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November Reviews Artist of the Month: Straylight Run As the debut record from former members of Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run take a complete different direction on the nucleus of their songs and produce rock songs centered around guitar and piano drabbed with scores of pop bliss. With s sufficient degree of exposure, Straylight Run may become your favorite new band. The concept of Straylight Run began in May 2003, when John Nolan and Shaun Cooper decided they wanted a different life than that one proposed with continuing in Taking Back Sunday. This seems like an odd decision given the meteoric rise in popularity of Taking Back Sunday, but the reasons were surely varied. Maybe Nolan didn’t like people referencing him as the ‘skinny head’ guy from Taking Back Sunday – though I may have been the only on to call him such. With the help of Mark O’Connell on drums, Nolan and Cooper laid the foundation for the band and got initial interest started with early demos. After Will Noon, formerly of Breaking Pangaea, took over on drums, the band added John’s sister Michelle to play piano and provide background vocals. With tours with the New Amsterdams and Brand New, Straylight Run took to the backcountry of producer Mike Birnbaum’s Woodstock, NY studio – most recently noted for his work with Coheed and Cambria. And the end product is these eleven orchestral tracks. The record begins on “The Perfect Ending” with Nolan crooning, light piano and some slight ambient electronics. As the song builds and drops throughout, Straylight Run presents an image of hope and potential that is fairly developed and dense. “The Tension and the Terror” picks the tempo up with a more standard indie rock pop song. On the first pre-chorus when Nolan is joined by Nolan, you definitely get the feeling of bands like the Anniversary and Helicopter Helicopter. But the core chorus is the money shot, which easily distinguishes “The Tension and the Terror” as the star, rip-roaring track on the record. That the following mellower piano-driven “Existentialism on Prom Night” is out as the first single surely baffles given the inherent hotness of “The Tension and the Terror.” “Existentialism on Prom Night” does dazzle with piano and apparent strings, it is just the former is etched at a higher level. “Another World for Desperate” sounds very similar to something well-known, but I can’t put my finger on it. I guess that is a good thing, since it sounds at once familiar as well as new and may be neither. If you hadn’t already, by this point you realize that Straylight Run love drawn-out four-to-five minute affairs that are thick on orchestration – at least from the perspective of most indie rock bands. “Mistakes We Knew We Were Making” comes off like a song that you would here on the radio though with a bit more edge, while “Dignity and Money” could easily be just a new slowed down TBS song. But in that respect, “Dignity and Money” has the potential to rock out reasonably hard. The ballad “Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)” resonates for me as Nolan gives instructions to his house on Long Island. Given that I lived a few blocks from the same highway, it might as well be to my house. Besides from that, when Michelle joins John in the singing, “Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)” is truly a sweet affair. As a smart measure of sequencing, the punky-dance number “Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs” follows with Michelle on lead vocals and the right combo of electronics. Basically, with Michelle on lead vocals Straylight Run becomes another band and a quite good one for at that. Slight electronic drums adds to otherwise piano-led “It’s For the Best.” The record closes out on “Now It’s Done” and “Sympathy for the Martyr.” On “Now It’s Done,” Michelle’s vocals rise up the ashes of Denali but with the sweetness that comes from other groups like Azure Ray. “Sympathy for the Martyr” features John and Michelle signing together which produces a nice effect that carries off well as the last impression. As the debut record, Straylight Run has easily hit a homerun. This bodes especially well for the future as it didn’t take the band long to knock out this record after Nolan and Cooper left Taking Back Sunday. This means they will likely improve and score an awe-inspiring follow up record. But for now, look out for their video for “Existentialism on Prom Night” and their tour with lesser mortals Hot Rod Circuit, Northstar and Say Anything. Moreover, be on the prowl for “The Tension and the Terror” rocking out as the next single.
AM I should probably give this release more love since it was released by a record label on Long Island; something that is becoming more common but still isn’t where it should be. AM consists of three Brooklynites who focus their attention of punk driven pop with certainly their own spin on the sound. That is, the eight songs aren’t all pop harmonies of joy nor is it spastic garage rock, but lives somewhere inbetween. The quasi-full length, given it is eight songs at twenty minutes, starts in sweet fashion on “Life For Sale.” “Life For Sale” is led by Scott Cleveland’s bass, simple drum beats from Jarrod Ruby and on-edge vocals and perfectly suited guitar work from James Jones. If the other seven songs displayed this sort of dancey quirkiness then AM may the next hot thing. But for the most part AM do not. “Monster Heart” and “Bloodshot” are worth checking out, but the other tracks don’t live up to the opener.
Amplified Heat Amplified Heat come across like a great idea, but not very well executed. The three-piece from Austin, Texas consists of the Ortiz brothers and their own brand of dirty, heavy rock blues. The guys have been toiling around for awhile, including their previous band Blues Condition. As they tell it, the audiences for Blues Condition were problematic as many expected pure blues and what they got was more like a drunken filthy blues party. To clarify matters and give themselves a new start, they renamed their endeavor Amplified Heat. It is not as if these ten tracks are bad or anything, it is simply that they too closely follow well-trodden themes and lines. Most of the tracks feature heavily distorted riffs and occasional solos, all placed at some degree of breakneck speed. For what it is, I guess this is what you would expect from such a band from Texas. Amplified Heat seems best experienced live and drunk.
Anger Regiment Being recorded at Atomic Recording Company in Brooklyn with Dean Baltulonis, it is not terribly surprising that “Aces and Eights” has both a classic New York style hardcore sound and is a good album. The fact that it only has 8 tracks is the worst thing about Anger Regiment’s “Aces and Eights.” In general, the CD is well produced with the right balance between vocal, guitars, and drumming and Anger Regiment does a better than average job of highlighting their bass which helps the CD move at a solid pace. However, you might find your self waiting for them to take their music to the next level of intensity. Anger Regiment flirts with intensity in almost all their songs (especially “No Second chance” and “Bullshit Activist”), but they seem to breakdown before they get going. If they were less retrained some of these songs could have been extremely good. The best tracks on the album are “Intro,” “Aces & Eights” and “No Second Chance.” Overall, this is a good album to get warmed up with before moving on to something with a little more fire. I look forward to hearing more from these guys as I suspect they can only get better.
Bars Formed in 2002 by members of such Boston-centered bands as the Hope Conspiracy, Give Up the Ghost, Suicide File and Ten Yard Fight, Bars come with a hardcore songwriting foundation but play up the dirty punk and straight up rock angles. I don’t think any new band is allowed to form in Boston without a member of GUTG; like it is decreed or something by the mayor. Since the band’s other groups generally have the same flavor, Bars takes that basic old school hardcore structure, slows it down and adds more context and flavor. They differentiated themselves through Kevin Baker awesome vocals that walk the line between screaming and tough-guy punk, as well as the guitar work from Tim Cossar and Adam Wentworth. While Bars still knock out what some may hear as parallel with their past work (e.g., “The Frequencies are Fucked” and “I Was Asleep By Now”), they are at their best when adding punk and rock flair. For instance, “Up To My Neck” is clearly the standout track with a healthy dose of bluesy off-soloing and dirty harmonies and a catchy chorus. Other tracks of rock distinction include “Bright Lights For Demise,” “Like It Never Was” and “Toecutter.” If you get the chance to see Bars take advantage of it, given these guys’ busy schedules in other bands.
Before Today Coming out of San Diego, CA, this fresh four-piece live somewhere in the inner space between metallic hardcore and SoCal punk, but never let the sound become generic or oddly segmented. Though the band, which was previously titled Early Times, was christened in 1998, this is their debut full-length and first release with EVR. One of the things that separates Before Today from other bands is that there is a sense of fun on the ten tracks; more like, the band is actually having fun playing and reaching out in various musical directions. Though I can see people giving them a hard time for a randomly placed screamer, the whole package let’s you look past this misstep. The other thing is that double guitar work of Victor Fuentes and Joe Tancil dance between bits of technical metal as well as high chord Fat Wreck stuff. I wouldn’t place them with any technical hardcore bands, but at the same time I’ve heard a bunch of bands fail at this type of merger. And Before Today succeed in impressive fashion. The band is heading out in support of this record’s September release and I look forward to catching them at some point. If their live show can produce excitement then Before Today has a bright future.
Big Thicket This is the debut record for Big Thicket, which consists solely of Afandi; someone with an apparent odd enough story that it need not be repeated. Though Afandi is a one man party machine on Sexual Breakfast, the twelve tracks sound as they come from a well-grizzled band. Big Thicket live on 70s rock riffs with odes to heavy blues. In that sense, there are some parallel lines in form to early Zeppelin and Sabbath, but only if those bands had done much more weed. Sexual Breakfast begins on “Revelation” with a heavy riff and methodological drumming, as Afandi provides the deliberate vocals. After “Revelation” you have a very good sense of what this record is going to be about and whether you are going to like it or not. “23,000 Feet” follows in similar patterns, but grows tiring as the song repeats itself over and over. With more love towards hippiness, “A Rock Called Love” follows and “Nic-Contain-Me” needs to be surely passed over. “Come On, Please” could also be skipped, while “Big Bad Wolf” has a light solo that mimics the vocal cadence. “Big Storm Coming” is fairly hot as a more straight forward rock number, but Afandi drops the ball on “Help Wanted.” The title track is way too slow and “The Other Side” does little to correct this. The final two number “Road to Nowhere” and “Rubber Neck” are both about par for the course with the latter the better of the two. Big Thicket definitely has an element of rock sexiness that could actually be well scored in certain types of pornos.
Bullets and Octane As the debut release from this Orange County, CA five-piece, Bullets and Octane seek to add a little more filth and grime to the area’s pristine pop-punk image. In doing so, Bullets and Octane wind up somewhere between older AFI and too many bottles of Jack Daniels on the record’s eleven tracks. Probably the most contemporary punk sound coming from the band is the heavy use of muting to carry the song. Otherwise, the songs are generally at breakneck speed, fueled by reckless abandon. There are songs that rock to a different sound like “Professional Victim” and the god-awful “Places,” though most of the others move at dirty punk speed. For the most part, Bullets and Octane should avoid songs like “Places” and “Hold On” and concentrate on the uptempo, more aggressive punk.
Bury Your Dead This record is exactly what I was looking for. Bury Your Dead do the best Hatebreed since, well, Hatebreed. Coming from the classic Northeastern haunts of hardcore, Bury Your Dead was initially formed in 2001 with members of Hamartia and Groundzero, and soon after signed a deal with Europe’s Alveran Records. After some throwing down around the country and a full-length You Had Me at Hello, the band decided to split ways for awhile. Some members rocked out with Between the Buried and Me and Blood Has Been Shed before the band decided to get back together in 2002. Victory went after them immediately after the 2002 Hellfest and we finally have their Victory debut. The first that strikes you on the opener “Top Gun” is the incredibly heavy guitars and bass by Eric Ellis, Blim B. and Rich Casey, the preponderance of double bass by Mark Castillo and the vocal grinding of Mat Bruso. It is very easy to sound generic and non-impressive with this sort of hoodcore, grinding sound, but Bury Your Dead does an awesome job of differentiation. It is almost like try to define obscenity – you know it when you see it. With this sound, it is like you know you when you are hearing quality, good shit. It is certainly that way with Hatebreed, but I’ve heard tons of knock-offs that sound paltry in comparison. Most of the twelve songs cover two to three minutes and feature the brutal attack that you find on “Top Gun.” Though I’m sure there is much more meaning to what I’m willing to think about, all the songs are named after Tom Cruise movies. So, the titles range from “Risky Business” to “Magnolia” to “Vanilla Sky” to “All the Right Moves.” The standard Bury Your Dead consists of basic verse-chorus-verse set up with a mild breakdown at some point where Castillo mashes the double bass. Part of these constructions gives enough throwdown moments to liven up a live audience. To point out one moment on the record, the ending piano of “Eyes Wide Shut” leading to the swirling heavy guitar intro to “Magnolia” absolutely rules. Though Bury Your Dead is touring with like-minded bands (e.g., Scars of Tomorrow, A Perfect Murder, etc.), with the right amount of love they could blow up.
Cartel Usually when you get an EP, there are only a couple of songs and the disc lasts for roughly fifteen minutes – so, generally, it is rip off unless you truly love the band. This EP from Atlanta-based Cartel is what some bands release as a full-length. The Ransom includes seven songs, clocking in at twenty-five minutes to insure full pop-punk bliss. The EP is actually a re-release of the band’s self-released EP with two new tracks “The City Never Sleeps” and “Fiend.” Taking cues from like-minded bands such as Yellowcard, Copeland and Fall Out Boy, Cartel focus on catchy harmonies laced with high strung punk guitar. That Cartel has only been rock for a little over a year, should provide enough reason to slap them for being this good. What the big downside is to Cartel is that it is not entirely clear how they are different from bands like the above mentioned. While you are listening to the songs, you know exactly what direction the next section and harmony is moving to. This is a problem for someone like myself who loves both catchy harmonies and delineation, but probably matters less for, say, teenage girls looking to rock out. Songs like “Luckie St.” and “Hey, Don’t Stop” will likely get Cartel some decent attention, which will be surely enhanced by a video or two. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cartel has a relatively breakthrough year in 2005.
Cast Aside The Struggle is the debut album from Richmond Virginia’s Cast Aside. Cast Aside play a heavier sounding, metal influenced form of straight edge hardcore. While not exceptionally creative The Struggle is a surprisingly tight album for a first album. All components of the band seem well balanced on all 11 tracks of this album. Best of all Big Wet (Wes Vincil) just avoids the dog bark (ala American Nightmare) too often inherent in this style of hardcore. On the downside, like lots of hardcore albums, this album becomes a bit repetitive. The final tracks on the album tend to blur together as they do not stray too far from their core formula in many their songs. Some of their better songs are “Mistake,” “Self Destruct,” and “Honor” are worth checking out.
Champion At first listen some might think Promises Kept is a really good album. The music is creative and powerful enough to listen to for days. It is a good solid anathematic hardcore album. But then you realize that in each song Champion is trying to salvage a relationship, although it’s hard to tell if the relationship is with their girlfriends or each other. All songs’ lyrics are nearly indistinguishable. So I have taken the liberty of pulling one line from each song (in order the songs are found on the album) and writing a song that you can sing along to for each song. That way you don’t have to waste your time learning 12 sets of lyrics. I have also superimposed my impression of who is doing the dialogue found in their lyrics, the band [Champion] or unknown significant other [Girlfriend/Band-mates]. [Champion] We’re not finished yet, that’s right Maybe I am being a little extreme in my observation, but I do not know many albums where you can so easily write a coherent song from all the others. So, unless you can tune-out lyrics or you do not mind relationship whining in most of the songs on an album, this album is not for you. Luckily I can so I will probably listen to it on occasion.
Codeseven This is one of those ‘I missed the memo’ records. While Winston-Salem, NC’s Codeseven have been moving in this direction for a bit, the contrast simply with their previous record The Rescue is stark. It is true that Codeseven have been playing longer than most people probably realize – formed in 1995 – and this debut on EVR is continuous move to different directions. For a while, Codeseven clearly existed within the mainstream of hardcore and still make their rounds with like minded individuals. They always had a melodic element, but on Dancing Echoes ~ Dead Sounds the five-piece sweep in with an array of electronics particularly with an emphasis on keyboards. The songs contain dark elements that present a spacey image and a distant future while distortion underlies in both percussion and electronics (e.g., “Nasty Little Revolution”). This move may be precipitated by tours with Coheed and Hopesfall and a production job by Michael Birnbaum; though The Rescue’s producer had similar experience with ATDI and Mars Volta. At times through Dancing Echoes ~ Dead Sounds you feel like you are listening to film score or a dark video game score or that you are simply tripping on acid (e.g., “Quails Dream,” “Cherry Tree” and “Shalo”). Either way, it is all pretty cool. Yet, Codeseven give moments of uptempo bliss on tracks like “Roped and Tied” – a song destined to dominate college radio for the season. Other tracks of note include “Alt Wav,” “All the Best Dreams” with over-the-top sweeping new wave and the quick hit drumming “Pathetic Justice.” I feel that Dancing Echoes ~ Dead Sounds is a record that will get initial attention from a listener, but will take a bit for one to digest all the nuances contained within. It is moments like these that I wish for more hours in the day.
Converge With some crazy, sweet artwork and packaging, everyone’s favorite Boston punk-metal group unleashes You Fail Me to completely demolish your sense of self. Possibly taking cues from some of their wild brethren, You Fail Me’s twelve tracks certainly take a turn to the increasingly chaotic and extreme over past records. It is good to see the Converge boys releasing new fury as it seems more and more these days that the dual combo of Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou are spending their days producing and recording other bands, doing record artwork and running labels – very busy indeed. Probably the most impressive thing about Converge is that they are still relevant and smoking after over a decade of reckless abandon in live shows and recordings. For instance, how is it possible that Bannon’s voice is still intact after all these years? Is it just totally destroyed so that he talks with a scream? Probably not. As with much of Converge’s past material there is healthy dose of balls-out songs on You Fail Me where Ballou’s guitar focuses on the punk spectrum of metal playing (for instance, “Eagles Become Vultures,” “Black Cloud” and “Death King”). But also Converge offer drawn out and/or esoteric compositions with the likes of “Last Light,” the awesome latter riffs on “Drop Out,” “In Her Blood” and “You Fail Me.” To play with the likes of your mind, Converge includes the six-plus-minute acoustic driven number “In Her Shadow.” “In Her Shadow” slowly builds with drums and voices coming with a quasi-chanting monk feel. If you have been taken by past Converge records then you will surely love this. If nothing else, the record’s packaging will get people moving.
The Dears Getting mentioned as one of the year’s artists to watch by Rolling Stone quickly gets you on the national and international radar. And this is the experience that this six-piece from Montreal is currently going through. Formed and headed by one Murray Lightbrun in 2000, the Dears have been making their way through the haunts of Canada and the U.S. for the past years. The band has recently been getting love for their full-length No Cities Left, and interest has grown in their other material including Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique. Lightburn and the Dears take the indie pop-rock-opera approach to their songs in general and specifically on this four-song EP. Protest was initially recorded in 2001, but it is not entirely clear to why this is getting released now or if this is a reissue or what. The EP opens on “Heaven, Have Mercy on Us” with an off-bit intro on keyboards that is slowly accompanied by other instruments, including some nicely accented electronic drums. As the song climaxes, it leads you into the seven-minute “Summer of Protest.” “Summer of Protest” features Lightburn’s vocals in near monotonic voice accompanied by light background vocals. For its slight slacker indie pop and well-thought composition, “Summer of Protest” is the standout track here and is the song that gets remixed here by Chaonaut. The other track on the EP is six-plus-minute “No Hope Before Destruction.” It takes awhile before an adoring piano is left on its own and then distorted vocals are placed on top after a minute or so. The orchestral nature of “No Hope Before Destruction” highlights the musical concept of the Dears in general and on this EP. Protest is a sneakily quality EP that you need to sit through for a few minutes without any preconceived notions.
Dillinger Escape Plan It’s been about five years since New Jersey’s Dillinger Escape Plan unleashed their stunner Calculating Infinity on Relapse. With new and ripped singer Greg Puciato, Dillinger comes back to take the metalcore crown back with Miss Machines. For the past few years, Dillinger has focused on stealing the show as opener for a slaughtering of major bands, including System of a Down, and reorganizing their lineup. Original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis left the group in 2001 and the band held extensive auditions to find a replacement. In the meantime, Dillinger did an EP for Epitaph in 2002 entitled Irony is a Dead Scene with wildman Mike Patton that was enjoyed for its insanity. Puciato joined in 2002 and the band has been making headway playing live shows. This past year, they finally decided they had the precise combination of energy to record a new full-length. I remember first seeing Dillinger at a catering hall in Mineola, NY in 1998 or so; it was one of their first trips, if not the first, to LI for a show. Though they were metal to the core during their set, they ended with an awe-inspiring Slayer cover. That cover sealed the deal in terms of many in the audience then. Since that point, it has always been nice to see that Dillinger has ascended to such great heights. Particularly that they started as a small, nothing band and have pulled themselves up to being one of the most important metal bands of the time. The eleven-song Miss Machines features the same blistering, calculated chaos of Calculating Infinity with tighter compositions and musicianship and Puciato’s own voice, but keeping the essence of the sound. The record begins on “Panasonic Youth” with walls of stop-start guitars and Puciato’s screams. Naturally, this mild-mannered start soon leaps out to shifting sections with the amazing guitars of Ben Weinman and Brian Benoit leading the charge. “Sunshine the Werewolf” follows with same abandoned, but really interests with a relatively mellow breakdown that builds into sometime of distorted strings finale. “Highway Robbery” takes a more traditional path with a focus on speed hardcore and actually a catchy chorus. After the balls out “Van Damsel,” Dillinger takes a fucked up Nine Inch Nails path with “Phone Home.” Though “Phone Home” maybe a nice change for Dillinger, it is absolutely horrible and seemingly goes against much of what Dillinger is all about. They repeat this misstep on “Unretrofied” that sounds closer to Mr. Bungle, which is nice, and the beginning of “Crutch Field Tongs.” The rest of “Crutch Field Tongs” scrambles so many sounds, including a jazz-esque breakdown, that it makes up for some problems. The remaining tracks, “We Are the Storm,” “Baby’s First Coffin” and the closer “The Perfect Design,” are all classic Dillinger. There is little doubt that more and more people will get into Dillinger with the release of this new record; and rediscovery of Calculating Infinity. Don’t miss a chance to see these guys live as they are now awesome enough for Slayer to do covers of Dillinger.
Dmonstrations Dmonstrations are all about making quick angular compositions that tilt on the edge between random shit and noise-punk. Featuring Tetsunori Tawaraya on vocals, Aaron Wade as drummer/producer and bassist Nick Barnett, the San Diego three-piece move beyond their past endeavors in Dosage and Usage. The core of Dmonstrations features noise-punk elements and Tawaraya going apeshit wild over the vocals with enough flair to make you appreciate that only this could only be done by a Japanese vocalist. The short eight-track EP sets the band more up as something really cool to be experienced live, but they are less compelling as a recorded act. In that respect, I could see having a fabulous time at Dmonstrations show.
The Features As the Features first major label release, they provide an exceptionally eclectic twelve song record that offers almost everything you love and hate about rock music. After the four-piece got out of backwoods Tennessee, they soon worked to a deal with British label Fierce Panda and a set of 7”s. The two most distinctive aspects of the Features are guitarist Matt Pelham unique vocals and Parrish Yaw’s meandering keyboards (of various ilks). When you tie these two elements to some of the best harmonies you ever heard and there are moments of pure gold. However, sometimes there are drop offs where you want to stab them in eyes. The record begins on the moderate “Exhibit A” that serves as a nice introduction to the band, but does little else. “The Way It’s Meant to Be” sets up the sweetly catchy “Me & the Skirts.” Beginning with keys and drums, “Me & the Skirts” begins a string of amazing chorus structures. The Features follow this with “Blow It Out” and another ear-catching chorus. Actually the entire song hinges on trying to be catchy and focusing Pelham’s vocal oddness, but the quasi-children’s exercise lyric of “If you’re happy and you know it, turn the volume up and blow it out” will guarantee to stick in your head. After the rock-centric “There’s A Million Ways to Sing the Blues,” comes probably the first major misstep in “Leave It All Behind.” “Exorcising Demons” does little to help, but the mellower and catchier “The Idea of Growing Old” helps revive the patient. You have to get through the non-inspiring “Some Way Some How,” “Situation Gone Bad” and “Harder To Ignore,” to the more compelling “Circus.” If Universal decides to invest resources in the Features, particularly through pushing videos, then you may soon find them all over the airwaves.
For the Worse This is one album I really wanted to like. They have a hardcore punk sound that I love. However, vocalist (and wrestler) Mike McCarthy’s singing is intolerably bad in too many of the songs. McCarthy slurs his way through most songs and often in a way that sounds like Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) with his tongue stuck to his teeth. Furthermore, McCarthy tries to be creative by wavering his voice, but comes off sounding like he’s puffing out his chest, sucking in his checks, puckering his lips and mock singing from the back of his throat. It is not good. For the love of God stop strangling your words because your songs might be great. Slurring only works for the HRs and Roger Mirets of the world because they were originals and we tolerate it. For everyone else, your just singing terribly (same goes for you dog-barkers).
Frausdots To bankroll my music habit, I work at a used book and record store; among our more frequent customers are hip 40-something women with a crate of Duran Duran vinyl to trade in. Parting with it seems to be hard, but it must be easier for these women with the spate of soundalikes out there. Frausdots is headed by Brent Rademaker, who previously made art-rock, brit-pop, and, surprisingly, headed up the Beachwood Sparks. His turn in Frausdots reaffirms his desire to make music soundly grounded in the early 1980s but made possible thanks to third millennium digital noise production. In this outfit, with the help of Michelle Loiselle, Rademaker has created an album that aspires to Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen but might have drawn too heavily on “Rio” to get there. Certainly, this alone is not indicative of a relatively weak album; certainly Franz Ferdinand et al. have ridden this sort of sound to VH1 fame and glory. Frausdots has failed to construct a strong album for a variety of reasons. They scramble over a variety of sounds, never coalescing around a sonic thread that links the album together. Perhaps they’ve invited too many guests – including the Cure and the Warlocks – to have developed an album, rather than a collection of songs. And, they ask me to take their gloomy British lyrics about love, happiness, and haute couture clothing seriously. The album is at its strongest in the middle. “A Go-See” buries the otherwise dominant synth and as a result is a nice, uncomplicated rock song. “Broken Arrows” most closely captures the melancholy dark sound that Frausdots so clearly is intent on offering. “Contact” also performs well in that it more fully presents the sound that the album dances around, and, despite the alienish sounding synth, develops into an interesting cut.
Jaded Era Given the marginal artwork and the band photos displaying an over-the-top effort to look like rock stars, expectations were low on this latest from Akron, Ohio’s Jaded Era. Something tells me that Jaded Era would have eaten up the big hair, spandex-clad 80s cock-rock movement if they were playing then. While Jaded Era have come to rule Ohio as one of the top alternative acts, they are hoping to push to the majors with this their third record. To be honest, the twelve songs on Study of the Human Race are quite better than I was expecting. Much of that credit goes to lead singer Kira Leyden’s vocal prowess, great guitar work by Jeff Andrea and very professional recording. While much of the tracks follow a mainstream treatment of alternative rock (e.g., “Vanity” and “The Best Things”), other songs such as “My Heart’s on the Line” and “His Song” illustrate that Jaded Era has a bit more pop and singer-songwriter heart than they may like to put on full display. Yet, the move to some more of the mellow stuff may actually help Jaded Era finally get somewhere.
Liars Academy In some ways it seems that Liars Academy have been around for a very long time. Though that is partially true, it is probably enhanced by the band not doing much for sometime after their EP Trading My Life. After finally coming back together, scrapping an old set of songs and starting fresh with each members’ own ideas, the product is Demons – and its great artwork. For a band that mostly travels in the indie rock/punk scene, Liars Academy mainstream rock approach to their songs can force visceral reactions. I know scores of folks who are smitten by the band and see their music more as a guilty pleasure. For me, these twelve songs do little to bring any type of enjoyment or inspiration. Most of the tracks move at a relatively slow pace and don’t give you anything to hang on to; except the sense that this is generic rock. Moreover, on songs like “Microtron” and “Ghosts of Baltimore,” I want to stab myself in the eye to hopefully shift the unjoyable experience. Though songs like “Dying As Fast As I Can” can provide brief respites from the record’s drudgery, Demons is just not getting it done. Liars Academy may actually do well with top forty radio as their light rock can appeal to that crowd.
Todd Martin At first, I thought the record was entitled How Is It That I’m Alone, which I may allow myself to offer some suggestions. But instead, Todd Martin sets out to tell us his own story on this ten song endeavor. Held up in the quietly cool city of Boston, Martin comes close to being gripping but never quite gets there. For instance, the record starts on “October” with Martin crooning sweetly and including well-placed up-picking, but he then follows it up with the awful “Take Me Home.” “Feeling Infinite” doesn’t do much to help matters, but there are some nice moments on “What You Want.” Skip past “Goodbye” to listen to the beginning instrumental of “Even Worse,” but don’t listen to the rest of the song. Save for “She Knows,” the final four tracks are even keeled and thought out. It seems that Martin is being too earnest and needs to lighten up a bit as an artist. Also, Martin needs a little more than just an acoustic guitar to round things out, as he is not enough of a magnetic figure to hold things together with just that.
Anna Nalick As this is only a five-song sampler of Anna Nalick’s forthcoming full-length Wreck of the Day on Columbia Records, I can only say so much. That Nalick is a solo artist on a major label pretty much tells the story of what you are going to find amongst her songs. Coming out of Southern California, Nalick was significantly helped on her way by former members of Blind Melon, Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith. It is possibly their influence that makes Nalick’s songs not sound entirely a commonplace affair. Yet, the inclusion of a slew of studio musicians certainly takes away a piece of rawness and ingenuity that would allow Nalick to standout in the crowd. The clear standout on this sampler is “Breathe (2 A.M.);” well at least when it gets past the opening lines. The four songs follow in a standard, noninspiring form. If you drool at attractive women singer-songwriters then you will love this.
The Ocean Blue If I told you nothing about the first proper song on Waterworks, “Pedestrian,” you would swear that it sounded familiar; or at least the vocals have a familiar ring. And you would be right. Whether you had your ears open in the late 80s and early 90s or not, the Ocean Blue quickly ascended to notoriety with their mellow new wave attack during this time. This led to MTV coverage, records and songs charting and tours with groups like the Psychedelic Furs. After a space of three years, the Ocean Blue release this new six song EP to get back into the game. The opening track, the instrumental “Fast Forward Reverse,” moves on grandiose themes not unlike a top-notch number from the heights of instrumental rock today. As noted, “Pedestrian” will quickly draw you in and make you a believer or at least re-believer in the Ocean Blue. “Pedestrian” has all the electronic and rock elements that you are looking for from a stellar affair. “Golden Gate” is a bit more 60s and 70s Brit pop, while “Ticket to Wyoming” features lounging vocals and a mellow bouncing atmosphere. At a frantic pace, “Sunshower” speeds the dance part up with enhancement coming from a high pitched, well-placed guitar solo. Waterworks ends on the mostly instrumental “The Northern Jetstream,” where the Ocean Blue rock the acoustic guitar and fuzz bass with blips of vocals, not unlike Howard Hello’s recent endeavor. Given these six songs, it is clear that the Ocean Blue are once again players and I imagine certain clubs will love spinning these songs for their hip patrons.
Oneida Disney’s taught me a lot of things: to be nice, to share, that some day my prince will come, and that dwarfs are hard workers. It’s also taught me some foreign phrases, including that “hakuna matata” means “no worries.” Well, I’m worried. Oneida’s closed out its recent EP “Nice./Splitting Peaches” with “Haukna Matata,” a cut that does very, very little for its 14-plus minutes of album space. This, quite frankly, is unforgivable, which is unfortunate because I’d kind of liked the rest of the EP, despite the fact that each cut is so profoundly different from the other it’s surprising they were produced by the same band. “Inside my Head” is the strongest song on this album, and has, without question, one of the best first lines of any rock song ever: “I can tell you love your ass, because your hands in your pockets hold on with sass.” The song continues with a high school-like sense of life – angst, sex, and, well, more angst – feature predominately. The vocals are paralleled by the music itself, in which there’s an honest sense of wanting to produce a good rock song. “Song Y” sounds like what I imagine electronic bluegrass would sound like, if you were to replace banjos with bleeps and blurps. It’s music for Amish raves, I imagine, which is apparently the logical lead into “Hakuna Matata,” the quarter-hour train wreck that closes this album. This track does very little for the time that it occupies on the EP. It is little more than a combination of thumps with “treated vocals” that sound eerily like Eastern meditation chants. There is no growth; there is no change. You’ll hear the same stuff at 1:38 as you will at 8:22 and 13:55. “Hakuna Matata” is simply noise for noise sake, and it’s unconscionable.
Outbreak Outbreak’s You Make Us Sick captures pure adolescent rage better than any other record I have heard in awhile. The album shoots out 15 songs in 15:12 about how they loath everyone and would be happier if they, or those they hate, were not in this world. Although the use of the F-bomb approximately 40 times and lyrics like, “you’re the one who keeps the rumor mill alive and I’m burning it down, I hope that you’re inside, you’re useless,” are fairly juvenile and simplistic, they actually seem to work really well on this CD is setting the tone. Between the unrelenting speed of the music and the desperate frustration in the lyrics you cannot help but get those angry-to-the-point-of-violence feelings (most of high school for me), where you want to grit your teeth and run around tearing a room apart. Outbreak masterfully captures despair and anger effectively and deserves credit. But the big question is should you get this album? On the one hand everyone needs an album like this to help vent on occasion. However, the songs are extremely dark and hopeless. I cannot bring myself to recommend buying an album with repeated homicidal imagery (even if it is just not literal). Go out and by Black Flag’s Damaged instead. You will get the same outlet for frustrations without mentally killing everyone. Besides it’s an original.
Point Line Plane The noise masseuses Point Line Plane are back with their sophomore record for the increasingly visible Skin Graft Records. Since their debut record, PLP added a new member – and now are Joshua Blanchard, Nathan Carson and Howard Gillam – and released a split record with the Planet. Given PLP’s adherence to synth-generated noise rock, comparisons have been made to bands like Lightning Bolt and Ex Models, but PLP rocks those groups in all out warfare recorded. I can’t say much about a live experience, but I hear, for one, that certain bands – like Lightning Bolt – are all about the live show and the recorded stuff is just to relive that. With one of the thickest booklets ever – I was hoping there was a sheet of acid in it – PLP give the listener nine songs at thirty-two minutes to gnaw on. Though there is a lot of filler (e.g., most of “Smoke Signals,” “b.u.g.s” and “lightout I & II”), there are also compellers like “Adult Contempt,” the mildly epic “D.R.U.G.” and “Descender.” The trick now is to make what some consider the inherently uninteresting, interesting in a live atmosphere.
The Power and the Glory That this record was produced by Kurt Ballou and comes out on Deathwish fits perfectly with the heavy, distorted reckless abandon approach that this four-piece take on the ten tracks on Call Me Armageddon. What is sort of weird about the Power and the Glory is that they are really, really good but they sound too close to a swath of other groups to probably get their just due. That may be partially a function that they were once known as Downpour, who began throttling in the mid-90s, and followed similar lines on Alveran Records. The riffage supplied by guitarist Kenn TwoFour is compelling, but the vocals from Ezra Morris are at times so heavily distorted that he could be screaming children stories for all I knew. Still, songs like “God & Gold,” “V is for Virtue” and “East (There Is Such A Lot of World To See)” get enough blood flowing for listening pleasure. I’m interested to see whether The Power and the Glory can pull out of a pack.
Quintron The point of this release? To have low playing background music for trick or treaters. After that, not much need for this nine track random crap record. Look, everyone loves the crazy dance party that Quintron and his “Drum Buddy” do with Miss Pussycat and assorted friends, but this is just a bunch of junk. I wait with baited breath for the next legit Quintron record.
Renee Heartfelt Though this four-piece has a hip band name and artwork, the five songs on this EP will lull you to sleep with their slow deliberate post-hardcore sound. Consisting of Pete Appleby (Count Me Out), Colin Kimble (County Me Out), Mike Stankovich (Striking Distance, Last of the Famous) and Aaron Barth (Striking Distance), Renee Heartfelt seem like they could do much more with the talent that they have. Even though this is their debut, the past musical experience of these guys raises expectations over other bands just starting out. I guess the initial impression of Renee Heartfelt is hard to overcome on “Mary Magdalene.” “Mary Magdalene” is sluggish, non-dynamic and drags on for over four minutes; a trait that seems to negatively affect the songs’ inertia. While the following “The Melodramatic” does a better job of injecting inspiration to the band, “La Seine” slides them slowly back to the banal. “Windowside” seems one step removed from a Windup Records’ song, though “Picasso” adds a nice mixture of sounds to create a smile. I’d be surprised that if Renee Heartfelt stays around that they wouldn’t give their sound a little more punch.
Reeve Oliver As this San Diego-based three-piece’s first record, the eleven songs are dripping with pop happiness and glorious harmonies. Reeve Oliver started roughly five years back when Sean O’Donnell – guitarist and lead singer – crafted the band’s concept as a way to channel his fixation on Beach Boys’ inspired rock with bits of a punk core. O’Donnell did this in-between warming up the crowd at Sea World for the Dolphins show and helped him locate Reeve Oliver’s drummer Brad Davis – another Sea World entertainer. After O., from Fluf, joined in on bass, Reeve Oliver really started to get moving and on track. With a self-released demo EP Reeveolution, the band played the 2003 and 2004 Warped Tours as well as with Yellowcard and Switchfoot. These experiences and other connections led to signing with Militia Group and this record. As noted above, Reeve Oliver focus on songs that have so much pop that your mind might explode from the apparent cheerfulness. The draw is well-crafted and managed rock tracks smeared with catchiness, though you are not going to find depths of innovation. In that respect, a number of songs from this record are destined for top forty rock radio. The record starts in fashion with “I Want Burns” that builds with acoustic guitar until the full band breaks in and lays down the record’s theme. After the similar-minded “I Don’t Want to Know!” comes Reeve Oliver’s ode to Jawbreaker’s Dear You with “Young and Dumb” – I’ll let you make up your own mind about that. With a few commonplace numbers, Reeve Olive offer up the uptempo “Yer Motion” and “Until Someone Loves You” to get the bouncing around started again. In another theme, O’Donnell grabs the acoustic guitar and gives his best Elliott Smith on “An Offer She Can’t Refuse.” The record finishes in high style with riff-centric “Sizzle Digitz.” At the end of the day, Reeve Oliver make fun pop rock songs that will appeal to a large swath of listeners.
Saint Etienne Up until a good munching on this eighteen track best-of collection, I had never really been ultra-down on England’s Saint Etienne. Sure, the one-off track here and there sparkled, but overall I was often in strangle mode. Now that I’m older and my tastes have spanned a wider gamut, I find these highlights from their decade and a half existence to be awe-inspiring. Part of this comes from a strong appreciation of Sarah Cracknell’s vocals and the mesmerizing soundscapes laid out by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Given a shoddy memory, I’d have a tough time conjuring up whether these songs are truly special and that the rest of the original records sucked, or that it is not as stark. Regardless, for an introduction or as a quick redux of Saint Etienne’s numerous records on Warner Brothers and Sub Pop, then this is the shit for you. With two new songs, the instrumental “Primrose Hill” and “Fascination,” this record picks songs from 1990 ‘till this past year. Probably most people with an inkling of experience in what was modern rock, or time in clubs at any point, will have a strong experience with the first proper track, the 1990 cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.” Even now, you can play that number over and over again and not get sick of it. While people have their own favorites, the retrospective highlights come from “Mario’s Café” and “Hobart Paving” from So Tough, the more techno move with “Like a Motorway” from Tiger Bay, “He’s on the Phone” from Continental, the drawn out “How We Used to Live” and “Heart Failed (in the Back of a Taxi)” from Sounds of Water and Finisterre’s “Action.” Also, check out the previously unreleased sweetly amazing “Fascination.” This is a record that I’m very happy to have in my possession, and you will probably as well. With plans for a new record in 2004, Travel Edition serves as nice refresher course.
Simply Waiting Simply Waiting’s songs have a solid foundation that is significantly drawn out too far, thus watering down what could be a stunning affair. Coming out of Dayton, Ohio, this is the five-piece’s first full-length after their debut EP Cutting Ties on Gasoline Records. Simply Waiting focus on long-winded indie rock songs with hints of emo and punk, and often are driven by acoustic guitars and sensible songwriting balance. As noted above, the major drawback with Simply Waiting is that their songs always seem a few minutes too long. The average song is roughly four minutes long and often contains little more than vast repetition of the verse-chorus-verse molestation. Though this may make the band more endearing in some eyes, vocalist Matt Shetler veers toward Coheed-esque vocals in both pitch and cadence (e.g., “Correspondence” and “Casualty”). This can then paint a picture of what Coheed would sound like if they only rocked acoustic – which they do live from time to time. For me, this is mildly unacceptable; though it is not that Coheed should be the only band to exist in this market. When Simply Waiting are taking more of their own stance, such as “30 Minute Drive,” “Went Down the Count” and “Depletion” (though it more Mars Volta), they are exceeding more enjoyable. Simply Waiting could become a great band if they do a better job in establishing their own voice.
Stand & Fight Stand & Fight’s debut album is in some ways similar to label mates Champion. Both are straight edge hardcore bands that have potentially addictive music. Luckily the similarity is in the music and not the content of their lyrics. Yet, Stand & Fight deliver blistering straight edge in their debut Together We Win without coming off like they are pouting. Like all good straight edge bands they emphasize individual strength and value while criticizing exploitation and violence. What’s not to love about that? It should be noted that overall it is very similar in style to Ten Yard Fight (lead singer Wrench’s previous band) so if you were a Ten Yard Fight fan, odds are you will like this album. In generally, the songs are pretty good although somewhat diminished by overpowered drums. “Living Blind,” “Conscious Effort,” “I Won’t Break Down” and “Stand Tall” will probably make it onto my play-list behind Murphy’s Law’s “Quest for Herb” (because being healthy requires a sense of humor). Although the album does tread at times toward cookie cutter hardcore, overall you get the impression that this band could create some unique and enduring albums.
Submersed I’m almost never in support of a record that has a bunch of songs that are nearly the same length; unless it is an old-school hardcore or punk record. That the first three songs on In Due Time clock in at 4:04, 4:06 and 4:03 is very bad sign of over-production. That this record is on Wind Up and that Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge is championing this band should give you a good signal of their sound. The eleven-song record moves across in parallel with other Wind Up bands, as Submersed own brand of post-grunge and straight up rock amalgam is pushed to the front. Though the guitar work by Eric Friedman is impressive, it definitely has a Tremonti air to it. As I asked when reviewing the single “Hollow,” how is Submersed different from the other mash of bands on Wind Up? If you like the Wind Up sound then you will probably enjoy this debut from Submersed. Otherwise you may feel very angry at music in general after listening to this. And, don’t even get me started on the cover art.
Tarentel Though Tarentel have the ability to make compelling instrumental music, it seems that much of the expression of that ability is lacking on We Move Through Weather. Tarentel started off in the mid-90s in San Francisco and are now an established heavyweight in the indie instrumental scene. Though with a number of recordings under their belt, We Move Through Weather is their first in roughly four years. Comprised of eight tracks nearing an hour long, the record is more indescribable and drum-driven than past endeavors. This will surely please some and mystify others. For instance, the record is fair departure even from their inclusion of “Bell Jar” on TRL’s special anniversary compilation this past year. As such, tracks like the sixteen minute “Get Away From Me You Clouds of Doom” simple skip along with heavily random snippets of slowed down drums and noise. You can get a sense of what could be at the end of, say, “Bump Past, Cut Up Through Window” as a light electronics and bits of piano chords join the drums. At the end of the day, this is a very difficult record to get into and many will have trouble allowing themselves to be engulfed by it.
These Enzymes Surprisingly, These Enzymes feature Mike Kennerty and Christopher Gaylor of the All-American Rejects, Neil Rubenstein of Sons of Abrahams and Andrew Palmer. Why that is surprising exists on a number of levels, not the least of which These Enzymes focus their talents on screaming hardcore in the vein of the Judas Factor. The last time I saw Neil, who did rock in SOA, he was selling off his CD collection to try to make some cash roughly seven years ago. Thanks to contacts with heavyweights such as Taking Back Sunday, These Enzymes got propped up on some tours which allowed them to release this EP. The problem with the five-song EP is that it is boring. It sounds like late 90s LI hardcore but without an edge or ingenuity and comes across as flat. Maybe a longer drawn out record could add some girth, but we will wait to see.
This Providence As this Seattle-area four piece’s first full-length, This Providence concentrates on the pop-punk emo dreams of every teenage girl. In that respect, this record is fun times and completes its mission with flying colors. Yet, the sound that This Providence is working has been so molested over the past few years that it is hard to take these offerings as something distinct, special or creative. Maybe one shouldn’t be so harsh on these guys since they are just out of high school and probably don’t have a wider perspective of the sound that they are rocking. This Providence come close to picking up the Get Up Kids’ Something to Write Home About-era songs, before the Get Up Kids started to suck, and for their ability to drench their songs with catchiness, again I salute them. I just wish that they were able to do something to separate themselves from the pack. If they are able to get people to take them seriously then there will be a massive teenage-girl love fest.
V/A I’m not 100% sure what the point of this DVD is besides from a nice promotional device for the bands and labels featured here. The DVD revolves around thirteen band’s videos stretching from All-American Rejects to Copeland to SOIA to Thursday. There is also some diversionary material including a making of the SOIA video “Relentless,” a pseudo-Cribs with Anadivine and interviews with Murder By Death and Number One Fan. Since I almost watch never any of those music channels particularly given the spotty carrying by TWC in North Carolina, I had barely seen any of the videos, though I’ve heard all of these songs before. Now the point of a band having a video is to stimulate interest, ultimately leading the purchase of a record or going to a show. Yet, this idea fails in a number of these videos, particularly the ones that just feature the band playing at a location with basically nothing going on – very boring indeed. Some of this sort that standout include A Static Lullaby’s “Lip Gloss and Letdown,” Thursday’s “Signals Over the Air” and Big Collapse on “Pull Out the Guts.” Rufio’s “White Lights” and Eighteen Visions’ “You Broke Like Glass” barely get out of this characterization because that former’s song is awesome and the latter features two hot women making out. Videos that achieve their goal in life include the All-American Rejects’ “My Paper Heart,” Copeland’s “Walking Downtown,” Fall Out Boy’s “Dead on Arrival” and Sick of it All’s “Relentless.” If you have seen these videos before then you should know that the SOIA video is just absolutely awesome. The video is a cartoon of a guy and girl on their bikes getting chased around a city by the evils of society. Probably the scariest part is in the beginning when they run into a monster who is sucking people’s souls in the name of the world’s religions. Other beasts join in the chase including porn/prostitution monster, moneyed political interest monsters, politicians, etc. What good times. The reason to pick this up is if you are big fan of these bands and want to have a collection of videos.
V/A This may be one of the oddest amalgam of an “original motion picture soundtrack” that I’ve ever heard; not that I listen to many soundtracks. What is strange is that the forty-two tracks consist of regular songs, original score pieces by John Swihart that center around organs, and clips of dialogue from the film. The dialogue is smashed together in not an entirely chronological order creates more confusion if you have seen the film. A word on the film itself: it is a cool, super-low energy quirky movie where the characters make things work though a better script would have saved the day. Musically, I skip past all of John Swihart’s brief tracks simply because they are terrible on their own. Admittedly, I love most of movie’s clips; even before I actually saw the movie. The ones about Kip as a cage fighter, the 1% milk and Napoleon calling from school are all brilliant. In terms of the actual songs on the record, it is a completely mixed bag. Basically, the only new song is the gorgeous “Every Moment” by Rogue Wave, one of Sub Pop’s newly sweet bands. Most of the other songs are classic 80s moments, to fit the movie, including everyone’s favorite prom song “Forever Young” by Alphaville, “I Want Candy,” “Only You” and “Time After Time.” And yes, the song from Napoleon’s dance sequence, “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai, is included and it will get you moving. Outside of being a big fan of the movie, it is not entirely clear to me why you buy this. I think a good strategy would be to bundle this soundtrack with the DVD when I comes out down the road.
Wolf Eyes As this Ann Arbor, MI three-piece’s nth release and second on Sub Pop, Wolf Eyes hone their noise after numerous efforts of just plainly making shit up. It is nearly impossible to keep up and track of Wolf Eyes’ plethora of releases over the past eight years, many through John Olson’s and Aaron Dilloway’s labels, American Tapes and Hanson Records. In many respects that is a signal to both the group’s productivity as well as the amount of effort they spend in crafting their records; that is, great and little respectively. What Wolf Eyes is best for is creating such avant-noise that it will influence more mainstream-minded artists to pick up on elements and craft them in more standard offerings. In academic terms, it would be like pure statisticians developing techniques to deal with data restrictions that, say, mainline social scientists can use in their analyses. Beyond that, you really have to love this shit to be down on Wolf Eyes. And if you are, then rock on.
Yowie “Yowie have been stunning audiences with their incomparable barrage of sonic kung fu,” so says the press kit. After listening to their latest release, Cryptoology, I decided to look at this statement a little more closely. Barrage, maybe, but it’s much more of the “I’m not touching you” variety than, say, Iraq. Sonic, yes, in that it relates to something you can hear. I don’t know what kung fu sounds like, but I’m pretty sure it’s not this. One thing was accurate – I was stunned… that there actually is an audience for this. The sad thing is you can tell these guys are trying to be “stunning” but it’s just really dumb and boring. It sounds like someone hooked up some guitar strings to a chainsaw and dropped a bunch of marbles on a drum kit (does this disprove “incomparable”?) I would give this an F, but in our world of grade inflation, I’ll say D. If you like the sound of broken glass, then Yowie is for you.
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