offers an ounce of enjoyment; they do offer sirens on “Rabbit” which always will get a dance floor moving. Clearly, Street Drum Corps are much better enjoyed live – as long as shows like Stomp! don't make you want to vomit. That’s why the DVD is a good idea. Yet, most DVDs don’t entirely bring you the atmosphere that you are looking for; and that is surely the case here. There is one solid performance from Vancouver of the band trying to be urban tribal. There’s also a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff from the tour that is both interesting and at times makes the band look like too-cool kids from art school. Again, Street Drum Corps seems ideally experienced live.
Streetlight Manifesto So, why is Streetlight Manifesto redoing Catch-22’s 1998 debut Victory release Keasbey Nights? To make it their own, of course. Catch 22 was the first ska band that Victory signed as the ska wave crested in the late-90s and Keasbey Nights was their ska-punk ode before the fizzle. The songs were written by Tomas Kalnoky, who helped found the more traditional ska Streetlight Manifesto with members of Catch-22 and One Cool Guy. With several records between both bands and both experiencing the ups-and-downs of the scene, Streetlight is trying to make a comeback. As part of the first step is to take the successful Keasbey Nights and give it a fresh redux and rock it out in 2006. Surprisingly for the ska ex-communicated, Keasbey Nights Part 2 is a fairly appealing mix of uptempo punk with ska horns bringing the sound home. Not as punk ass-ripping as Slapstick, Streetlight Manifesto have done an admirable job at trying to resurrect a dinosaur.
Strike.Fire.Fall Often winners of any type of music contest are sketchy as legitimate acts; it just works out weird. So, that Philadelphia’s Strike.Fire.Fall won the 2004 Takeover Records/Warped Tour ‘Sign My Band’ Contest might have you immediately thinking ill of the band. Yet, Still Life offer a fourteen-song set of pulse-racing numbers that have the ability of grabbing your ear for at least a minute or two. The thing that helps draw your interest is actually the lackluster recording of Strike’s eclectic punk sound. Whether on purpose or not, the recording is quite raw for a major release, but a slick production job might have stripped Strike of their uniqueness. The instrument levels are all over the place and often the timing sounds a fraction-of-a-second off. With that in mind songs to take of note include the opener “Cadillac,” the odd but compelling “Stay Awake,” and the excellent “U-Turn.” Strike.Fire.Fall falls quite well into Takeover’s lineup and the Warped crowd in general.
SundayRunners On Chicago-based SundayRunner’s debut record, the five-piece offers eleven songs that go for the jugular of warm blanket sunshine pop rock Actually released last year, this self-titled record finds the band struggling against memorable moments and generic indie-pop rock. It’s all designed to go down smooth like sugarcoated crack on a glorious summer day, but if you look under some rocks there are pieces that have a tough time holding themselves up. Wisely, SundayRunners open the record with their best song “Elected” – a near-perfect mix of pop melody and an indie rock chorus to make your heart melt. Yet, you have to wade through the ordinary radio-friendly mush to find the other gems. But, such moments come from the periodically heavier guitar on “Half My Height,” the glorious “Flying Saucers,” pieces of “1993,” and the mellow piano-based closer “Floor Toms Fall Away.”
Sunset Rubdown Unquestionably, Sunset Rubdown has benefited from the absurd upwards flight of uber-hot indie rockers Wolf Parade. The connection for those floating along to the non-hip news is that Sunset Rubdown is fronted by Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug. Besides from the help of Wolf Parade, Shut Up I Am Dreaming also benefits from the obvious fact that it’s light years better than the band’s first full-length Snake’s Got a Leg from last summer. The eccentrics remain and lo-fi quirks lie underneath, but the ten songs on Shut Up are for the most part a full-band realized affair. Joined by Jordan Robson Cramer, Mike Doerksen, and Camilla Wynn Ingr, Krug opens up Shut Up with a teaser for all Wolf Parade fans on “Stadiums and Shrines II.” “Stadiums and Shrines II” moves like a slow WP song and is the first highlight of Shut Up. This is followed by two more stirring numbers, the uptempo rock of “They Took a Vote and Said No” and the glorious piano-driven Canadiana of “Us Ones In Between.” After these first three songs, you think Sunset Rubdown is completely brilliant and has emerged from the shadow with its own set of spellbinding songs. Yet, the fourth song “I’m Sorry I Sang On You Hands that Have Been in the Grave” begins the slow decent into a set of solid, but average indie songs. Wadding through some of the murk, highlights pop up from “The Men are Called Horsemen There” and the excellent closer “Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings.” For those bent on their next Wolf Parade fix, Shut Up I Am Dreaming will suit you fine. You should really treat Sunset Rubdown as a separate entity, but it’s difficult with Krug’s unique voice leading the charge.
Trespassers William Having should come with a massive warning sticker on the cover stating that the contents will cause drowsiness and not to listen while driving. As one familiar with previous Trespassers William’s records surely knows, this four-piece meanders at a shockingly slow pace as they offer twinkling pop canvases. The mantelpiece of the band are the fabulous vocals of Anna-Lynne Williams, who along with Matt Brown, Ross Simonini, and Jamie Williams, make you feel like you’re in a waterfall of moody ‘modern’ rock. The ten-song, hour-long record will completely lull you asleep and smooth out your nerves, but sometimes you find yourself wishing for more excitement. One of the more aggressive numbers with regards to instruments, “I Don’t Mind,” is also one of the best, and features guitars that both float and attack like Explosions in the Sky where William’s vocals are contently overrun. I can’t imagine standing through a Trespassers William show, but as dreamy background music they’re excellent.
V/A The point of this twelve-track teaser was to give you background to go check out these twelve ‘Nordic’ bands during SXSW. Yeah, this review is like 3 months late, but also we got this sampler about two days before the festival anyway. The twelve bands cover the glorious countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (here, just one band Sign and they are referred to as being from ‘Island’ – nice, you are from an island). Cuter than most rockers, this set of bands aren’t all that good and it will totally kill your Scandinavian-loving ass. Probably the best here is Loney, Dear’s “The City, the Airport,” followed by the Real Ones’ “Ballad of an Old Man,” and VETO’s “You Are a Knife.” Not much love here, but diamonds are always lurking in the rough.
The Vacation Is this a record or band that needs to exist? Definitely not, but since it’s here might as well check it out. LA-based the Vacation rip-out three-minute attacks of stripped-down garage rock glammed up to be taken out on the town after a bottle of whiskey. If you are a fan of the now hyper-overwrought redux of a revision of a revised sound, then the Vacation’s second full-length is perfect for you. What really knocks against the Vacation are poor lyrics (e.g., the lyrics on “Cherry Cola” will make you want to slit your wrists) and vocalist Ben Tegel’s overemphasis at awkward times – like he needs to put it in somewhere but can’t figure out exactly where. So, why would hip and brilliant producer and American Recordings headman Rick Rubin sign the Vacation? It must be do the Vacation live show – a sweaty, drunken thrashing in classic Iggy Pop form. Everyone loves a band that can put on a great show, but that doesn’t always translate into a great record.
Volumen There is a certain point on Volumen’s fifteen-track Science Faction when you begin to ask ‘how much longer is this?’ Not that the Montana-based band are horrific, but their indie nerd, new wave begins to drag as many of the songs are very repetitive. Maybe it’s the spacing out on acid while staring at giant mountains that makes Volumen’s songs move in such fashion. It’s true that some songs are a bit dorky (um, “Orson Welles Was Right”), but it’s more that Volumen simply have an amateur sound to them; like they couldn’t get their hands on good enough equipment and production. Science Faction is a good foundation, but it could’ve clearly benefited from being shorter, tighter, and better produced. With the right support Volumen could move beyond their Montana enclave.
Wolfmother The buzz is buzzing about the acid-drenched jam heavy rock of Wolfmother; and not just that keeping track of their name with all the other …Wolf… is a scenester badge. On this teaser EP, Wolfmother thrash your mind with four songs of majestic rock and add two videos to set you up for your own hallucinatory desert trip. The EP opens on its name sake with a scream from vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale before bassist Chris Ross and Myles Heskett join in for the full-scale assault. Wolfmother follow this attack with the slower paced 70s heavy rock “Mind’s Eye” – that along with “Dimensions” is one of the videos included. “Love Train” merges the two speed sounds, while the final number “The Earth’s Rotation Around the Sun” is a detached, somewhat failed experiment. If you want something between QOTA and Mars Volta, Wolfmother may be your ticket.
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