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May Reviews Artist of the Month: The Locust Though not as epically epic as you would hope or that the Locust could produce, the eleven-track latest New Erections finds new moments of glee within the buzzing, fluttering noise to continue your addiction of spiked Locust noise. As with all Locust material, these songs are best experienced live – so strap up your boots and head to your nearest show to be dazzled and let the band convince you whether this set fights along side their others. Following through with their previous two releases, the full-length Plague Soundscapes (Anti-) and the Safety Second, Body Last EP (Ipecac), the Locust try to reinvent the spazz-core sound they helped define in the San Diego scene. The ploy on New Erections is actually a slowed down, more directed attack. The spazz has disassembled to a sputter, but the results are even more enticing. Instead of just throwing random walls of shit at your head, the Locust have more of a design to their bullet stop-starts, electronic swarming, and screaming movements. At a short, taut twenty-three minutes, New Erections begins on the worst song amongst the eleven with “Aotkpta.” After the random blipping stop-starts, the song grinds away with vocals that don’t fit the feel; unless the feel is to sound like crap. Thankfully the slowed vocals are immediately replaced on “We Have Peached…” with classic Locust vocals, stop-starting structures, and down-thrashing guitars. Swarming electronics fly above your head on “The Unwilling…” before the languishing breakdown, while “One Manometer Away…” follows “We Have Peached” but here with an awesome galloping rhythm to the vocals, drums, guitars. As with many of the songs here, “Full Frontal Obscurity” demonstrates the need for a close listen on headphones as the instruments are constantly scanning from left to right and right to left. Through their sound and use of modulating, the Locust have perfected this skill of creating an uncomfortable feeling on something or like someone constantly hovering above you. The disjointed “Scavenger Invader” merely sets up the scream assault of “Hot Tubs Full of….” “God Wants Us All…” has a basic spazz structure, straight-down riffing matched with mechanical vocals, before the Locust spin off into a heavy breakdown. As the longest song on New Erections, the four-and-a-half minute “Book of Bot” sounds unfortunately like it could have been born by many a band; which for the Locust takes terrific effort to achieve. New Erections closes on the balls-out “Slum Service (Served on the Sly)” that uses too much talking, and the rollercoaster riffing “Tower of Mammal.” The songs on New Erections can only be truly digested after a through headphone listen accompanied by a live performance. If the past is any judge, New Erections will add fuel to the band’s inflammatory blazing live show. For any band thinking of having the Locust open, just forget it – they’ll make you like sloppy and amateurish like they did to the Fantomas on their tour several years back. A Vague Sound Decently adept at the dance electronics, Iowa City’s A Vague Sound loses it when vocals are included in the songs. Seriously. On the whole the twelve songs of Jianglai offer some decent beats, electro-riffs and the like, enough love to get a house party moving or a night spot rocking. But when vocals are applied – oy vey – the pain is applied as amateurism flows forth. Such examples include “The Thought Process,” “Say It Again,” and the closer “It Gets Out of Control.” Just stop the vocals – or get a real singer – and Corey Gingerich’s project of A Vague Sound may have a chance.
Abner Trio/Man at Arms This neat little eight song split features the indie rock punk of Indianapolis’ Abner Trio (Joyful Noise Recordings) meeting the squirrelly punk noise of Michigan’s Man at Arms (Friction Records). Abner Trio opens with two indie numbers “The Spotlight” and “The Reckoning” that both present an image of mid-90s college radio indie; that signature amateurish sound that is endearing. With such in place, the trio surprises you with the third track “The Hysteria.” The opening to “The Hysteria” has all the elements of an indie gem with a perfect meeting of guitars and quirky lyrics. The mostly instrumental end of “The Hysteria” kind of bores, but you can just keep skipping to the opening. After “The Victim,” Man at Arms begins with “Who Died and Made You the Voice of Reason?” – an ordinary affair that sets up the following three ordinary songs. However, props do go to the early 80s new wave punk featured on the redundant “Making Conversation.” If nothing else Abner Trio should be your new favorite local indie band.
ActionReaction ActionReaction give you a similar feeling as Straylight Run; in regards to running a parallel vein of accomplished indie punk musicians leaving one band to form another. In this case, Jason Gleason of Further Seems Forever joined Bella and Salvatore of Element 101 to create the melodic post-punk ActionReaction in New Jersey. Rounded out by additional filling musicians, ActionReaction offer eleven solid if not inspiring songs on their debut full-length. And that is both the draw and the problem. Clearly, the band knows what the hell they are doing in presenting these set of songs, but they hardly register a dent in your musical consciousness when you walk away. ActionReaction alter sounds and moods, but there isn’t a signature song that sticks with you – though “March On” comes close. If the band can offer something to get excited about then I’m right there.
Charlotte Hatherley Independence and inner strength are qualities that Charlotte Hatherley has been falling back on admirably, since her recent mutual parting of ways from her former group, Ash. Many felt that her raw indie, melody grinding first album ‘Grey Will Fade’, suffered for leading lady’s involvement in another time and energy consuming group. The soft soul, with a rumbling jungle percussion element concealed in ‘Be Thankful’ shows up the Tori Amos in Charlotte and could become her signature tune, as catchy sincerity oozes out. Pop spirit jumps up from the driving drum beat led ‘I Want You To Know’. Charlotte allows her spirit to ride free in the form of coated pop vocals with a Shania Twain kick, cushioned by stern and sweet backing. Already the album gives the impression that this sincere performer has been well and truly let of the leash, her sound is certainly benefiting for this. A wistful tone takes over in the reflective and sombre ‘Again’, to become the regretful ballad of the album. Every album has to have one, doesn’t it? In the other end of the spectrum to Charlotte’s renewed vigour that comes out in sprightly layered pop songs, a bluesy funk edge grinds out of ‘Behave’ and a Bjork element seeps into the vocal toe. The blues vocal vein continues into the nostalgic and regretful ‘Love’s Young Dream’. This features lamenting lyrics that must have given this songstress the required bite and frustration, to pull off this biting and mournful lash out at the cynical impact of the passing of time; “Do you remember (love’s young dream) back when you were really in love? Do you remember (loves young dream) back when you were really in love?” The spirit of the Beatles trickles out through the peaceful and charming ‘Roll Over (let it go)’, showing a tenderness that would make Ash fans Burn, Baby Burn. Calming, ambient backing strokes Charlotte’s, almost Joni Mitchell range to facilitate the soul bearing touch. ‘Dawn Trader’ is toed along by a chilling keyboard climb to embolden the impact of the sorrowful, poetic lyrics that are delivered with a slow pleading touch. It is evident that a great deal of thought has gone into this searching solo effort. This could see Charlotte rival the past achievements of Imogen Heap in the DIY indie/femme stakes. (- David Adair)
Depeche Mode This repackaging of 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion is part of the band’s and labels’ all-out assault to etch Depeche Mode’s legacy in stone and, well, plastic. The ten-track Songs of Faith and Devotion was the band’s follow-up to the uber-popular and successful Violater. The chances of matching the sensation of Violater was slim and the band moved into a darker, more rock sound. This is immediately clear as you launch off on “I Feel You” and move through “Condemnation,” “Walking in My Shoes,” “Rush,” and the notable “One Caress.” This release also packages those songs on a DVD in amped-up 5.1 and Stereo sound, with bonus remixes, and provides a half-hour bit on the band from 1991 to 1994. As the liner notes from Daniel Miller and much of the DVD bit discusses Songs of Faith and Devotion kicked the band’s ass. For the gentle casual observer, the recently released Best of Depeche Mode may serve you better. For fans of Depeche Mode, this collector’s edition is like crack.
Elton John
Electric Soft Parade What does the term indie mean, nowadays? It is a question that many bands who are often put under this umbrella, struggle to answer in interviews. Two Brighton musos answer the question in actions, not words. Tom and Alex White, whose multi-instrumental interplay and vocal labouring forms the fulcrum of Electric Soft Parade, have always done it their own way. Lately, they have provided the fire and thrust to the quirky, blitz rock engine of Brakes (Eammon Hamilton from British Sea Power’s new band), giving a hint as to why it might have taken four years for this third album to hit the public domain. Whatever they have done in the past, they have always used music as a form of discovery, expression and a show of their independence. The hollow, piano led Duke Special foraging in the musical undergrowth with Badly Drawn Boy pitch and sound of the title track, represents a more searching and subtle mood building step for Electric Soft Parade. A spacey tone follows and contrasts with this for ‘Life In The Backseat’, changing the vibe and pace with devilish skill and judgement. There is a certain brooding nature that seeps through the back catalogue and spills over into this foray. It comes out with impunity in the dawdling ballad ‘Secrets’. Featuring lyrical snippets that would be well placed next to Murphy’s Law in the Oxford English Book of Quotations; “Keep your feelings well hid they will only get trodden on.” The wandering blues approach of ‘Come Back Inside’, builds in pleading vocals against a backdrop of subtle choral backing and pinging bass-lines to emphasise the points made about emotions and spontaneity. This album projects a variety of feelings, moods, styles and rhythms, rather than the groove maintenance approach that has been prevalent on the past two albums. If it takes four more years for Tom and Alex to produce another offering of musical depth, strength, empiricism and broad range like this, then I don’t think too many true indie connoisseurs will be complaining. (- DA)
Forward, Russia It’s potentially needless to say that Forward, Russia will dazzle your ears in a space that you least expect. Out of Leeds, UK and featuring former members of Black Helicopters, Forward, Russia merge stripped down rock with punk and dance, all within an uptempo shell. With influences ranging far and wide, not the least of which a more beat, fast Joy Division, the four-piece has the ability to fit with innumerable bands in shows, and thus will experience rapid appreciation. On the back of a series of high-profile single releases, the eleven-track Give Me a Wall immediately begins to entertain on the opener “Thirteen” and consistently surprises with songs like “Twelve” (yes all the song titles are numbers, a practice that the band has now retired), “Fifteen pt. I,” the mellower 80s modern rock of “Nineteen,” and “Fifteen pt. II.” This is one of the few times in the recent past that one of the highly hyped UK bands actually lives to and surpasses their reputation.
Goldenboy With little in common with the other Golden Boy – Oscar De La Hoya – Goldenboy’s Underneath the Radio is quietly miraculous in its indie pop lushness. When you throw on the record and “Ice Breaker Blues” warms up, you aren’t expecting magic to appear with such vigor as the drums and guitars kick in. Put just let Underneath the Radio to spin, sit back and relax, and you will quickly become a fan of the cryptic Goldenboy. Spearheaded by Shon Sullivan, filled out, and realized by multi-instrumentalist Bryan Bos, along with a set of co-conspirators, Goldenboy meanders down singer-songwriter paths that are highlighted by Belle and Sebastian-type pop. Those that sweetly attain magical outcomes include the aforementioned, the terrific “Summer of the Evening,” the Elliot Smith walking (who Sullivan toured with) “I’m Still Down” and “Blackbird at Heart,” and the strong “Goodbye Erica.” Goldenboy gives you something to look forward to from sun shiny days.
I Am Ghost With their dark-rock, vampiric operatic hardcore punk first established on 2005’s We Are Always Searching EP, and refined and tightened with numerous tours including the Warped Tour, Long Beach’s I Am Ghost are here with their first full-length, Lover’s Requiem. While very few bands coin their own genre for their sound, most preferring to perform vague handwaving that they’re not any genre, I Am Ghost calls their sound Epicore – consisting of over-the-top guitars and vocals; indeed like My Chemical’s bombastic Parade. Utilizing a thematic, storyline to the thirteen songs feature intertwining vocals with uber-tight guitar parts; truly reflecting an operatic AFI, if that’s possible given recent AFI endeavors. Those enamored to dark-rock’s glam side will absolutely eat up Lovers’ Requiem.
Jesse Malin “If you can… walk with Kings, Nor lose the common touch. Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!” I doubt that Kipling would have objected to this being used for someone who has opened for Kiss (in his previous outfit, D-Generation), collaborated with Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams and has hung out with Green Day’s Billy Joe Davis for an MTV documentary type show. Add to this the fact that Jesse Malin’s third album stoically clings to his life bearing, slightly worn and intoxicated vocals with winding guitars, to tackle seedy life subjects and the general theme of being down and out. Jesse is not only a man, but it could be argued that he is the man. ‘In The Modern World’, the instrumental ties are bound together by trundling bass lines, facilitating the impact of the customary lyrical bite, making Pete Doherty seem like a Jackanory story-teller; “It’s so avante garde, with your platinum card, but you won’t return to sender, a little gender bender. Come on fuck forever, in the modern world.” For ‘Broken Radio’, a piano led rambling pop blues offering, it is obvious that you have to drag Bruce Springsteen off Thunder Road to provide the complimenting, gritty singing streak. He and Jesse tie a vocal knot and hover over the slow, winding instrumentals to deliver a sorrowful tale of everyday love, loss and desperation. The album mixes wild rock guitar streaks with rusty, slightly country vocals which possess an extra snap and trundling percussion that builds in tempo and thrust, as the songs progress. This is Jesse’s blueprint that he uses to bear out harrowing themes such as dejection, loneliness, bemusement and general life reflection. It is a formula that he has used so well and there is no demand for him to change, especially upon hearing the garage rocking ‘Prisoners Of Paradise’. The laidback strolling ode of ‘Lucinda’, shows up the tenderness in Malin that bustles through the weariness in the vocals, giving a sprightly kick and builds upon the impact created by the swish, Americana backing element. An eerie piano intro forces the vocals to take on a slow pleading touch for ‘Bastards Of Young’. This Paul Westerberg cover, neatly draws out the pensive nature of this colourful New Yorker. A forceful, acoustic drilled finale ‘Aftermath’ (featuring Ryan Adams on backing vocals), poignantly features some true, Philip Larkin styled everyday summarising. Malin has a range and a style that does age or tire. (- DA)
Lavender Diamond A celebration of female longing and lushness is served up on a slow bold percussion and string tied platter for the A-side. That allows Rebecca Stark to take the lead, with her Feist, Bjork and Tori Amos conjoining range. To cushion the emotive openness, Abigail Chapin adds a choral backing to raise the mood to uplifting, yet reflective. A light and expansive accompaniment allows this Los Angeles quartet to open out like a guilt wrenched criminal in a confessional booth. The acoustic guitar and Colin Meloy take over for ‘Oh No’, providing a basic folk foray that celebrates simplicity and honesty. For all the celebration of Abba’s swooning and colourful pop music that even once gave the Eurovision Song Contest some credibility. They had a dark, soulful and brooding underbelly that bulged out in ‘Chiquitita’. All these elements are drawn out with pride, in an honest and mood appreciating rendition of that oft overlooked gem. Lavender Diamond is on a mission to preach and educate the masses about the roots of pop and folk music. You can’t help but listen and even dance when they do. (- DA)
Los Abandoned Though Los Abandoned is completely derivative, it is hard to turn away from their pop punk excitement. Neatly, this Los Angeles’ quartet play on their bilingual heritage mixing English and Spanish, but it should be only a point in passing and not entirely consist of their draw (which the one sheet makes it seem). If the music sucked, you could sing in a hundred languages and no one would give a shit. The upside for Los Abandoned is that the music doesn’t suck. Los Abandoned mix 80s new wave rock with pop punk in a way to capitalize on the catchy, sugary vocals of Pilar Diaz; a voice that nears the 80s band the Waitresses. Highlights to lap up include the opener “Stalk U,” “Van Nuys (Es Very Nice),” “A La Mode,” and the harmonies on “Heavy.” These hooks will catch your jaw, but probably the coolest moment comes on “Office Xmas Party” where Diaz parallels 50s female pop vocals to accompany ukuleles. Los Abandoned are a fun time that will get you moving when least want to.
Mayday Parade Does any melodic punk band need six members? Almost never. That’s what you get with Mayday Parade – a Tallahassee, FL band that merged out of the separate outfits Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moments. Though there is likely a lot of redundancy going on between the six members, at the very least their collective minds seems to have created a fairly impressive product. The six songs here are your standard Fearless music, but Mayday Parade has enough of an authentic sound to keep you tuned in. There is some mainstream pop rock crap (e.g., “One Man Drinking Games”), but you get the local indie buzz from songs like the opener “Just Say You’re Not Into It” and “Your Song” (not Elton John). The next task for Mayday Parade is to knock out an interesting full-length and the skies the limit in that case.
Polydream For a small band, Polydream have a tremendously atmospheric pop sound and excellent production on their debut EP. And in that regard, the opener “Catch Me If You Can” is shocking as it slinks in before exploding to a pop rock wet dream. Unfortunately, the next couple of songs can’t capture “Catch Me If You Can’s” parallel Snow Patrol feel, though “Juner” and “Everything Else Comes to Life” aren’t half bad. The final tracks on the EP are a remix of “Catch Me” and the band live in the studio playing “Got a Good Feeling.” Though the band may love this initial proposition, the worst thing that could happen for Polydream is to get signed by a major and then get buried away somewhere as priorities and preferences trend away.
Saosin Saosin are one of the few hardcore punk bands that have enjoyed unprecedented hype and interest while tilling around to release their expansive self-titled full-length on Capitol. First hitting the musical consciousness with the phenomenal Translating the Name EP in 2003, Saosin has had an up-and-down history since then. Among the usual issues, the band has moved members in-and-out all over the place over the past few years; with the biggest challenge finding a new singer when Anthony Green went on to form Circa Survive. Now with Cove Reber handling vocals, the five-piece rips through the twelve songs here with a more polished, more restrained attack of melodic punk and hardcore than early material. Part of the turn in sound is to create separation with their melodic hardcore brethren and, the cynical part, to create more palatable songs for a mainstream audience. This is done mostly through more clean vocals and a near-absurd number of layers of instruments – case in point “Voices” where there is so much going on its mind-bending. While there are a couple of songs to skip on the full-length, there is also no slam-dunk singles; instead the album is thick full of strong songs that work best when buttressed with one another. Already with tremendous sales since its fall release, look for Saosin to be a major player over the next few years.
Shanna Kiel Shanna Kiel chooses an odd way to open her debut full-length with “Prayer to Persephone.” “Prayer to Persephone” is a low-grade, acoustic moody opener that will likely make those interested in a quick listen turn away rapidly. Furthermore, the rest of Orphan are nine hard-hitting grunge pop songs that have little in common with the opener. However, Kiel bookends Orphan using the light “Good Grief;” good grief indeed. In between, Kiel shines when portraying a wild, off-kilter pop pop poppy dirty punk rock as on “Kismet,” “Sharpen the Dull,” and “Lost Our Vows.” The moments drop off when Kiel nears a slow, Hole-esque attack that makes you hit skip. One can imagine Shanna Kiel being killer live with an emphasis on uptempo assaults.
Sondre Lerche Back with his Faces Down trio – guitarist Kato Adland, bassist Morten Skage, and drummer Ole Ludvig Kruger – Sondre Lerche goes back to his glorious pop rock songs after his one off jazz record Duper Sessions. Instead of falling back into Two Way Monologue II, Lerche tries to show all of his influences throughout the eleven-song Phantom Punch. In so doing, Lerche simultaneously dazzles and disappoints on some level. Listeners keen on Lerche’s crooning on top of pop love fests in the past will find new fixes for their addiction, but may be saddened if they’re only looking for the pop love. Songs that hit the pop rock vein include “The Tape,” “Face the Blood,” “She’s Fantastic,” and “Say It All.” Surprisingly, the clearly worst song on Phantom Punch is the title track – just a fuzzed rocker that sounds like filler. With the previously mentioned songs in mind, tracks that highlight Lerche’s phenomenal voice include the jazzy opener “Airport Taxi Reception,” the acoustic “Tragic Humor,” the Brazilian-tinged “John, Let Me Go,” and “After All.” A strong album on its own, Phantom Punch unfortunately doesn’t take Sondre Lerche to the next level that we all dream about.
Stationary Odyssey Like the indie instrumental pioneers of yore and contemporary parallel artists (all encompassing Explosions, Godspeed, Red Sparrows,…), this third record from Stationary Odyssey provides epic battles of instrumentation to soothe your soul or whet your wick depending on the mood. Led by Aaron Tanner and Brett Siler, with a slew of guest musicians, the eight-track Head! Foot! And the Pink Axe! has some inconsistencies but provides enough glee for you to wrap them in a blanket and put them on your shelf of joy. Such exclamation points come from the fabulous opener “Me and You and Gummi Bears” where guitars soar to the heavens; the intermittent Sonic Youth-like riff in the midst of “Nobody Does It Better;” and the spacious “Terror on the Hell Loop.” I for one am simply glad that bands like Stationary Odyssey are still pushing up from the ground and into your ears.
Sparta This El Paso outfit that was formed by ex-At The Drive In cohorts Jim Ward (vox/guitar) and Tony Hajjar (percussion), seem to have crept surreptitiously into third album territory. There is still an abundance freshness about them, with this being their debut for ANTI RECORDS and also the first album with guitarist Keeley Davis. Who shows how easily he has bedded in by controlling the tempo in the gazing, topsy-turvy mood-builder of ‘Untreatable Disease’. Bemusement is repressed in the winding instrumental propulsion found in ‘Crawl’, but the lyrics and the lingering, heart-wrenching vocals of Ward captures philosophical bewilderment and pangs of regret perfectly; “The difference between finding what you love and loving what you’ve found, is killing us right now.” Screamo territory is almost reached with help from a pulsating percussion fest from Hajar, to race alongside the vocal angst in ‘Taking Back Control’. It serves the dual purpose of being a biting anti-war cry for those who have no voice and, a release of personal indignation towards the powers that be. There is variety and emotional range aplenty, displayed from the fiery ‘Erase It Again’ through to the slow and eerie, keyboard trickled epic of ‘The Most Vicious Crime’. This shows that Spartathrees have taken a great deal of time and thought to reflect their dynamic and changing feelings. Unlike many modern bands, who are in such a hurry to get something out there that the offering invariably ends up one dimensional in this sense. The thrusting percussion and aching vocals of ‘False Start’ and ’Weather The Storm’ will draw the emo kids into the multi-layered web of musical soul-searching. Atmospheric empiricism is also on show in the later track that seeps in an intriguing noire element, allowing you to sit back and take it all in for a brief moment. The grunge spiked ‘Weather The Storm’ and the searching, Funeral For A Friend touching power-ballad of ‘Without A Sound’, brings Ward’s versatility to the fore. Sparta have produced a thirteen track, topsy-turvy forage into the nether regions of the mind and life, bringing freshness and feeling to the task. (- DA)
Street Dogs On the Street Dogs’ third record, Fading American Dream, the ass-kicking is so awesome that you won’t believe your ears. Cemented as a fearsome five-some spearheaded by Mike McColgan (ex-Dropkick Murphys), Street Dogs offer their best set of northeastern, working class punk, Irish-tinged anthems to date; further one of the best albums of this sound in years. Buttressing a similar musical vein to DM and harder Bouncing Souls, the thirteen songs here contain significant political leanings; specifically with respect to the Iraq War and how it relates to ordinary working class kids. Even if you ignore the content of the words and simply focus on the flow and the music, Fading American Dream will quicken your pulse and push up your pride. Among the songs to rip your head off include the opener “Common People,” the awesome “Not Without a Purpose” (quite possibly the definition of punk anthem), the folksy “There is Power in a Union,” the enhanced “Shards of Life,” the very Souls-like “Hard Luck Kid,” the title-track, and the surprising appealing acoustic “Final Transmission.” If you want a record to restore your faith in punk music, then the Street Dogs’ Fading American Dream is panacea.
Sybarite Xian Hawkins, the head of Sybarite (meaning something notorious or simply the dictionary definition), has spent four years putting the ten-song Cut Out Shape together. Though it was not like Hawkins was languishing in agony over completion or lazily bidding his time – instead Hawkins was working on scores for film and TV. With the assistance of a handful of players, Hawkins leads us through a tightly woven, excellently landscaped soundscape of mostly instrumental songs covered in minimalist electronics, beats, and soaring and falling strings. Those that truly climb include “Dot the Lines” and its slight AM-Gold six-note riff, the superb wall of guitar “Memory of End,” “Kill the Moonshine,” “Runaway (feat. Psapp),” and “Sanctuary.” Let’s hope the Hawkins spends more time with Sybarite instead of just making our favorite films become moments etched in memory.
Tahiti 80 One supposes Tahiti 80 are indie rock’s version of Justin Timberlake’s dance pop revolution. Though one can grant credit to this Parisian group disco-infused love, the fact of the matter is that they’re not going to blow you away and there are other groups that do this sound on a significantly higher level. Those not normally associated with electro-pop sounds may find happiness from Fosbury, particularly being released on the melodic indie punk label TMG, but you really can’t put your arms all the way around the thirteen songs. Possibly Tahiti 80’s live show can add the needed punch to their music, which in that case rock on, Chicago.
Teitur Although Teitur Lassen travels in circles with acts I typically disparage – including JT Tunstall and Aimee Man – Stay Under the Stars is unquestionably a phenomenal record of the upper-order. Headquartered in Denmark and aided by a gaggle of musicians, Teitur waltzes through seven songs of quietly hypnotic songs anchored by his vocals, acoustic guitars, and piano. Fitting the bill of a singer-songwriter, Teitur lies somewhere between Sondre Lerche and Sam Beam; a European cool matched with rustic emotional underpinnings. It’s possible that Teitur manages to hold such a cool line because he has split ways with major Universal and now releases material on his own Arlo and Betty Recordings; and then licenses the record(s) to other labels in other countries (Montreal’s Equator Records for North America). The twelve-song Stay Under the Stars magical sweeps in on the terrific opener “Don’t Want You to Wake Up,” where finger-picking acoustic guitars and piano ride along with probably Teitur’s best usage of his soft, yet powerful vocals. “Louis, Louis” is more uptempo resembling an ordinary pop song, though the repeated title gets stuck in your head. “You Get Me” nears a similar feel to “Don’t Want You to Wake Up,” although you get sneaking suspicion “You Get Me” is destined for more pop-friendly audiences. After the solid “I Run the Carousel” and the average “Thief About to Break In” comes a live cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.” The version here is uber-slowed down and practically unrecognizable save for the chorus. Interestingly, it also serves as the weakest song on Stay Under the Stars; possibly a complement to Teitur. After the short and ho-hum “Night Time Works,” the well-devised “Umbrellas in the Rain” ushers itself in on Teitur vocals, acoustic guitars, and minimal background electronics. Rollicking piano and drunken-like vocals greets you on “Boy, She Can Sing!,” while “Hitchhiker” is a song that may be best conceived as an industrial number and not a heavy-picking acoustic song. Stay Under the Stars closes on “Waiting for Mars” and “All My Mistakes,” with Teitur using speaking vocals on the slow former and with the latter employing two-step piano to close the deal. There is some sliddage on the latter part of Stay Under the Stars, but the front part is enough for you to fall in love with.
The Agency After the kicking punk opener “Walking Disaster,” you come under the impression that the Agency will pull off the underdog out of nowhere punk shock of the year with Turn. But such a dream utterly fails. The Agency has been floating in the ether since the mid-90s when they released 1997’s Rock to the Apocalypse and 1999’s Engines both of which were released on Fiddle Records. At the time and more and more so, the members of the Agency were pulled away by their other projects. Which ones? Well, you probably have heard of at least one of them – Dashboard Confessional. After such a lengthy hiatus, the band comes back for their third full-length, the ten song Turn. The dent in the armor of the Agency comes immediately after “Walking Disaster” ends with the marginal “Found” and progresses through such songs as the Weezer-esque “Picture,” “Chasing,” “Clean Water”…. The Agency drops off when they move away from the rip-roaring melodic indie punk established on “Walking Disaster.” They replace that with a generic pop college band sound that won’t take them far outside of such venues.
The End of the World You’re Making It Come Alive, The End of the World’s debut, excels and convinces on lengthy, mild tempo, instrumental heavy numbers; but when the band seeks out more conventional rock structures they move from solid to ordinary. The problem on You’re Making It’s ten songs is there is too much ordinary and not enough epic instrumental fills. The uber-case-in-point is the phenomenal opener “Crowded Rooms.” The song winds its way around nearly five minutes of moderate drums and heavy down-picking guitars while vocals intermittently add flavor. Towards the end of “Crowded Rooms” you are hoping for more of the same. Instead, The End of the World immediately move to average with “White Sands” which does have a nice crescendo, “Last Cast,”…. Perhaps most unfortunately is when the band pushes with Strokes-meets-Brit rock pop that some may love and others may wish to kill. Unquestionably, The End of the World has the material for magic; it just seems misguided at this point.
The Good Mornings The record art for the Good Mornings self-titled debut has you thinking stoned-out psychedelic rock, instead you are greeted by indie-pop loveliness harnessed by the vocal pathways of Carmen Paradise on the opener “Reflections of the Sky.” Paradise, along with Jason Lantrip, both of Calliope, mess around with a variety of styles of music all placed in an indie framework. Sometimes this works gorgeously as on the opener, the distant “California,” “Daydreams,” and other times it makes the Good Mornings sound amateurish. The Good Mornings seems a good outlet for Paradise and Lantrip to mess around with ideas, but they may want to get a more cohesive plan before pursuing further.
The Mall Forming several years back in the SF-area, The Mall attack their ninety second songs with a voracious assault of screamed vocals, thumping bass, disjointed guitars, and Casio keys. As you can probably guess, their sound is one of art power-violence with nice touches of electronic love. When done right, the Mall will rock you silly; when off, the band still holds down the fort. The songs that get you have common elements of mindburning guitar and bass riffs, well-placed vocals, and reinforcing inclusion of keys – and those that meet such criteria include the phenomenal “Define Migration,” “Grand Canyon,” the relatively short “Friends and Family,” and “Acrid.” The Mall deserve more attention than usually bestowed on the screaming noise-alded sound.
The Vincent Black Shadow Capture all the current, feisty femme pizzazz of The Gossip, The Long Blondes, The 5678s and The Pipettes in a net. Then add a cheeky lyrical nod and wink towards The Verve and you too, could make your own The Vincent Black Shadow song. Hurried vocal projection courtesy of the vixen of all vixens, Cassandra Ford speaks of fear and uncovers a seedy character. However, the catchy nature of it, coupled with funky bass and rattling percussion provides a carefree vibe, for pure parody. Pop, is suddenly getting spicy again. (- DA)
Tia Carrera Who knew that Tia Carrera could shred psychedelic epic rock? Simply named after the Wayne’s World rocker, this Tia Carrera are an Austin, TX trio that relies on marathon instrumental rock where guitars weld enormous power – but power that is displayed at half speed as if on, well, pot and acid. Guitarist Jason Morales just goes off on the three songs here – two of which clock over fourteen minutes – while drummer Erik Conn keeps time while knocking out his own solos and bassist Jamey Simms simply becomes obscured between the two. Uber-blacklight time indeed.
Tom McRae For the wistful and laid-back release of his third album ‘All Maps Welcome’ a few years hence, Tom McRae wooed Tori Amos fans with his string led roaming and completed a sell-out tour of 850ish capacity venues. To be able to do that after three albums is a triumph for many, but still, some critics consider Mr McRae to be an underachiever. This fourth album continues the searching momentum and a bit more vocal animation is instilled through the soaring ‘Bright Lights’. Early on, the signs are there that the undisputable potential could finally be realised. The support act of a few years ago, could soon be headlining the same venues as the aforementioned, mysterious Bude resident. That low-key Steve Earle feel is stroked along by whispering female backing to slow the tempo down for ‘Got A Suitcase, Got Regrets’A hue of blues that has been visible through the three previous full lengths, remerges to produce some earthy grit. This continues into the slow funk build up of ‘Keep Your Picture Clear’, before it turns into a shuddering pop release. The latter offering captures a rugged Johnny Bramwell (I Am Kloot) touch, at times, to bear out life. McRae’s soothing voice and cushioning accompaniments often contrasts with the deep, musing and sometimes beleaguered lyrics, as ‘Lord, How Long?’ aptly demonstrates; “Silent, broken, bruised and cloaked in this desert night, I wait for you. My eyes wide open, I face this moment and picture you by my side. Funny how the things in this world quickly fall away.” There is a lesson here that many modern indie bands should pay attention to. Cutting and self deprecatory lyrics can still be potent, even more so, when the delivery cloaks the fallible feelings, as it makes them more striking and even more believable. Tom McRae, once again reminds us of the spice of variety and the depth of his poetry. (- DA)
V/A This is the accompanying soundtrack to the recently released film version of the play The History Boys. Like most soundtracks there are ups and downs, but here the variance stretches farther than most. The reason is that the songs vary between 80s modern rock and 1930s and 40s songs – to contrast the students and the teachers. As the liner notes mention the 80s songs here were not the original ones used for the play, but are updated for the purposes of hipness. Such hipness comes courtesy of New Order’s “Blue Monday,” The Smiths’ “This Charming Man (New York Vocal),” The Clash’s “Mustapha Dance,” “Never Stop” from Echo & the Bunnymen, “A Forest” from the Cure, and the Pretenders’ “2000 Miles.” If you happen to bump up against a cheap copy of this soundtrack it’s worth it if you don’t currently possess these songs.
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