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May Reviews Artist of the Month: No Trigger Massachusetts-based No Trigger don’t play new or uniquely innovative punk rock. What they do nearly perfectly is pick up the fast-paced aggressive yet melodic punk established by bands like Lifetime and Strike Anywhere and nail it to the wall. It is quite likely that you need to be real fan of a band like Lifetime and the Richmond contingent to really get behind No Trigger. But if you are then you are going to love the twelve-track Canyoneer. Formed in 2000, No Trigger did what most northeastern punk/hardcore bands have done – hang out and craft their show in their and friends’ basements with only occasionally seeing the light of day. This is interspersed with work and school while continuing to hope for a day when they can just be a band. Starting with their debut EP, 2004’s Extinction in Stereo, followed by tours of North America and Japan, and culminating with signing with Nitro and releasing Canyoneer, No Trigger are now a ‘band.’ No Trigger’s sound is truly held together by the radiant vocals of Tom Rheault – matching those who came before and holding his own at the same time. Rheault is joined by Mike Ciprari (drums), Mike Pryzgoda (guitar), Tom Ciesluk (bass), and Jon Strader (guitar). Produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, No Trigger and Canyoneer make you feel young, energetic, and ready to grab the future. Canyoneer kicks off on “The (Not So) Noble Purveyors of the Third or Fourth Coming” that sets the stage with high energy, perfectly matched vocals, guitars, and melodies all to the standard 4/4. No Trigger even throw in muted scribbling guitars of mid-90s Fat Wreck to give some nods to the west coast. This is soon followed by the similar-minded “Neon National Park” which is tighter on the melody, offers a solid rhythmic solo and hints that Canyoneer is going to be a great record. “My Woods” is more aggressive, in-your-face smashing, while “Fish Eye Lens” has compelling tripping vocals and guitars that quickly heighten your pulse. Yeah, songs like “Owner Operator” are so Lifetime, especially with the inclusion of gang vocals, but they still are splendid. Bring your grievance to the Supreme Court if you will – but you will not find many friends as we all know Alito throws down to melodic hardcore. “The Honshu Underground” takes awhile to build up and maintains a routine course, until the cool final minute acoustic breakdown. The tempo is picked up again on “Bust Tropical” that has a great bridge to another overpowering chorus. Uber-short old school hardcore fills “You Said It” and “Hail Mary Leakey” is mostly held together by the second guitar keeping a rhythmic solo. The ordinary “Attack of Orion and the Left Arm Sunburn” follows, before No Trigger employ Hayley Helmericks on vocals for “More To Offer” an ode to the lack of ladies fronting bands in scenes. Canyoneer closes on the strong party-opening, bass-following “Tundra Kids” which is basically Trigger’s anthem. People are may quickly write off No Trigger due to minimal variance between the structure and tempo of their songs. But, if you figured out how to be awesome and rock every piece of energy out of yourself, why would you change? If No Trigger can generate the same amount, or more, energy on stage, then they will surely become a common fixture on punk fans’ shelves.
Adair Calling both St. Louis and CA home, the five-piece of Adair have only now released their first full-length after five years existence; though the EP The Permanent Bruise dropped previously. Adair just came off of the Taste of Chaos tour which seems highly apropos since the thirteen tracks on The Destruction of Everything… are like Adair took pieces of all the popular heavy and punk bands tied to the tour and tried to distill a sound. For some this might be a wet dream. For others Adair is excessively generic within that sound. Producer Allan Hessler and the band try to add effects here and there, and shift tempos between songs (e.g., “I Buried My Heart in Cosmo Park” and “Separate Your Jaw”) as well as within. At other times, Adair ups the pop and harmonies to appeal to a separate audience (e.g., “Folding and Unfolding” (though some of the lyrics are terrible), “Vanity and Death (Their Faces Crumbled Away)”). This at least makes The Destruction of Everything… not a complete one-trick pony. Good material lurks underneath, but Adair needs to focus on a signature sound and then nail it and give it power.
Adem Fridge mainstay, Adem Ilhan starts off in calm and searching mode via ‘Warning Call’, for his second full length, solo offering. The London artist keeps his feet firmly on the ground with the album being built around his earthy indie/folk styling, representing quite a departure from the post rocking empiricism of his other outfit. The lullaby instrumental base of ‘Sea Of Tranquillity’ is quite simply, Adem at his most contemplative allowing his poetic lyrics to fall passionately from his lips. He still finds time to experiment in ’You and Moon’ that is resplendent for its rising nature, coming through in the soulful lead and slightly gospel oozing backing choir, gently rising off a hollow and tingling percussive platform. The haunting emotion concealed in debut album ‘Homesongs’, is let out again, but it is a lot subtler this time around. Adem gives his voice more licence to roam and it gets quite masterfully uplifting at times, ‘These Lights Are Meaningful’ and to a lesser extent ‘Spirals’. Intergalactic imagery is there for you to wonder upon throughout the album. The pedestrian pinging and wistful foray into the final moments of creation in ‘Human Beings Gather Round’, displays Ilhan’s appreciation of mystery and provides a light at the end of a mystifying musical journey. (-David Adair)
Bancroft I love when a one-sheet makes comparisons or scenarios to other bands that sound nothing like the band their promoting. Here, the comparisons are between Weezer and the Foo Fighters, which would be true if you were retarded and never heard of those people. Bancroft simply are better-than-average college bar rock band who play completely ordinary and predictable songs that leave nothing in the way of a trace on your memory. Instead, they are instantly expunged from your memory and that will save you down the road from brain damage. Bancroft might be interesting if they had a transvestite politician lead singer, which is unlikely on several levels.
Bigwig One of the more amazing things is that this little New Jersey punk band has been kicking around and surviving for so damn long; Bigwig signed with Fearless in 1995. On their fourth full-length, the four-piece keep up their fast Left Coast beat punk, managing to offer a sound both contemporary and consistent with the mid-90s Fat Wreck wave. Reclamation Point makes one reminisce about the heyday of such bands as NOFX, Pennywise, No Use for a Name, among others, and realize that although the music is super simple that it’s just as simply appealing. A solid and consistent record throughout, one knock is that Bigwig seem intent on stretching songs beyond their naturally stopping point (e.g., “Owned and Operated”). With the tempo they move at, most songs shouldn’t be artificially extended to three or four minutes without the use of seriously designed breakdowns. Still songs to check out include the great opener “A War Inside,” “Cross and Burn,” and the closer “No Thought, No Spine.”
Cardinale Almost regardless of the music, you got to love a full-length that consists of only one song – and yes, it’s 31:13 long. Out of Austin and with the support of Austin-based Arclight, Cardinale takes several streams of music that Texas is noted for in the indie community and lace them together into a giant progression. This is particularly with regard to merger of heavy music and the soft space holidays of Explosions in the Sky. Together they can create such a wonderful being as well as a haunted beast. The only serious pitfall on 31:13 is the occasional distorted screams that seem completely unnecessary and undermine some of the majesty. To entirely capture Cardinale, you need to play 31:13 in its entirety through headphones, otherwise you miss a lot. Further, Cardinale seems best suited for a live show.
Caroline After last year’s shockingly brilliant single “Where’s My Love,” expectations were admittedly absurdly high for Caroline’s debut full-length Murmurs. While the whole of Murmurs can’t maintain the genius of “Where’s My Love,” the nine songs do provide great ambient electro-synth-pop from Caroline Lufkin. Born and raised in Okinawa, schooled at Berklee in Boston, and initially working in pop music in Tokyo, Caroline decided to break free of the treadmill, move to LA, and start her solo career simply with her voice and computer. After sending “Where’s My Love” to TRL, the label quickly released the single and now finally her full-length. For this record, Caroline employs a massive cadre of musicians to create the intricate and complex sounds. Murmurs opens in rather unfortunate form on the first thirty seconds of “Bicycle” before Caroline’s voice comes into guide you away to goodness and away from awkward horns. “Bicycle” sets the stage for what many compare to Icelandic/Scandinavian electronic instrumentals with angel-infused vocal whispers and dashes of pop to help counter esoteric movements. Indeed this is supported on the following and excellent “Pink & Black” and more withdrawn “Sunrise.” “Where’s My Love” comes next and as mentioned above will basically sweep you off your feet for several hours at a time. If there was one song to seek out in whatever fashion it is “Where’s My Love” – and that we haven’t heard the song shooting across the globe on all outlets is baffling. “Everylittlething” is a successful follow-up to the star as Caroline introduces a set of danceable beats and club-ready haunts. Without Caroline’s consistently gorgeous vocals “All I Need” would just be running water, while “Drove Me to the Wall” is a bit of a misstep. “I’ll Leave My Heart Behind” features an upbeat Caroline with ethereal electronics and a piano that transitions to a pop chorus. “Winter” closes out Murmurs in true ghostly snow princess form and will certainly cement Caroline as a champion of the sound. Again, the other eight songs of Murmurs aren’t as stunning as “Where’s My Love,” but the magic still persists simply in other forms.
Clayhill Could this be the summer where subtlety and craft make a Canute like stand against the customary riff heavy guitar craze? Clayhill, similar to contemporaries Adem, have come up with an offering that takes a step back, instrumentally speaking. In the case this Staffordshire outfit, they do this in order to propel the troubled vocal gait of Gavin Clark. This mirrors the commanding narrative of I Am Kloots' Johnny Bramwell and sticks out in ‘Surfer Nol’, as it keeps the crisp accompaniment in a vice-like grip in order to cleanse the soul. Blues soul is delicately dropped into the mix via ‘One Nerve’, with a clattering percussive element giving Olafur Olafsson the chance to shed the subtle beat melody straight jacket, as he opens out his range to undertake an intriguing experiment. The winter tour with Beth Orton has helped the guys focus on their ability slowly craft a song and to ooze out contrasting feeling as the number builds. ‘Hang On’ and the brisk accompaniment featuring previous single ‘Halfway Across’, exemplify this point. The blues spirit of ‘Man Sol’ features creaky vocals that portray a worrisome touch to add another notch of feeling to this offering. ‘Mine At Last’ is, in essence, an album that resurrects the spirit of longing by twisting the lyrics delicately inside the winding accompaniment. Many people feel is something that this is the sole remit Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Well, they’re wrong! (-DA)
Ever We Fall On Portland, OR’s Every We Fall’s first record for Hopeless, the trio offers twelve songs of even-keeled melodic indie rock that is more concerned with pop and harmony than with offering new directions in sound. After the 2003 EP Endura (Rise Records), the Ever We Fall followed many before them and struck out on the road with the purpose to tightening their act, making new converts, and learning what works and doesn’t (though losing their bassist along the way wasn’t planned). Can’t say much about their live act, the recorded movements need an adrenaline shot. While We Are But Human is music that your folks may not object to, there is almost nothing to hang your hat on – it all seems done and said before. The trio does what they’re supposed to – the right structures, harmonies, guitar fills, etc. – but it is so predictable. Still quite young, hopefully Ever We Fall will decide to move away from safe indie pop rock and try to do something memorable and exciting.
The Flaming Lips Remember when poor Jack White broke his finger and left Festival organisers in a bigger quandary than the manager-less and directionless Newcastle United F.C.? Their saving grace at T in the Park was Wayne Coyne and his mystically exuberant outfit The Flaming Lips, who performed The White Stripes covers with gusto and compact aplomb. Well, this experience has obviously had an impact on them, as the theme of volume and intensity rushes some of the dozen tracks on this parade. The sensational surreal vein delivered via ‘Free Radicals’ was borne out of a dream Wayne had, whereby, Devandra Banhart is pleading with a suicide bomber to change his mind. It is a good job that James Blunt wasn’t the object of this dream, as it would have turned into a nightmare in so many ways.Coyne’s once soft and soothing vocals have been sandpapered over to produce a glam rock kick to accompany the whining and sliding guitars featuring in offerings like ‘The Wizard Turns On’. A noticeable aspect of the band’s growth leaps out in their atmospheric leanings that rivals Sonic Youth, coming through via ‘The Cosmic Autumn Rebellion' and ‘Vein Of Stars’. Of course, cosmic imagery illuminates this Flaming Lips night sky, but you just get the feeling that there is not the same cohesion that gripped previous releases like ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’. However, this slight disjointedness could well be what they intended and without a doubt, The Lips continue to make their unique mark on music. (-DA)
Folly In the two years since New Jersey’s Folly released their debut Insanity Later, the band has basically killed their differentiation point and now they’re simply an ordinary screaming punk band. Folly’s debut took the disparate worlds of hardcore and ska and smashed them together in an awkward though mildly interesting manner. On the twelve-song Resist Convenience the ska elements are essentially gone, save for a few weak drop-ins here and there, and are replaced by a pedestrian attempt at metalcore. As bad as the extremes on Insanity Later were, Resist Convenience is considerably worse.
Head Like A Kite As the debut solo record from Sushirobo guitarist Dave Einmo (aka Head Like A Kite), Random Portraits of the Home Movie is an aural experience of mellow krautrock infused with random background electronic blips courtesy of Einmo’s family 70s Super 8 films. With the a slew of recording help from the likes of Darius Minwall (the Posies, Preston School of Industry), David Weeks (Kinski), Clay Martin (Sushirobo) among others, one could lazily compare Head Like A Kite to more electronic-concerned Dandy Warhols. Yet, for the sake of avoiding comparisons, Einmo stretches out fifteen-tracks of consistent, persuasive rock that is likely to find a large audience. There are moments when Einmo sounds like he’s fulfilling electronic nerd needs (“Interested in Worms?” and “My Crystal Trousers”…to the end of the record), but the rock maintains the core of Random Portraits. Songs worth your time include “Words of a Friend,” “Your Butt Crack Smile,” “A Dime and A Cigarette,” and “Noisy At the Circus.” Random Portraits will be bombarded with comparisons to the Dandies, but if you love them then you love Head Like A Kite.
Herod If you love 80s cock metal with an additional dose of thrash and double-bass, then Herod’s latest full-length Rich Man’s War…Poor Man’s Fight is perfect for you. Formed in 2000 in Buffalo, Herod sounds literally like all those bands came back for a reunion tour but all died along the way except the five members of Herod. If Herod had more camp, like with flying flaming hawks, then this record might be easier to swallow.
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins First impressions of Jenny Lewis’ solo record were blah-blah, ho-hum, scrambled-eggs-on-white. With expectations soaring to incredible heights given the success and brilliance of Rilo Kiley, one didn’t feel part of Lewis’ stripped-down, slow, southern religious-overtoned collection of solo songs. Yet, like a choice fungus, Rabbit Fur Coat grows and grows on you; just separate yourself from Rilo Kiley songs, particularly Blake Sennett’s guitar work, and let your guard down to welcome the record. With the Watson Twins – Chandra and Leigh – providing gorgeous harmonizing, Lewis teamed up with the usual suspects of the Saddle Creek extended family – Mike Mogis, M.Ward, Mike Bloom, Ben Gibbard, etc., and of course, Conor Oberst – to record the twelve tracks on Rabbit Fur Coat. Even if the southern soulful opening of “Run Devil Run” rubs you the wrong way, Lewis does more than make it up to even loudly-proclaimed atheists thanks to the musically powerful “The Big Guns.” “Rise Up with Fists!” shares commonality with Sennet’s the Elected and soars thanks to the Watsons’ incredible harmonizing. After the slow-paced “Happy,” Lewis offers one of the best songs on Rabbit with the sweet, perfect-tempo “The Charging Sky.” Returning to slower movements “Melt Your Hearts” hints at a Mazzy Starr ambience before “You Are What You Love” pushes the tempo with some lovely melodies. The title-track is a moderate waltz that serves a nice juxtaposition to Lewis’ cover of the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle Me With Care.” Naturally, a cover of a super group’s song requires another super group, which is created with the inclusion of Oberst, Gibbard, and Ward playing the roles. Unfortunately, the final three tracks of Rabbit Fur Coat – “Born Secular,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Happy (Reprise)” – merely seem like an afterthought. You won’t find instant Lewis-in-Rilo satisfaction from Rabbit Fur Coat, but simply allow the record to develop on its own.
Kelley Stoltz As the latest addition to Sub Pop’s penchant for signing indie multi-instrumentalists, Kelley Stoltz’s Below the Branches is a sweet display of rambling, staccato pianos, acoustic folk and pop sensibilities. Stoltz made his way to Sub Pop through a chain of events that started with his 2001 self-released Antique Glow in the San Francisco area. Antique Glow wound up being officially released in Australia the next year, then to the Britain, and then finally back to the U.S. Riding that record and a cover of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Crocodiles for the past few years, Stoltz recently offered The Sun Comes Through EP as a teaser for Below the Branches. Recorded at home with a bit of help from Kevin Ink, Sean Coleman, and Desmond Shea, Stoltz plays most of the bits save for some thickening on a couple of numbers; Coleman along with Shayde Sartin and John Hofer fill out the live act. Since Stoltz records at home with old equipment, the songs have a warm, slightly distant, though never a crap recording, feel. Below the Branches starts out on “Wave Goodbye” on galloping drums, guitars, and pianos while Stoltz’s voice beckons like 60s good times crackles. “Little Lords” drops back to more folk, before Stoltz offers his ode to the Beach Boys on the strong “Ever Thought of Coming Back.” Stoltz adds a bit of mellow acid to “Words,” while “Mystery” sounds like perfect soundtrack music for a detached indie film. Before the uptempo staccato piano comes back on the excellent “Memory Collector,” “Summer’s Easy Feeling” dim scratch makes it seem neither like summer or something easy. “Birdies Singing” echoes the opener “Wave Goodbye” and “The Rabbit Hugged the Hound” parallels classic Beatles form. It probably should’ve been mentioned already that the inflection in Stoltz’s voice is both familiar and refreshing; one could be forgiven for thinking it sounds a bit too much like at least another Sub Pop band. “The Sun Comes Through” is probably the only off-number on Below the Branches, though the closer “No World Like the World” isn’t as strong as it could be. In between those two bookends are the southern folk flair of “Winter Girl” and the pleasant piano rambles of “Prank Calls.” If you’ve taken to much of the multi-instrumentalist Sub Pop material of late, then Below the Branches will be lovely for you.
Ladyfuzz Trashy and punchy garage rock/indie backdrops wrap around the slightly gruff and punchy vocals of Liz Neumayr to give the whirlwind effect to many of the short, but flashy numbers. Liz bends her vocals to produce a mean and slightly aggressive near-screech to touch toes with Queen Adreena and Regina Spektor, in ‘Monster’ and ‘The Man with the Monochrome View’. At other times, she has a polished and crisp Ladytron and Client range to make you groove, such as ‘Bouncy Ball’. Quite often it is a The Broken Social Scene backing range helping the elastic voiced provocateur roam free. The self-pitying lyrics are pinned into your mind in ‘Staple Gun’; “I make pretend, I’m so strong and I know where I’m going wrong, but maybe if I pretend real long and if I tell everyone that I’m so strong. And they believe me; I put my heart back together with a staple gun.” Soulful male “aahhhuuumming”, provides a sweet paradox for the woe wrecked main vocals. This New Cross formed, but Berlin famed three pack delivers to you their brand of electro/fuzz funk, with brazen cooing and provocative raunchiness of the Karen-O ilk in ‘Oh Marie!’. The stammering ‘Immer Diese Liebe’ grabs the thrusting chorus of Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Darts Of Pleasure’ and cruises off from it with salaciousness. Ladyfuzz’s cosmopolitan sound offers up a tempting platter for those who like to give life a shake up every now and then. (-DA)
Lewis Black The number one problem with Lewis Black’s double-disc release The Carnegie Hall Performance is that it doesn’t come with a DVD. WTF? This is likely due to licensing issues since this release is a recording from his TV special. But Black’s performance is very much about his facial expressions and motions, and just audio doesn’t capture it well. If you saw the TV special and your memory works, then you won’t have too many problems. The first disc takes awhile to get going as Black is just warming up and introducing himself and others to the fact that he’s playing Carnegie Hall. Black first gets into Yom Kippur and then moves on to his oft-heard routine on Halloween and candy corn. This includes telling adults not to wear costumes on Halloween because they can wear it anytime and that all the candy corn in the world was made in 1914 and is worst candy ever. Recorded on September 24, 2005, Black moves next to Katrina and lambastes the government and Bush over it. Clearly, the second disc is superior as he starts off with “headlines are punchlines” beginning in reference to Michael Jackson. Black also gets into the absurd baby-naming practices that are both real and somewhat urban legend; such as the names shithead, asshole, and abcde that are pronounced totally different. Another highlight on the second disc includes how if we stop gay marriage then everything else will be fine, which is connected with the track “Rick Santorum: Idiot.” The best line about Santorum is ‘Rich Santorum, who eventually should be electro-shocked for his own good…” This is followed by Black’s great lengthy story about performing for the congressional correspondents’ dinner, all the twists, turns, censoring,…, then moves onto Terry Schiavo and Congress’ absurd actions. Black ends the night with how the best president is a dead president, since people always love dead presidents more than when they were alive and that it would scare the terrorists because they’d think we’re nuts. Again, if this release had a DVD the whole affair would be so much better.
Lokyata Imagine if you will, an angry group of young men from Florida playing extreme death metal with the flair of a hardcore outfit. Imaging such a picture isn’t difficult given the state of Florida’s odd gift of producing the highest metal bands per capita of anywhere in the U.S. Only recently did Jacksonville’s Lokyata sign with Valdosta, GA’s Indianola Records and the end product is this strong six-song EP. Lokyata go the way of Converge but with less schizophrenia and more mainstream metal on such choice cuts as the opener “You Can’t Say Much With A Gun In Your Mouth,” “What You Have Given Me,” and the guitar screeching of “Wretched Inside.” As a teaser beatdown of an EP, Purified By Anger will hopefully merely set the stage for a tighter, thicker, and meaner full-length in the near future from Lokyata.
Mono Like their previous records and most recently Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky…there is only way to truly listen to a Mono record: with headphones on and really loud. Otherwise, you’ll completely miss out on the haunting genius and explosive movements that lie underneath an often subtle veil. Again recorded by Steve Albini in Chicago, You Are There slides six songs of ominous, floating cinema that is virtually impossible to give due justice describing in words. Just try describing a band like Mono to an average person you meet on the street – you can’t do it, you’ll get frustrated because they can’t understand, you throw up your arms, walk away, come back and say something like ‘take the structure of classical music and set it to spacey guitar instrumentals’ or whatever…still won’t help. Even if you can’t describe Mono, you can still enjoy such choice numbers as the thirteen-minute opener “The Flames Beyond the Cold Mountain” all the way to the gorgeous closer “Moonlight.” Again, before you utilize Mono’s relaxing background music powers, you must expose yourself and concentrate to all of You Are There. Further, Japan is not in the US, so if Mono is coming through your town you have to check them out.
Morrissey The modern day Philip Larkin of Manchester wastes no time on using a chugging accompaniment and his yearning vocals to convey searching darkness, by way of opener ‘I Will See You In Far Off Places’. His appetite for self destructive lyrics is as voracious as ever, yet the way he manages to change the tone to fit in with the variety of accompaniments on this album, makes his work eerily compelling. This diversity is aptly illustrated by the slow and mournful nature of ‘Dear God, Please Help Me’, and the buoyant backing provided in previous single ‘You Have Killed Me’. Morrissey has recently revealed that he turned down a lucrative deal to reform the Smiths for an American show. He answers the inevitable question as to why? By producing the same downtrodden music with an uplifting vocal kick and continues to scatter bleakness around, as though it were confetti. Something that ‘The Youngest Was The Most Loved’ spells out with the power of gritty and snappy lyrical punches; “There is no such thing as normal.” As he did with the Smiths, Morrissey continues to surround himself with a bevy of broadly talented musicians, who know just how to build the foundations for his slightly outrageous, yet heartfelt song-writing skills. With help from instrumental storm effects and thundering percussion in ‘Life Is A Pigsty’, the working class Salford boy takes the listener on a 7 minute plus journey through life’s downpour and you get the impression that he is enjoying the stroll. Like it or not? (Maybe he’d prefer the latter?) This love or hate character is not going to fizzle out in a shower of nostalgia, just yet. (-DA)
People in Planes The coolest thing about People in Planes is that Joaquin Phoenix has championed the band by directing a couple of videos for them. The most uncool thing is that People in Planes are on Wind-up. Yet, don’t worry as People don’t sound anything like Wind-up’s current roster of radio-friendly heavy rock. Coming from the cloudy skies of Cardiff, Wales, this five-piece’s debut full-length is chock-full of lengthy melody and harmony-driven rock. While this underlies all twelve songs, As Far As… is a very eclectic record. This is no better illustrated than just listening to the first three songs – “Barracuda,” “For Miles Around (Scratch to Void),” “If You Talk To Much (My Head Will Explode).” “Barracuda” is heavy riff rock that conjures up images of classic southern rock accompanied by such (un)choice lines of “Don’t play scuba with a barracuda” – clearly good advice. You then move to the Police-esque verses of “For Miles Around (Scratch To Void)” and the appealing chorus. This is followed by the high-pitched vocal opening of “If You Talk…” (which is actually the end of “For Miles Around…”) that transitions into generic Brit radio rock. This sound shifting occurs throughout the rest of As Far As…the RHCP-like “Moth,” the annoying pop vocals of “Taken Trapped Woman,” the detached “Falling By the Wayside,” etc. Basically if you like contemporary pop rock, then give the scattered As Far As the Eye Can See… to see if you movements move you.
Pistolita Fronted by Conor Meads (piano, vocals), Pistolita play pop-infused indie punk that often is grand and sometimes is crap. Meads is joined by friends Cory Stier (drums), Justin Shannon (guitar), and Alex Kushe (bass) on the band’s voyage through their debut and Montalban Hotel’s first release. Clearly, the defining angle of Pistolita is Meads’ vocals and wise mixing of piano within appealing songs. Unlike what the one-sheet says Pistolita doesn’t sound anything like Cursive (its words: “inevitable comparisons to Cursive”), but they do indeed sound like a poppier Get Up Kids. So, the grand and crap thing? There are songs such as the brilliant “Big Shot,” as well as “Cupid,” “Killjoy” and “Age,” that make you want to become best friends with Pistolita. Seriously, “Big Shot” is a legit radio hit. Then Pistolita make a fatal error with “Paper Cut.” “Paper Cut” is nearly a line-by-line rendition of a Weezer Blue Album song – same progressions, keys, vocal cadence, etc…just waiting for the lawsuits to begin. Otherwise, Oliver Under the Moon is a collection of solid-if-not-enticing songs. With some more time, Pistolita have the potential to offer a really great record.
Sondre Lerche & the Faces Down Quartet It is amazing that Sondre Lerche doesn’t get as much love in the press and music world in general as he rightly deserves. Everything Lerche touches is gold and how can you quibble with one of the coolest crooners going. After his debut Faces Down (2002) and the gorgeous Two Way Monologue (2004), Lerche decide to have some fun before settling down to record his third rock record. The outcome is the jazz-infused lounge pop Duper Sessions – one of the sweetest records of the year. The Faces Down Quartet is simply Lerche’s usual backing band, Kato Adland (guitar), Morten Skage (bassist), and drummer (Ole Ludvig Kruger), and pianist Erik Halvorsen. Duper is the name of the studio in Bergen, Norway, where the group recorded this fourteen-track tour de force. Naturally, Duper Sessions would be nothing without Lerche’s brilliant vocals or without the Faces Down sweet backing. Keeping most of the songs in the three-minute range and recording live over only a few days, Duger Sessions makes you feel instantly 1950s jazz hip. Save for a couple of rockers (e.g., the excellent “The Curse of Being in Love”), Lerche could easily be the new Sinatra if he so desired; though he maintains this is just a one-off detour…for now. Duper Sessions includes three covers: a dazzling version of Elvis Costello’s “Human Hands” (on the non-North American version this is replaced by Gordon and Warren’s “The More I See You”), Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” where they scruff up the sound, and oddly a complete lounge version of Prefab Sprout’s “Nightingales.” Without that piece of information or a unique knowledge of Prefab Sprout there is no way you’d recognize it. While all the tracks on Duper Sessions offer special moments look out for the stellar opener “Everyone’s Rooting For You,” the slow, wordy “Minor Detail,” the vocal pulling on “Once In Awhile,” and the strings-drenched “I Wanna Call It Love.” Even though Duper Sessions is a one-off affair, it is pure Lerche and only whets your appetite for his next ‘proper’ album. The only thing is…will it be as spectacular?
Storsveit Nix Noltes There are several things about this record that would seem to work at cross-purposes, or at least baffle the baffled, but the actual outcome is quite refreshing. Strosveit Nix Noltes are an Icelandic music collective – varying between 9 and 12 members depending on the season – who play danceable Bulgarian folk music. The story goes that the members met in a Bulgarian folk music class and shit just went down. I never consciously heard Bulgarian folk music so Storsveit could just as be playing Icelandic or Ukrainian or Finnish or whatever folk music and I (and probably you as well) would have no idea. And it is likely that Storsveit have bastardized the sound with Icelandic thoughts and contemporary flair. What is clear though is that the eleven songs that make up this Bubble Core release are a fun time. Some songs are melancholy (e.g, “Griska Lagid”), but on the whole you could see yourself getting silly to Orkideur Hawai. Tracks of note include ““Svatbarska Rachemitsa,” “Daichovo,” “Gankini Hore,” “Buchimis II,” and the familiar finale “Odessa Bulgarish.” Storsveit Nix Noltes have teamed up with similar-eclectic-minded Animal Collective for some recent tours and hopefully some more.
The Accident That Led Me To the World In the right environment and atmosphere, The Accident’s quirky folk, soft string instruments would make you feel right at home. Such a locale would most likely be in old whaling towns along the New England shore – not that The Accident are putting music to Moby Dick but that is the general idea. Not as eclectic as the material on North East Indie, The Accident (Mark Mandeville, Raianne Richards, Zach Ciras) aren’t that far away either; most of the twelve songs on the record have structure, direction, and vocals, unlike other groups in this sound. What’s surprising is that the longest song is only three-minutes long, though you’d expect long-winded, intertwined affairs that highlight movements and crescendos. It is possible that live they take the shorter songs and string them together to create such an effect. The Accident have a solid base and with enough conditioning and imaging they could easily be a future indie favorite.
The Ruse Based in LA, this four-piece play contemporary mainstream melodic rock across the ten songs on their second full-length Light In Motion. Light In Motion is surprisingly well-constructed and recorded for a band lacking (major) label support. Yet, The Ruse’s grab and pull is their similarity to U2. With mid-tempo, smartly placed instruments, distant guitars, and a familiar feel, many of the songs are appealing. At the same time, you often get the impression that The Ruse are just stealing U2’s playbook at least for their better songs. Tracks of note include the opening three “Everything Comes With A Price,” “Swallow You,” and “All I’ve Done,” as well as “Light You Up.” It is not a stretch to see The Ruse getting some mileage from fans with melodic radio rock tastes.
We Are Scientists With the wave of British music press hype and dancey pop rock anthems, you can easily be forgiven for believing that We Are Scientists are British; hell, even Harry Potter said in a recent interview they were his favorite band. Yet, the three-piece of Keith Murray (guitar, lead vocals), Chris Cain (bass), and Michael Tapper (drums), actually call NY home and add fervor to sometimes dreary NY days. Working, playing, and recording for the past five years or so, With Love and Squalor is We Are Scientists big, major full-length release; the record to officially welcome the band to the world. There is little question that We Are Scientists are instantly pop appealing while maintaining high integrity rock. Bits of new wave vocal inflection ramble in from time-to-time, but you wouldn’t really link them the new wave revisionists (e.g., “Textbook” and “It’s a Hit”). With that in mind, the twelve songs on With Love and Squalor are nearly a string of fun singles. Songs that you’ve surely heard already and are down with include the opener “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” “This Scene Is Dead,” “The Great Escape,” and the excellent closing of “Lousy Reputation.” These boys should be getting you to move for some time to come.
We Are the Fury We Are the Fury are able to separate themselves from the undulating wave of similar-minded contemporary melodic punk bands with a kick and speed in no small part thanks to lead singer Jeremy Lublin. Coming from the unfortunately dismal Toledo, OH, WATF power through five songs jammed with punk foundations, pop sensibilities, and a bit of glam. In turning the band towards to the memorable, Lublin is joined by Todd Wehrle’s timely synths; not to discount the efforts of Chris Hatfield (guitar), Alan Hoffar (bass), and Stephan Lublin (drums). All five songs are worth your time, but highlights come from the solid through-and-through opener “Better Off This Way,” the excellent chorus on “Nation, Forgive Us,” and the slower mover, piano-filled “Parody At the Masquerade.”
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