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June Reviews Artist of the Month: Yeah,
Yeah, Yeahs What can be said about the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Probably every adjective, verb and superlative in the English language has been used in some manner to describe their sound and lead singer Karen O's stage prowess. The articles that have been written in Rolling Stone to Spin and everywhere in between could fill a ten-volume set. Nonetheless, we take a shot at describing the latest release by the hottest rock band in the world. For those who have living under a musical rock, the unfolding of the YYY has proceeded as follows. About three years ago, former NYU film student Karen O (Orzolek from NJ) ran into guitarist Nick Zinner at a NYC club. They first formed this odd acoustic folk amalgamation called Unitard before switching to an electrified punk version of their former selves. To make that transition they need to locate a drummer. Karen O contacted a former Oberlin classmate named Brian Chase. Though Chase fits into the band, stylistically he is clearly set apart by his mild-mannered, "normal" appearance. This is contrasted with Karen O wearing wild punk outfits of yesteryear designed by Christian Joy and the ultra-skinny and dark appearance, along with wild hair, of Zinner. YYY got their first show before really actually forming, opening for some bums named the White Stripes. Their live show quickly started to get the buzz throughout NYC and soon the rest of the country. This is mostly due to the YYY's focus and attention in making their set as entertaining and electrifying as possible. Most specifically with the antics and vocals of Karen O. Most have characterized her as being over-sexed and sexual-charged with a bit of drunken wildness. With their two previous EPs and the every growing number of people coming out to experience the YYY, record labels began lining up at the door. Not just big independent labels, but major labels. As a bidding war began to form around signing YYY to a mega-contract, YYY fought for space and set out to record a record before they had any deal signed. They wanted to capture their electrifying live show into a recording, an endeavor that is often very difficult to achieve. To accomplish this they tried to keep as close to the conditions of a live show as possible, with Karen O in states of drunkedness. Towards the end of this, YYY finally decided to sign with Interscope. From this journey spawns their first full-length Fever To Tell. The record kicks off with some sythesizers on "Rich" before Karen O comes in with pseudo-bragging lyrics and the rock comes popping through the speakers. From then on Karen O's shrieking and wailing help characterize the rest of the songs. The minimalist drummer of Chase and guitar playing of Zinner accompanies O. Across all the eleven songs most have some theme or reference to sexuality, though this is not to say there is actually a porno aspect here. The stellar "Date With the Night," that is a non-stop party of fun and beats, follows the opening number. "Man" starts off the lyrics "I got a man who makes me want to kill,…" showering the listener with images of dark night lustiness. "Tick" comes with some actual "ticking" by the ever amorphous O. One of the best tracks on the record is "Black Tongue," starting with O's short shrieks. As the song progresses, O calls out repetitively "boy you just a stupid bitch and girl your just a no good dick." This line will stay with the listener long after the actual song is over. "Pin" begins with short quick guitar playing before blasting into the full-throttle chorus. "Cold Night" is good track that tells the listener exactly what is about to go down with the opening line "cold light, hot night/be my heater, be my lover/and we can do it to each other." The music comes off this standard spastic punk sound of YYY with the closing tracks of "Maps," "Y control" and "Modern Romance." All three are way down-tempo compared to the rest of the record, particularly "Modern Romance." O croons on "Maps" "wait, they don't love you like I love you;" possibly a reference to her boyfriend in the Liars from NYC and the swell of fans on the road. "Y control" has more of a 80s guitar-driven new wave feel. It contains a very distinctive sound that easily gets you on your feet and your heart pumping. Either songs could find some serious commercial audiences. The finale is "Modern Romance" where O is barely audible accompanied by some very light and deliberate drums and guitar. This is a good closure and a nice way to demonstrate the versatility and ability of YYY.
Now that all that needs to be said has been said, you need to
get into some of this action. Fever To Hell will make you
smile again about the state of underground rock and what the future
may hold. If the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs comes through your town check
them out immediately. They are not overly fond of touring and
it may be awhile until you can see them again.
52
Minutes This
is the opening salvo in Pop Culture's "Northern Exposure"
series, an attempt to make Canadian punk more accessible to ears
south of the border. 52 Minutes come out of the eastern city of
Halifax, Nova Scotia and rock the mic in unique marriage of pop-punk
and indie rock. The most defining aspect of 52 Minutes' sound
is the vocals coming from A.J. Huffman. Huffman's vocals mimic
the vocal style of bands that began exploding on many emo/hardcore
local scenes in the mid to late 90s. One could also make a comparison
of their sound to early Jade Tree releases; even better take the
singer of Mineral, give him balls and put him in a punk band.
Out of six songs on this EP Huffman's vocals are great except
for one section on "Days to Come," where he is required
to hold a note. Let's just say the results are not stellar. The
dual-guitars in 52 Minutes allow them to construct songs with
multi-layers weaving and waning throughout. The recording is not
exceptional, but I think it definitely benefits their sound and
captures the moment quite well. Out of the six songs, the opening
number and title track are by far the best. Other standout tracks
include "Friends Forever" and "Time Heals Nothing."
Look for 52 Minutes making their way south in the near future.
Anatomy
Of A Ghost After an inauspicious start with the comparatively shadow of a song "Birth of a Mile," this five-piece from Portland, OR, goes on to dazzle. There is a serious "wow" factor to this record; something that will likely grab you by the ear and not let go. AOAG have only existed for about a year and yet, due to their experience in previous bands, they excel as a cohesive and tight combination of all styles across the rock spectrum. Although, the first couple of tracks draw your attention in, it is only until midways through the record do you notice the genius of AOAG. At times, lead singer John riffles through the lyrics sounding as ATDI reincarnated. Yet, when the vocals and the music move away from an ATDI foundation, AOAG really begin to shine. Given that each song is a many-minute journey, you find this separation starting with the opening track and the second "Set the Stage." Not unlike Moneen in terms of song complexity, AOAG embark on a much more earnest and hells bells approach to their songs. Most compelling is the dual guitar work of Dewey and Joe. Their riffs and chords are exceptional and haunting and help to define AOAG's sound. The take off track of the record comes with "Since Yesterday." Noticeably, the vocals move away from their initial characterization and explore more indie cadences. AOAG continue to charm on the final four songs, particularly "Last Transmission." At the end of the record you realize that you were originally duped into thinking they were just an ordinary band. So like a movie where the jokes on you at the end (e.g., Fight Club), you go back to the first six songs and pick up on what you missed. Though Evanesce is groundbreaking on its own right, I can't imagine what the impact would have been if they came out around ten years ago. As a debut record, AOAG have demonstrated their enormous ability and potential. Hopefully, they will take the adventure they lay out here and push the boundaries, without losing harmonies, in future releases.
Anberlin This
is the debut release for this five-piece from Florida. After knocking
around for about a year now, Anberlin are out to kick some butt
on this release. Moving between punk, indie rock and pop rhythm,
Anberlin offer the listener something that is not obvious at first
listen. That something is a plethora of memorable songs. This
is something that was not obvious to me at first and second listen.
As a way to orientate your brain, Anberlin can be likened to a
more rock focused All-American Rejects. As the record kicks off
on "Readyfuels," a compelling guitar riffs brings the
listener to a break down and some muting. This is the point when
lead singer Stephen Christian comes in and this is the point where
I became not very impressed. There was a disconnect between the
music and the vocals; not an obvious disconnect, but it was if
something was just slightly off. This offness followed through
in the next song "Foreign Language." How disappointing
given that their press release cites these two songs as the standout
numbers. But, oh, how wrong. Admittedly, these two songs are well-constructed
and catchy, but they don't grab your ear. However, as you progress
along the record the darkness begins to fade. Specifically, three
songs replace your faith in Anberlin. "The Undeveloped Story,"
"Autobahn," and a cover of the Cure's "Love Song"
truly define and characterize what Anberlin is all about. "The
Undeveloped Story" starts off with panning guitars and low
vocals by two singers. Nothing special throughout the verse and
bridges, that is until you get to the pseudo chorus and you get
grabbed by the balls. The placed chorus of "dance all night,
dance all night" sung in a lazy indie way is just memorizing
and makes you replay that part of the song over and over. "Autobahn"
begins with synths reminiscent of the Get Up Kids and Reggie and
the Full Effect. Unlike "The Undeveloped Story," you
are immediately struck by the harmonious music and lyrics. Although
there are times when the lyrics are hokie, overall the moment
is beautiful. Finally, there is little to be said about the cover
of "Love Song," except that Anberlin do a stellar job
on it. The rest of the songs on the record vary on quality but
they are mostly consistent. Overall, this is a good record that
should get Anberlin plenty of action in the near future.
Armor
For Sleep This
record has the official "Berry Seal of Approval." Who
is Berry you ask? Berry is my dog and she decided that Armor For
Sleep was so delicious that she ate their press release, sticker,
envelope and probably the CD if I didn't come home when I did.
This is the only time she has ever done that, so I had to get
a listen of Dream to Make Believe, so that I could believe what
Berry believed. Armor for Sleep are a four-piece from New Jersey.
They are led, in part, by singer and guitarist Ben Jorgensen (no
relation to Ministry I assume) who initially constructed and conceptionalized
AFS. Jorgensen, joined by slight backing vocals at times, has
a focused and tight singing style that flows seamlessly with the
music. And such, AFS have a very close union of vocal cadence
and music; an objective often reached for but rarely achieved.
The eleven tracks, well really ten because the opening is filler,
are soft and pleasing to the ears. AFS do not take any risks in
their sound, but the level of familiar movements are quite first-rate
and could be appreciate by scores of listeners. The first half
of the record is upbeat and mid-tempo, while the second slows
down. I think that AFS does much better with the mid and up-tempo
material. Among the standout tracks are "My Town," "Dream
To Make Believe," "Being Your Walls" and "All
Warm." "The Wanderers Guild" is noticeable for
a chorus that sounds just too familiar. It is haunting me and
I am not sure that if I've heard it before on something or whether
it just is the same construction as another song. Armor for Sleep
have toured with a number of bands leading the new wave of rock
including Thursday, Taking Back Sunday and Piebald. Look for them
to do more of the same in the near future. We shall see what becomes
of Armor for Sleep and whether Berry was correct in her prediction.
I may start taking mailings and leaving them in a room with her
and she which ones she decided to destroy.
Big
Dismal When
you name your band something like "Big Dismal," you
are almost asking people to make a play on the name. Sometimes
it is funny and makes you remember the band. This was the case
with a ska band from Albany, NY named Can't Say. In this case,
the fun is not there and this four-piece from Florida live up
(or down) to their name. Big Dismal play exceedingly formulaic
rock that makes it hard to differentiate them from other bands.
That may be the point; if we sound like all the other bands, particularly
Creed, Nickelback, etc., then we will sell well. That may be the
case here and Big Dismal may sell well. But they do not take any
chances on the record and are unfortunately contributing to the
homogeneity of rock radio. Though Big Dismal try to mix up the
songs with acoustic guitars, harmonics, violins and having the
lead singer of hit Evanescence Amy Lee sing on "Missing You,"
they fall short in many aspects. Hopefully in the future, Big
Dismal will use their skills to record something that is groundbreaking
and not just a recalculation of the same old thing.
Black
Keys Just in case you thought Bassholes, Flat Duo Jets and The White Stripes were alone in the guitar and drums duo combination, here is The Black Keys. Like the other groups the spare combo arrangement guides the sound toward a rugged, post-blues rock primitivism. This group does have an alt-blues sound and pays homage to the latest of the masters of the basic groove trance blues by covering Junior Kimbrough's Everywhere I Go". (-Tom Schulte)
Blue
Shade Witness My
first introduction to this four-piece came from the Smoking Popes
tribute album a couple of months back. Though they provided a
good cover, it was difficult to gauge their sound. Now with this
six song EP, one can characterize Blue Shade Witness. BSW play
slow, melodic rock that hints at elements of acts like the Verve
and the rock stuff of Radiohead. So, yes, as their press release
states, there is an air of familiarity in BSW's sound. Whether
this is good or bad is hard for me to deem at this point. Their
sound is unique to themselves, so that is a vote for the good.
The EP starts with "The Stars Will Shine," their first
single, where BSW employ a timely and memorable lead guitar riff
in the chorus. Throughout this song, for some reason, I have an
eerie feeling of a male Mazzy Star singing. The second song "Not
Fail" contains a guitar bend that reminds me of that Chris
Isaak hit from a decade or so back. You know the one with the
hot model rolling around in the sand at the beach. These themes
are similar throughout the other four songs. That is how it is;
a sound reminiscent of the competing rock sound to grunge in the
early 90s. Admittedly, BSW are exceptional songwriters and can
really put together their compositions. In addition, the guitar
work is memorable and quite exceptional. All six songs are strongly
consistent and have minimum variance between them, while maintaining
a high standard of quality. As a bonus, there is a video for "The
Stars Will Shine" on the CD to watch on your computer. I
could see them going very far in the music world, though unfortunately
being labeled as an 'alternative' rock band.
Celebrity
Cex Rjyan
Kidwell (aka, Cex) is back on his fifth release to unleash more
geeky white rap mixed with an amazing sense of harmonies, folk
roots and indie rock. Kidwell released his first album "Role
Model" in 2000 while a freshman at Johns Hopkins for Kid606's
label Tigerbeat6. Over time, Kidwell has redefined and sharpened
his craft, thus producing one of the coolest records of 2003 with
Being Ridden. Though the construction of Cex is centered on electronic
hip-hop, it is better characterized and completed through a plethora
of musical styles. Some songs are straight up hip-hop, others
employ piano, others acoustic guitars. Hence, each song is different
from the previous or next and thus each is a memorable experience.
Though as a pure rap lyricist Cex may be slightly below par of
the top players in the genre, for pure ingenuity he ranks among
the very best. Some songs you would characterize as "silly,"
others may be noted for satirical wit. With guests on the record
including Craig Wedren and Venetian Snares, Kidwell often prefers
to provide his own backing vocals, which fits the music concept
perfectly. Among the hip-hop orientated tracks includes "The
Wayback Machine" which is a nice introduction to Cex and
contains a great mid-song onslaught of electronic thrash. "Earth-Shaking
Event" is a very funny number that delivers hits against
pop and rap music as well as shots at Kidwell himself. "Not
Working" is a song about Kidwell as the artist of Cex and
all the potential bad things that accompany such a personality
and lifestyle. "Stamina" kicks off with the unforgettable
line of "I'm driving a hearse full of bikini-clad girls"
and then goes on to dazzle. "Cex At Arm's Length" is
essentially an emo song with a well-laid electronic beat underneath.
This song easily cross-pollinates so many genres that it transcends
inherent musical biases. The acoustic instrumental on "See
Ya Never, Sike" and "Nevermind" adds to this mystic.
Being Ridden is such a spellbinding release you would do well
to pick up this magic.
Cex As
an accompaniment to Cex's latest Being Ridden, he has released
an instrumental version of the album. Though there are a couple
of changes in songs, with the addition "Bad Girls" and
"M Ren Dvine" and the removal of "Nevermind"
and "Other Countries," the music is essentially the
same. Though I didn't go through each song to unlayer the pieces,
it is safe to say the same material is there. One noticeable difference,
though mostly artificial, is that the vocal version has a much
clearer hip-hop feel to it. This difference is mostly due to Cex's
unique lyrical style. The instrumental versions of the songs sound
simply like electronic indie-rock. The reason for the instrumental
may have been to provide an easier means to mix and sample, but
I am just speculating. Though a neat concept, after hearing both
versions, I have a strong preference for the vocal Being Ridden.
Death
on Wednesday This
is the second release for this Southern California four-piece
after their acclaimed debut Buying the Lie. Initially conceived
as just demo takes in the process of building up to a new full-length,
through a variety of circumstances and events the demos have turned
into a five song EP. With some amazing recording, producing and
mixing abilities this EP has a great feel to it. Death on Wednesday's
songs focus on power-pop rock and often come close, particularly
in vocals, to the Smoking Popes. Though they contributed to the
Smoking Popes tribute album that was released several months ago,
Nathan Lawler's crooning comes very close the Popes' sound. Clearly
it is a good and harmonious sound, but it detracts from the separation
that Death on Wednesday is attempting to carve. All the five songs
on the EP are quality numbers, but Death on Wednesday excel with
the straight-forward rock songs and less so on the acoustic "Sympathy."
As a "bonus," DOW provide a hidden acoustic track that,
at the end of the day, detracts from the rest of the EP. Based
on the good sounds emitting from this EP, look for Death on Wednesday
to do quite well for themselves in the near future.
Dropkick
Murphys The
kings of Irish punk rock are back with their fourth offering.
This seven-piece from Boston continue to progress and mature over
the years and Blackout is another testament to that notion. Since
first throwing down and chanting-along in the mid-90s, the Dropkick
Murphys have placed themselves into the top-echelon of punk rock.
Relying on the exceedingly cool amalgamation of instruments including
bagpipes, mandolins and accordions, there is hardly a dull moment
from the drop of the hat on "Walk Away." DK's song themes
appeal to hard-working blue-collar workers, and it does not hurt
if those happen to be Irish from Boston. A good amount of pride,
intensity and spirit bleed through every iota of the record without
ever sacrificing harmonies and song-writing craftsmanship. This
is emphasized and intensified by the DK's insistence of chanting
choruses. As with previous records, Blackout includes a traditional
arrangement and, here in particular, DK set Woody Gurthie's lyrics
for "Blackout" to punk music. The traditional "Black
Velvet Band" is set up and nicely executed by DK. "Worker's
Song," written by Ed Pickford, utilizes a well-timed bagpipe
with lyrics focusing on the worker's plight in society. This is
demonstrated throughout with lines such as "We're the first
ones to starve, we're the first ones to die…for the worker
is working when the fat cat's about." Quasi-title song "Gonna
Be A Blackout Tonight" is where DK puts Gurthie's lyrics
to work. In a straight-forward punk rock song, DK call up the
demons of Black Flag to give Gurthie the all-star treatment. DK
have a video for this song that is included in a separate DVD
disk (that I will talk about later). While the song is great,
the video is exceedingly boring. "World Full of Hate"
is a mellow acoustic number that is potentially the best song
on the record. However, the title for best song needs to be battled
out with "The Dirty Glass." In back-and-forth singing
between the DKs and guest vocalist Stephanie Dougherty, "The
Dirty Glass" has all the elements of a classic. The song
merges punk, rock, bluegrass and traditional Celtic; wow, so great.
Other standout songs include "Buried Alive," "As
One" with lovely bagpipes leading the way, a tribute to the
Bruins with "Time To Go" and "This Is Your Life."
Besides from the video for "Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight,"
the DVD includes two live performances of "Rocky Board To
Dublin" and "Boys On the Dock" from DK's St. Patrick's
2002 performance. Both of these are teasers for a forthcoming
DK DVD that contains tons of stuff. The trailer utilizes the aforementioned
"World Full of Hate" and really brings out the chills
when you watch it. Blackout offers so much to the listener and
viewer that it would be crime not get this release.
Eluvium Eluvium
is actually one Portland-based musician named Matthew Cooper.
As with many other solo artists (e.g., Onelinedrawing and Lyndsay
Diaries) having a moniker of a band is much cooler than just your
name; unless you are someone like Bob Dylan. Unlike the aforementioned
solo projects, Cooper provides ambient instrumental work on the
album's five tracks. From the slow-building crescendo of "The
Unfinished" to the hypnotic "I Am So Much More Me That
You Are Perfectly You," Cooper's masterful song composition
are inspiring. Most of the five tracks are artistically minimalist
though he does utilize a number of instruments. I am not so good
at unpacking all of them but clearly we have layers of piano,
guitars, keyboards and the murmurings of electronic devices. Sometimes
these devices sound like machines that provide white noise for
you to sleep through the ramblings of the night. Though somewhat
spacey, like on "Under the Water It Glowed," the many-minuted
ambient tracks would not show up on some crap sci-fi movie; though,
a sci-fi art film is not of the picture. As a complement to the
Temporary Residence team, Eluvium is perfect.
Ex
Models Coming
out of the same scene that has spawned a plethora of bands, most
noticeably the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, the Ex Models take a more Locust
orientated approach on this release. It seems that the lovely
deconstructed, bizarre artness and noise that has characterized
3.1.G. releases and art-school scenes have aggressively grabbed
the Ex Models by the balls. The fifteen songs on this record clock
in at around twenty-minutes and often contains seamless transitions
between tracks. If you blank out for a minute you could miss about
three songs or so. As is often the case with bands who take a
deconstructive approach to songs, I would assume that the Ex Models
are considerably more compelling on stage than recorded. With
that in mind, the Ex Models have been and will be traversing the
rock world with such bands as their friends the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Thanks to the Ex Models, the no
wave scene in NYC is alive and well.
Gatsby's
American Dream Gatsby's American Dream comes to you out of the great northwestern city of Seattle. This is their second recording to date; the first record "Why We Fight" was widely hailed as a new take on consistent indie and punk themes. Like many bands that have met an untimely demise on the roads of North Dakota (e.g., Taking Back Sunday), GAD got into a wicked crash amongst the frozen tundra. As they thought about their existence after the crash, it influenced this latest offering. Ribbons and Sugar is centered on an Animal Farm theme. To pull this off successfully in reference and comparison to Orwell is very hard to do. Based on this eleven-song offering, GAD do not succeed in this endeavor. So, let's forget that you read the last couple of lines, and that this is a concept album, and just discuss the music. GAD play post-modern punk and indie with math leanings. In general, this creates a good mixture of sound and rhythms. At times and given the nature of the songs, there is a bit of a BoySetsFire element that is clearly a good thing. The record starts with a hypnotic circus-esque instrumental called "The Taming." This is followed by "We're Not Orphans," which is a highlight on the album, and the start of the rock. Except for the odd and unique "A Manifesto of Tangible Wealth" and the ballad of "The Horse You Road In On" (which drags the album's quality down), the other eight songs follow "We're Not Orphans" sound. Some of other the notable tracks include "Epilogue," "Snicker At the Swine" and "Counterfeit Language." One thing that is quietly disturbing is that a similar, if not the same, guitar riff creeps into several songs. Since this album is supposed to be a concept piece, it may just be like a play or musical where a similar tune is used throughout. It is only disturbing because it is haunting, not that it is wrong. Gatsby's American Dream possess a number of musical qualities and a clear potential for great things to come.
Hoods
As many of you know, Hoods have been throwing down for over ten
years from their international headquarters in Sacramento, CA.
In fact, guitarist Mike Hood is essentially the king of the scene
in Sacramento, always helping other bands out with a variety of
amenities. Though Hoods have released a number of albums over
their history, Pray For Death is only their second for Victory;
the first came in 2001 called Time…The Destroyer. Also, Hoods
have a new drummer on this release, Navene Koperweis. Recorded
over a course of time from the summer to the winter, and with
a much clearer sound, Pray For Death comes across as more old-school
NYC hardcore style than Time. Most noticeably is that this latest
release features less metal riffs and double bass drumming. These
two qualities, at minimum, helped Hoods differentiate themselves
from other hardcore bands of similar stylings. "John and
Kitty" kicks off the album, characterize by clean riffs,
fast beats and the growlings of Ben Garcia. "Bastard"
follows this up with machine gun guitars and some double bass
to help quell your metal fixation. Unfortunately, the song drags
through some grind that distracts from the intensity. Although,
happily, this is not the standard among the album's fourteen tracks.
Again, most of the songs are very straight forward old-school
hardcore with growls and machine gun guitars. This is exemplified
by such songs as "By My Side," "Alkali Flats,"
"Another Suicide" and "Pray For Death." As
a stand-alone album, Pray for Death is a good offering by this
Sacramento four-piece. Compared with Time…The Destroyer,
this record falls short of the heights Hoods initially found.
Icarus There
are not six members of Icarus and they are not Soviet, well Russian,
to my knowledge. Icarus are Sam Britton and Ollie Brown and they
excel are creating random nonsensical electronic beats, blips
and noise. The release is actually a two-disc eleven-track effort
by this dynamic duo. These tracks were previously released on
three offerings from Not Applicable and Output Recordings. As
far as I am concerned there is little to highlight from either
of the discs. It is not that Icarus make random noise like Arab
on Radar and the like, they are skilled at electronic manipulation.
It is that the sound is so broke down and randomized that it is
hard to glean anything from it except a headache when listening
to it on headphones. I admit that I might not have enough exposure
to this to truly "understand" what's going on, but I
am probably not alone.
Lazarus Lazarus is Trevor Montgomery (formerly of Tarentel and The Drift) with the recording and mixing help here of Marty Anderson. Montgomery recorded the twelve-song record in his bedroom and then Anderson enhanced the sound a bit. That sound is mainly an acoustic guitar with some whispering ambient background (forms of keyboards) and ultra-soft vocals. Montgomery delivers the main vocals and there is some weird crackly-voiced backup (like the deformed sister (Zena?) from that Stephen King movie (Pet Cemetery?) who lived in the locked room). Sometimes this is good, others times it can be ear-splitting. All of the songs are multi-minute opuses; some are upbeat, others are dismal and depressing. Sometimes you feel uplifted, other times you want to kill yourself. Though I don't think this is the way that Montgomery constructed the album, you just get that feeling. In short, then, the record is like a Sine curve. First song "Poets the Liars" sounds like a running rain stick and makes me think about torturing someone when they have to go to the bathroom. But, besides from that the song is quite good and a nice introduction to the record. "Ocean (Burn the Highways)" starts with an Elliott Smith feel and then progresses to a more upbeat number. Other notable songs on the record include "Tears" and "Time" (before the unnecessary end section). Though Montgomery has a ways to go before he becomes the next Conor Oberst, he is well on his path to righteousness.
Moneen
Here is Moneen, this four-piece from north of the border, embarking
on another musical journey and first offering on the ever-amazing
Vagrant Records. This is Moneen's third release as a band; the
first an EP called Smaller Chairs For Early 1900s and a full-length
named The Theory Of Harmonial Value, both released on Smallman
Records. The latter is an exceptional piece of work and set up
Moneen for a rough time in trying to improve on that. Yet, two
years later Moneen have done just that with Are We Really Happy….
Where Harmonial Value meandered without direction at some points,
Are We takes that quality but places it in a more structured and
focused construction. Moneen play their characteristic powerpunk
and emo rock and "jam" on songs, with some spacing out
to ten minutes as on "The Last Song I Will Ever Want to Sing,"
but all of it is very well thought out and massaged. While maintaining
a light harmony, Moneen take emo and move it into more intense
punk. This separation from more traditional emo does well to enhance
Moneen's live show, so you are not just standing around blank-faced.
In reality, it's hard to nail Moneen's sound down in words. Comparisons
can be made to a better and more artistic Jimmy Eat World or a
more emo old Hot Water Music. In addition, lead singer Kenny Bridges'
vocals sound as if you plucked Chris Brenner from Digger and put
him in an indie rock band. From the opening title track to the
final opus mentioned above, each of the ten songs is a journey
with a complete and clearly noticeable beginning, middle and end.
That is one reason why the record clocks in at over fifty minutes.
In general, the record's content is a bit more serious and less
school boy-ish then previous releases. But it is not like moving
from the Mr. T Experience to Shai Hulud or something. Though each
song is its each expedition, a few may be deemed as noteworthy.
Among these include the title track, "Start Angry…End
Mad," "How To Live With the Thought That Sometimes Life
Ends," "Life Just Too Short Little Ndugu," "Thoughts
Weight Heavy…Don't Get Drowned in the Weight of it All"
and "With This Song I will Destroy Myself." There is
little doubt that Are We Really Happy will propel Moneen up the
college radio charts and produce some sweet success.
Parlour Barely
coming off their debut Octopus Off-Broadway, Parlour drops another
epic landscape of harmonic instrumentation. Spawning from the
rich music scene of Louisville, KY, composer Tim Furnish (formerly
in Cerebellum) guides the seven-piece through six more tracks
of well-conceived inspiration. As with their previous release,
Googler has been a work in progress for several years and the
tracks were recorded over a five-year span. As such, the consistency
in recording and musicianship between tracks is amazing. The opening
"Jololinine" is splendid with many orthogonal movements
and is nicely followed with the more rock-orientated "Distractor."
Other tracks with a sweet sound include "Regulkfro Reel"
and "Hop Pife." Between the often drudgery world of
instrumental, Parlour shines on Googler.
Point
Line Plane Coming
out of the appointed capital of American Anarchism, Portland,
Or, Point Line Plane strike the listener with a pounding of electronics,
beats and screamo. That sense of being without government helps
to guide PLP through their eclectic composition of songs and subsequent
rhythms. PLP strive to mesh hardcore intensity with pop sensibilities;
at times, succeeding and at other times falling flat. There is
a decent variance between songs where some sound great and others
sound too amateurish to get away with off-timed songwriting. For
instance, the opening track "Death Dance 2000" offers
a tepid introduction to the band and may turn off the listener
without patience to go further. Elsewhere PLP develop the right
mix that makes them sound hot. Examples include the incorporation
of pop in the middle of "Crystal Skeleton," "Open
Yr Mindligt," the excellent "8-Bit Graveyard" and
the monkey-sounding chorus to "Priest With A Badge."
As with many of these bands in the "extreme" music genre,
Point Line Plane probably come across considerably more exciting
live. They have brought their onslaught to the stage with such
bands as Deerhoof and Erase Errata on the West Coast, and PLP
will be taking on the East Coast in the near future. There is
a good amount of upside potential to Point Line Plane that hopefully
will be developed in further releases.
Quintron In
the mysterious and bizarre world of electronic indie dance, Quintron
is the king. From the pictures within the covers to the music
itself arty strangeness may be the operative word. Though I have
not heard the previous six albums, apparently, Are You… has
the finest recording to date, and it is well done by Tim Kerr.
Probably the coolest thing about this release is the backing and
one time lead vocals of Miss Pussycat. It truly defines and gives
the songs a degree of bit that would be sorely missing elsewise.
Also on the vocal front, there are well inserted crowd vocals
by a group of individuals that go by the name of "The Austin
Frontmen." Of course, Quintron wouldn't be anything without
the electronic compositions on the numerous keyboards and machines
by Mr. Quintron. Among these are the "drum buddies,"
an instrument devised by Mr. Quintron and utilized extensively.
The best song on this record, without a doubt, is the opening
track "Place Unknown." This is a sure fire hit. While
a great song in its own right with Mr. Quintron's soul vocals,
what seals the deal is Miss Pussycat and others chorus of "get
a rocket, a rocket around." This chorus is hypnotic and makes
you want to keep playing the song over and over again. Truly splendid.
The rest of the songs pale in comparison to this opening number.
That said, other notable tracks include "Teenage Antoinette,"
the instructive "Miniature Breakdown," the oddly vocal
lead vocal track of Miss Pussycat on "Cave Formations"
and "The Beach." I would love to check out Quintron
live; although there is little doubt that some of this will likely
find its way into clubs across the world.
Shai
Hulud The
omniscient Shai Hulud are back, with their ever changing lineup,
to unleash their latest fury of metal-core onto the converted
as well as the innocent. This is the fourth release for Shai Hulud
on Revelation/Crisis and probably their finest to date. Shai Hulud
on That Within Blood Ill Tempered revert back to the powerful,
aggressive and intense metal-core that they helped to redefine
a number of years back. This is visual demonstrated by the artwork
accompanying the release. We are talking about uncompromising
metal foundations with the knowledgeable mix of melodic sections
and movements without having to revert to "emo" breakdowns.
Though this is easily demonstrated among the record's ten songs,
the proto-typical example is on "Let Us At Last Praise the
Colonizers of Dreams." (Yes, most of the songs have sentences
as titles). This song as well as the others have epic calculations
of hardcore and metal with, as before mentioned, smart harmonies.
To make a similar comparison Shai Hulud fall to the hardcore side
of the recent release from Darkest Hour. Geert van der Velde's
vocals, and that of Shai Hulud, focus on human nature, existence
and other quasi-philosophical pursuits. Exemplar lines include
"What is a man/That is the source of his own misery/To face
a lifelong nightmare of taunting dreams is unbearable" on
"Two and Twenty Misfortunes." Or take the line "Will
we not be satisfied until we sit drenched in each other's blood?"
on "Ending the Perpetual Tradegy." As a listener, you
need to take in the entire album, as it is difficult to call out
one song or another as the best. It all weaves together in an
impressive display of concentrated song construction. That Within
Blood Ill Tempered clearly puts Shai Hulud back on the aggressive
music radar and this record calls notice to all the unsuspecting.
Smear
Campaign This
is a five track self-released EP from this five-piece from NYC.
In fact, the release is essentially a top-quality demo. Smear
Campaign is fronted by Maria Aggabao and supported by four exceptional
musicians. Aggabao has tremendous vocal power and range that could
easily take Smear Campaign far; sounding at times not unlike the
lead singer of Evanscence. All four songs (the fifth is a remix)
move in moderate tempo dark and groove-orientated rock. The songwriting
quality, in terms of music, demonstrates that Smear Campaign are
serious and talented musicians. The downside is that many times
the lyrics seem too direct and, for lack of a better word, hokie.
With a better conception and presentation of lyrics, Smear Campaign's
sound would woo a number of onlookers. Far and away the best track
on this release is "Cold," followed by the remix "Cold
Moonlight Remix." The remix has some serious Portishead action
going on and would likely appeal to fans of that sound. Based
on this EP it seems that Smear Campaign have a good road ahead
of them. If for some reason, they decided to change their sound
a bit and add electronics et al. like in the remix, I could really
see them going far.
Sonna The
four-piece that is Sonna bring you their latest in their dazzling
instrumental display. Their first full-length since the notable
We Sing Loud Sing Soft Tonight, Sonna delve into more harmony
and catchy focused songs that could easily pass as the best in
"emo" instrumental. Again, masterful Steve Albini is
on the dials which significantly adds to the feel. Hopefully the
lack of vocals will not dissuade some from at least checking out
this release. Comparisons to label mates Explosions in the Sky,
Sigur Ros and Tristeza can be easily made, but here Sonna excels
in catchiness. The record opens with "Frone Taj," one
of the best instrumental numbers I've heard. The reason is that
it draws you in and has a mid-tempo feel, somewhat reminiscent
of Jejune and the like. The other five songs on the record continue
this soothing onslaught. Other notable tracks include "Open
Ended" and "And the World Smiles With You." This
is good material for coming down off a Cradle of Filth or Slayer
high. If it can mellow you out from that then it can mellow you
out from anything. Ah, the new Buspar.
The
Album Leaf / On!Air!Library! This split EP offers three songs each from The Album Leaf and On!Air!Library!. Each band is understated, moody and ethereal. The Album Leaf comes to us as the side project of Jimmy LaValle (Tristeza). The Album Leaf offers music that is big on structure. The foundation rhythms are from electronic music with the simple, repeated melodies sophisticated and heading toward classical music sounds. On!Air!Library! is more ragged and organic. Layered voices of identical twin sisters Alley and Claudia Deheza with Phillip Wann offer a point of focus in this diffuse, dream-like music. (-Tom Schulte)
The
Anomoanon As a change in the instrumental-dominated world of Temporary Residence comes an alt-country posse by the name of the Anomoanon. This seven-piece is essentially a composite of a variety of practiced and mature musicians, most notably the Oldham brothers. Will Oldham of Bonnie Billy, among others, join leader Ned Oldham in this new eleven-track offering. Although the best classification is alt-country, the Anomoanon are not stereotypical of any band (e.g., Uncle Tupelo) and demonstrate influences from across the musical spectrum. I could completely see the Anomoanon playing to and dazzling stoned college kids in rural western NY (if you know what I mean). But thank God that the Anomoanon do not fall into the folly of subjecting the listener to unnecessarily long and spaced out guitar solos. All the songs have direction and focus while allowing an adequate amount of jamming to seep through. More importantly, Oldham's songwriting assures at least moderate degrees of harmony and catchiness. Some of the stellar tracks that this is shown on include "Sixteen Ways," "Kick Back," "One That Got Away," "Tongue and Heart" and "Asleep Many Years in the Wood." This is a release that I would have no trouble showing off to fans of alt-country.
The
Real McKenzies
Coming out of the pub to make an appearance in a recording studio
allowed this six-piece from Vancouver to manufacture their second
release for Honest Don's. Headed by singer Paul McKenzie, the
Real McKenzies are a Celtic punk band. Yet, unlike the Dropkick
Murphys, they come from a Scottish origin and foundation, not
Irish. As such, they employ the memorable and unforgettable sound
of bagpipes throughout this thirteen-track offering. The pipes
are typically not used as a solo instrument but as a well-timed
accompaniment (except on "Taylor Made"). There are good
things to be said for both uses, since soloing bagpipes draw hyper-intense
emotions. But I may be glossing over the fact that the Real McKenzies
are a punk band and play that part well. Compared to the limited
amount of early material that I've heard from the Real McKenzies,
this release far surpasses anything previously recorded. From
word go on the opening track "Cross the Ocean" and throughout
the hills and valleys of Oot & Aboot there is tons of good
stuff. While many songs are relatively short Fat Wreck beat stuff,
usually relating drinking in them, there are a few that are stellar.
Part of this may be that two of the best songs are traditional
Scottish songs arranged by the Real McKenzies. But they are awesome.
The two are "Ye Banks and Braes" and "Heather Bells."
Based on these two, I think the Real McKenzies could make a sweet
name for themselves by doing more traditional numbers. Among the
standout original numbers include "Cross the Ocean,"
"Droppin' Like Flies" and "Lest We Forget."
Check out the Real McKenzies representing in kilts et al. in a
town near you.
V/A In this extraordinarily odd double CD, twenty-eight underground bands offer reinterpretation, otherwise known as covers, of the Screamers, an L.A. noise-punk band during the late 70s. Founding members Tomata Du Plenty and Tommy Gear originate their conception in experimental work in the Seattle area. This including playing at the opening of John Waters' Pink Flamingos in Seattle as the trio the Tupperwares. Relocating to L.A. to expand their horizons and seek more musical opportunities, Plenty and Gear formed with two other members KK Barrett and David Brown and become the Screamers. From this founding in L.A. as the Screamers, they enjoyed a brief few years reign in the burgeoning L.A. punk and noise scenes. They broke up before releasing any material. Hence, the material on this record comes from live recordings and demos. What is amazing about the songs on this release is not their sound or quality; it is the fact that the Screamers were so incredibly ahead of their time. When you first listen to the songs without any knowledge about the Screamers' history, you think it is okay; early punk rock-focused songs with the addition of keyboards and synths. When you discover this is from twenty-five years ago, you gasp. Though I have only heard of a couple of the bands amongst the twenty-eight, some unknowns do a seemingly tremendous job. Also, I don't have a reference point so I can't make comparisons to the original Screamers' songs. Standout tracks across the two CDs include (note: there are several songs that are done twice on the release by different bands; so, I mention the better of the two): Flux Information Science on "Punish or Be Damned" with a haunting keyboard riff, the hardcore punk of Akimbo on "Vertigo," Intelligence on "The Beat Goes On," The Cripples on an amazing cover of "I'm Going Steady with Twiggy," Two Minute Hate on "In a Better World," Luxo Champ on "Mator Dolores," Reckless Bastards on "She's the Girl in the Car with the Glasses and the Gun," former Screamers' members KK Barrett and Paul Roessler on the Germs' "Sex Boy," the haunting vocals of A-Frames on "I Wanna Hurt," Basin Jently with some very new wave keyboards on "I Go For You" and Point Line Plane's "Give the Future a Break." For those of you into "extreme" music of the punk-noise, synth-punk variety this is at least a must hear to see where the roots germinated.
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