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October Reviews Artist of the Month: Wolf Parade This Canadian four-piece first came to our attention last Spring with their phenomenal four-song self-titled EP. On the realization of the illustrated potential of the EP, this debut full-length is something to write home about and surely places Wolf Parade among the upper echelon of indie rock bands. Part of the exploding Montreal indie rock scene, Wolf Parade has been considerably helped along their way by Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock as well as the Arcade Fire. Brock not only helped get WP signed to Sub Pop, but also produced, along with Chris Chandler, Apologies to the Queen Mary. WP itself is kind of a hodge-podge of artists that together create glorious indie rock with both a nod to Springsteen as well as electronic underlyings. Composed of keyboardist/singer Spencer Krug (ex-Frog Eyes, Sunset Rundown), guitarist/singer Dan Boeckner (ex-Atlas Strategic), drummer Arlen Thompson and keyboardist/assorted electronics Hadji Bakara, WP sweep through a glorious set of twelve songs on AQM. The one downside to AQM is that two of the best songs also happened to be the two standouts from their previous EP. These take the form of “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son” and “Shine A Light.” While both songs are splendid pieces of wonderment, you just wish they weren’t on the EP before AQM. And with that on to the track devouring. AQM opens on “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son” which is a rather clunky, moving mass of rock that spurts with periodic great lines (e.g., “I ain’t no hero…”). This is followed by “Modern World,” where WP echo some Brits and explode for awesomeness about half-way through when they enter an acoustic bridge that without any words would still sound terrific. The angular guitars and fast-singing on the opening to “Grounds For Divorce” makes the song sound quite familiar, like a rebirthed 80s indie – one of the first nods at new wave. Cascading guitars and keyboards on “We Build Another World” present a darker image of WP, but keyboard riffs also bring back at least the notion of sunshine. “Fancy Claps” is rather average, while WP slow things down for the nearly six-minute “Same Ghost Every Night.” Following this slow down is “Shine A Light.” Even though familiarity of “Shine A Light” makes me particularly smitten, it is nearly impossible to deny that the song is the obvious standout with a pulsating bass, hip electronics and great lyrics (e.g., “I don’t sleep, I don’t sleep, I don’t sleep until its light” – like we all want to). Already likely to have made the singles rounds, it is worth giving “Shine A Light” another spin on your iPod if its been awhile. “Dear Sons and Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts” – ghosts again? – is rather theatrical with a great ending, while “I’ll Believe In Anything” is a terrific song that instantly marks your mind on the repetition of the title and gets you to hit repeat. 80s modern rock guitar punches you on “It’s a Curse” and continues throughout clearly making parallels to the new wave resurgence. “Dinner Bells” is another slow down job by WP, here extending it out seven-and-a-half-minutes, and illustrating the quasi-experimental side of the band. AQM ends on the fantastic “This Hearts On Fire” where WP come off like Springsteen in training and soars when as they speed up and repeatedly sing the title. Wolf Parade are certainly on the verge of becoming recognizable indie rock stars with Apologies to the Queen Mary. They aren’t going to be swallowed up like the early 90s Seattle explosion as they push the Montreal attack with bands like Arcade Fire. But with the right love and exposure, Wolf Parade is going to be very big – if they aren’t already. Pick up the record, play it loud and hold on tight.
Alh This eight-track record from Alh is a bit of multi-continental enigma that hits the indie clubs with electronic-infused hip-hop. Bringing the UK, Australia, parts of Africa together Alh make sounds to be played by DJ friends in blips and mixes at Euro clubs. Part of Alh’s mystery is the difficulty in tracking down actual information on the outfit. Shielding such and concentrating on sounds reveals a number of moments worth discussing. Starting off Hoppers and Fledgelings is “Born Way Down” with a Dijjery-do (sp.) beginning before Alh constantly repeat the song’s name and flows from there. Much more skill is illustrated on the following “Departure” where Alh incorporates mellow female singing over rhymes and strings. Songs such as “Departure” may be considered “cool” hip-hop – something that is easily accessible to wide swaths of listeners. After the average “Fi My,” the instrumental “Tidal River” and moderately appealing “Dealer Takes Five” and “Birds,” you get the sense that Alh is more akin to a hip art school project that has a strong core but needs more development on nailing a great song. Hoppers and Fledgelings ends on the straight-forward number “Namecheck” and the extended instrumental “Liver & Onions.” Although Hoppers and Fledgelings might not be Alh’s signature moment, it certainly warrants keeping them on your watch list for future offerings.
The All-American Rejects In the three-plus year history of Exoduster, our first artist of the month was the All-American Rejects when it was simply Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler and they were just newbies to the music world. Their initial effort for Doghouse featured the retarded big single “Swing, Swing,” thus leading to the majors battling it out for the Rejects and the Universal conglomerate winning out (though Doghouse retains some rights). The Rejects’ debut record went platinum and the rest is well history. Naturally, we are asking ‘what the hell took so long to release their sophomore record?’ One thing is that Universal re-released the debut and essentially giving the Rejects a new ‘clock.’ The other thing is that the Rejects have been touring relentlessly, typically bringing in their friends in smaller bands to open up (e.g., Limbeck). Still, Ritter and Wheeler, now officially joined by Mike Kennedy on guitars and Chris Gaylor on drums, took their time to write these twelve new pop love fests, to assure they didn’t hit the proverbial sophomore slump. Working like real rock stars, Ritter and Wheeler wrote for nearly a year, then practiced and did pre-production with Kennedy and Gaylor before heading to Burbank to finally lay down the tracks. The result is a collection of twelve perfectly developed pop songs that completely overcomes some of the highs and lows of their previous effort. While the debut had the scorching “Swing, Swing” and couple of other lookers, Move Along has a plethora of single material virtually assuring mass success. And the Rejects don’t mess around with letting you know their intentions on the opening number “Dirty Little Secret.” “Dirty Little Secret” is the record’s first single and bursts with ridiculous pop magic. The Rejects don’t let off on the follower “Stab My Back” and continue to nail it on the title track. “Move Along,” which was initially streamed online, illustrates the size of the Rejects now as they employ a children’s choir towards the end. “It Ends Tonight” slows the party down with the inclusion of measured pace piano, but the chorus (that is the title) keeps the song memorable. The Rejects aren’t going to let your fun end too soon as they immediately attack you on “Change Your Mind,” but the magic marginally slips on “Night Drive.” What you become clued into by the following strong “11:11 p.m.,” “Dance Inside” and “Top of the World” is that many songs are nearly the same length and can come off as repetitive. The Rejects once again slow down your world on “Straightjacket Feeling,” but then turn up the amps on the rocking “I’m Waiting.” Move Along closes out on the rather odd “Can’t Take It,” where the Rejects employ heavy strings giving the song a Broadway feel. The bottomline with Move Along is that if you loved the All-American Rejects’ debut, then you are going to be incredibly pleasured on this sophomore effort.
ASG Assessing ASG’s latest record is pretty simple. When the Wrightsville Beach, NC four-piece are rocking their dirty South, stoner rock riffs, they are right up with the best including SuperHeavyGoatAss. When they try to make more standard rock songs, their quasi-grunge manly crap makes you want to throw Feeling Good Is Good Enough against the wall and vomit violently. Concentrating on the positive side of ASG, Jason Shi, Andy Ellis, Scott Key and Jonah Citty exist somewhere between old school punk of the Dwarves and riff-heavy 70s rock. Top cuts of this sound come from the opener “Act Like You Know,” the title-track and “Thirsting for More.” The moments when you feel extraordinary ill come from “Killers For Hire,” the singing on “Horse Whipper” which otherwise contains awesome riffs and “Yes, We Are Aware.” The aspect that really gets me is the Wind-Up Records’ style singing where you have to check if the singer is getting testosterone shots to beef up the vocals. ASG have been riding the Warped crowd thanks to Volcom, which may actually be a good way to introduce stoner rock to the punk kids. Otherwise, ASG should do exceptionally well with the Texas crowd that loves to get drunk and party on choppers.
Avenged Sevenfold Even though I received the memo that Avenged Sevenfold was taking a different route on their latest record City of Evil, in retrospect I totally missed it. After their blistering and awesome two full-lengths on Hopeless Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and Waking the Fallen, the five-piece moved over to the big boys of WB. Rightly, Alternative Press called City of Evil one of the most anticipated of 2005 – as is stickered on the cover – but those fans were expecting some quite different. Naturally, bands progress in their sound, influences and desires for their music. In this case, A7X throws off their more screaming hardcore directions for straight-up metal in the vein of Iron Maiden and Megadeth as well as the rock riffage of bands like Guns N’ Roses. And that is cool given that the members of A7X, and many others, rock(ed) out to those bands growing up (and today). The difference is A7X are not those others groups and don’t quite have the technical skill nor ingenuity to come off as anything except parallels. It is rather frustrating. It can be considered more annoying that the eleven songs average six minutes and often nothing really happens to necessitate such length. While the shift by A7X is not a complete mimic of Maiden (witness the relatively odd pop-punk of opener “Beast and the Harlot”), the target audience of City of Evil seems focused on fans of 80s metal who want a more contemporary punk edge. The moments that A7X do really nail – like most of “Trashed and Scattered” – are often messed up by marginal quality extensions that make you shake your head. If you want to kill yourself just put on “Seize the Day” and the only escape is to pull the trigger. It will be quite interesting to see what Avenged Sevenfold comes up within two years on their next record. Will the band keep the Maiden metal or will the shifting lava continue to move the band in new directions?
Between the Buried and Me If you thought that 2003’s The Silent Circus was as good as it was going to get from the North Carolina-based Between the Buried and Me, you have just had your hat handed to you by the stunning follow-up Alaska. With some lineup changes and side projects done and buried, BTBAM went back to their NC headquarters with producer Jamie King (and later Matthew Ellard) to unleash their latest vision for the masters. While there is likely some story behind why the record is called Alaska – likely either deep with meaning relatively to the eleven tracks or totally unrelated, something that an interviewer will ask immediately – the opening “All Bodies” is set to rip your ass out. If every song on Alaska traveled the same path as this opus, this would be the best heavy record of the year regardless of future, unknown recordings. “All Bodies” begins as just attacking metal of ordinary ilk and as the band begins the multi-segmented starts-and-finishes something strange begins to occur. That strangeness comes in the form of this creep to an eclipsing melodic section that is just amazing and can only be referenced to early Cave In sequencing. “All Bodies” proceeds into a keyboards and screaming section and without doubt you declare that you love BTBAM. Unfortunately, the following “Alaska” and “Croakies and Boatholes” doesn’t offer the same assault on the senses – but they aren’t half-bad as hardcore/metal songs. Leave it to the next long track “Selkies: The Endless Obsession” for the brilliant riffing and unconscious section movement to draw you back to admiration. You may want to push to the side the borderline lame singing half-way through “Selkies: The Endless Obsession,” but the song ends with another dazzling display of guitars. After the segway “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” BTBAM drill more grindcore into your brain on the apropos-named “Roboturner.” “Backwards Marathon” again comes close to being lame as they introduce soft vocals that almost show space rhythms, but just almost. “Medicine Wheel” is some nice instrumental filler, before the riffing attack comes back on the gorgeous “The Primer.” Although “The Primer” may fall to too much grind, the incorporation of rock riffs towards the end will win your pleasure. I’m going to go ahead and say the last track is “Autodidact” as the real last track is the terrible “Laser Speed” – that is most likely included just to get such a response. “Autodidact” itself can bring to mind Dillinger and sits well with the rest of Alaska. Again, for those lapping up the utterances of The Silent Circus you are going to experience uncontrolled urination over Alaska.
Chiodos It’s not mere coincidence that there are two bands in the genre that have similar names. The Flint, MI Chiodos used to be called the Chiodos Bros. who previously offered up the better-than-expected full-length The Heartless Control Everything on Search and Destroy Records. I had a similar realization years back when I kept seeing the Suicide Machines listed at shows with major players and then realized they used be Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines. After a few years touring and working on getting the band tight, the six-piece of Craig Owens (vocals), Bradley Bell (keyboards, vocals), Pat McManaman (guitar), Matt Goddard (bass), Jason Hale (guitar) and Derrick Frost (drums) got signed by mover EVR. During that time and as demonstrated across the thirteen tracks on All’s Well That Ends Well, Chiodos became exceptionally better and sound quite different from their previous record. Much of the enhancements come thanks to a quasi-prog infusion that helps to break Chiodos away from the throw all the punk, hardcore, etc. into a bowl and mix nonsense. The transition to non-staid is thanks to Bell’s slight inclusions and Owens following the right inflections and cadences. Of course, there are highs and lows across the album, as one may expect. The highlight of All’s Well That Ends Well comes on the first real song “All Nereids Beware” where after some dancing Owens uses the back-away indie screaming style that is endearing. But the hot score comes when one guitar is wildly soloing, the other instruments are machine gunning and Owens is belting. Without doubt “All Nereids Beware” should be the focus of early PR. The next sweet stop is “Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On the Creek” as Owens utters ‘this is probably be the best, not to mention the worst idea that I have ever had.’ At first, the line is a bit hokey, but you will remember the song for it and it brings you back. Bell’s keys make you take a second glance at the multi-segmented “There’s No Penguins In Alaska,” while “To Trixie and Reptile, Thanks for Everything” is a wise selection to close out the party. This is a strong debut for Chiodos on EVR with several songs to take notice of and if history tells us anything time should certainly take the band to the next level.
The Dandy Warhols Probably like many of you I had seen the ever increasing number of reviews of this new Dandies album calling it one of the worst rock records ever and the like. I thought that this was just some type of rock critic backlash against the ever-changing Dandies and that Odditorium Or Warlords of Mars couldn’t be that bad. That is until I actually heard the hour-long monstrosity. It is not a monstrosity in terms of some of the real shit that I’ve reviewed over the years. It is more of a monstrosity with regard to how this record is a concept album without a concept. Further, the Dandies are a great band that seems to make bad and often far-flung decisions. As illustrated in the phenomenal documentary Dig, the Dandies consistently battle with their record company to make a sellable record. (Of course, the bigger story of Dig is how the Dandies want to be the safe and poppy version of the Brian Jonestown Massacre). The Dandies certainly gave Capitol a single-laden record on their last full-length Welcome to the Monkey House. The few pop glimpses on Odditorium, e.g., the beginning of “Love Is the New Feel Awful” and the first half of the Gorillaz-esque “Easy,” are generally smacked around into excessively strung out and non-directional randomness. I can’t imagine why the Dandies would want to put out this record besides to fill a contract or that they are all on serious amounts of bad acid, among other crap.
Demander As the opening bass of “Elijah” rumbles along you are only imagining a renewed form of early Fugazi – and that’s cool – but soon enough the trio of NYC’s Demander comes into the picture to present the East Coast version of KRS girl indie punk power. Driven by Sivan Harlap and Karen Correa, and rounded out by guitarist Jared Scott, Demander rock this five-song EP with mature pop glee. There are not the dirty, weak minimal progressions that such outfits are prone to, but strong attention paid to more angular attacks. This is particularly the case when Scott riffs away in the background such as on “samthurman” and the great “Raise A Glass (redux).” Whether intentional or not, one harm on the EP is that the instruments are slightly sloppy on a close listen and the mixing levels are periodically questionable (see, the one-sided bass and guitar on “Wicked World”). All in all, this EP from Demander is a hot piece of joy that produces drool for what’s to come.
Dogme 95 Although Dogme 95 is one Nick Wright, the implementation of other hands and voices including Ivan Klipstein, Taylor Kelley, Ryan Fitzgerald and Taylor Young makes this fifteen-song album an art school party. When Wright is leaving the complete oddity and nonsense to the side, the lo-fi, electronic indie pop is quite endearing and provides glimpses of what Dogme 95 could become. Some junk comes from the multi-vocal random “Push Baby Fallin” and the pure strangle victim “Bear Beat II” where you wish for a bullet to end it. At the same time, highlights arrive from the solid “Kingdom/Garden,” where quirky new wave is on tap and is soon followed by similar-minded “Traffic Light Up My Spine” and later on by “Table Talks and Walks.” Although I’m partial to these electronic movements, you can also get into acoustic-driven numbers like “House/School” which is punctuated by Wright and gang singing out of tune together – though be careful as some of this form is dung. If Wright would cut and slim this hour-long record to the top tracks this could be a really strong record. However, the filler minimalizes the appeal of Arcadian Hymns.
The Drift Only a brief time ago is when we heard last from this San Francisco-based outfit on their “Streets” / “Nozomi” 12” for TRL. That 12” was merely a means to get us interested in this full-length – produced by Jay Pellici (Deerhoof). The Drift is composed of Danny Grody (of the always esoteric Tarentel), Rich Douthit (Halifax Pier), Jeff Jacobs and Safa Shokrai and together they channel their efforts into a near hour long, seven track record. While the Drift lay on the compelling and mellow instrumental rock, the inclusion of horns and brass takes the band towards controlled jazz moments. Thanks to just re-watching the Salton Sea, the opening number “Gardening, Not Architecture” completely reminds me of Val Kilmer pretending to play trumpet. Other numbers like “Invisible Cities” and “Hearts Are Flowers” are a bit more rambled and messy, which is nice. Although the horns can stab one a bit, I’ve used Noumena for the past few weeks as part of my background music for doing thinking work and it has worked wonderfully. For those down on the vinyl, the double LP version includes two more songs – “Noumena” and “For Grace and Stars.”
Emery Having moved out of South Carolina to Seattle, a massively wise move, Emery’s previous offering The Weak’s End helped establish the band as a major mover. On the Question, Emery wants to take that initial success and run with it – already meeting with commercial success. A minute on South Carolina. Save for Charleston and a few other coastal locales, SC is a shit hole of a state with very little funding of anything and increasingly has creepy born-again Christians taking over the state in further. It is so bad that coming from North Carolina you totally know when you have crossed into SC. While Emery didn’t need to go Seattle, they definitely needed to get out of SC. Emery’s style of melodic punk and screaming probably doesn’t satisfy many in SC – even if most members thank God first. On to their sound across the Question’s twelve songs, with an extremely tight production job and solid compositions, you can easily cruise through the Question with a smile on your face. Yet, very few songs are going to leave an impression on your memory as Emery simply sound like a really good standard melodic punk band. Better numbers do arise such as on “Studying Politics,” the opener “So Cold I Could See My Breath” and “The Terrible Secret,” but most lack a hook to keep you interested. Something that you do immediately take away from The Question is that lead singer Toby Morelle has a fantastic voice that with the right compositions could take Emery to another level. If you are looking for a record to make a nice contribution to your melodic punk collection then you can’t go wrong with Emery’s The Question.
Explosions in the Sky The only thing you need to know about How Strange Innocence is that you should buy it immediately and without delay! The seven-track record was the first for Explosions in the Sky – a band just starting out from Midland, TX and on route to Austin. Most know the blessed history of how Explosions has become the best instrumental rock band in the world through their Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever and The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place records. (Millions more have been subconsciously made Explosion fans through the band providing the soundtrack to Friday Night Lights). How Strange Innocence was initially a couple hundred CDRs, then later a couple hundred vinyl records and now with the deft mastering hand of John Golden, TRL gives the world the first vision of this gorgeous Texas outfit. While clearly not as smooth as later production, the brilliance is evident and in many respects the dirtier rock places How Strange Innocence at least on the same level as Explosions other releases. If you have any sense about you, get this now. If you want to be the coolest kid/man/woman/dog/cat/marsupial you know then pick this up today. Goosebumps of goodness are guaranteed!
The Fall of Troy Getting past the rather unfortunate moniker, The Fall of Troy’s debut for EVR is something special, something that will leave you exhausted and neurally-challenged for at least several hours. The hard work that you will spend listening to the eleven-track, flailing music fast is paid off in spades as you feel as though you just witnessed how the seemingly random thrown together actually sounds tightly woven. That means they take their local-brethren Botch and Blood Brothers heavy spasm and lace it with spiraling rock that takes on amorphous forms at all times. What is more impressive is the FT are only a three-piece. Said what? That’s right, Thomas Erak (vocals/guitars), Tim Ward (bass/vocals) and Andrew Forsman (drums) develop an impressively thick and developed sound with the most minimal composition. All bands that use three guitars to chug along to power chords should be struck down by a Norse god as they front their utility. FT put all of those bands to shame and makes you keenly question whether the trio can really pull this rock explosion live. The one-sheet discusses how FT’s shows are more free-form than not and are blistering – though every one-sheet says the bands live show is ‘infectious.’ In this instance, I’m inclined to believe the info. As Doppelganger opens on “I Just Got This Symphony Goin’” you aren’t thinking much as FT fly through spastic hardcore. The sound changes to more melodic pronouncements in both voice and instruments, but still you aren’t in love. The following “Act One, Scene One” introduces us to the catchy moments FT can offer as well as high-pitched ‘R&B’ vocals – and it is hear that you to start to realize that Doppelganger is different from the other billion and one song compositions. The more psychedelic guitars (read: Mars Volta) come in on “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X” and the band illustrates how they can be catchy and cool at the same time. Without doubt, the more spaced-out guitars and melodicness of “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X” helps it battle for the prize of best song. Similar feelings come across on “You Got A Death Wish, Johnny Truant?,” while “Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles” brings us back to the heavily segmented Fall of Troy. “The Hol[]y Tape…” merely holds the fort and “Laces Out, Dan!” finds Erak echoing vocals like melodic contemporaries. “We Better Learn To Hotwire a Uterus” is straight-out hardcore, while FT challenge Botch and Converge for machine-gun guitars on “Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man’s Bones” helping it secure a top spot. Doppelganger closes on the short “Tom Waits” and the eight-minute “Macaulay McCulkin.” While FT go for the esoteric on “Macaulay McCulkin” it shows who they can go prog if they so desire. With little thought, the Fall of Troy’s Doppelganger is one of the few recent records I’ve heard that effectively includes an enormous swath of sounds into a cohesive sound. This is a band on the move!
Goldrush Working hard for the past few years on getting their sound right, these boys from Oxford, England found it when they become desolate in Ozona, Texas, thanks to an overheated van. Goldrush’s sound is pop-laden and melody-drenched rock that defies you not to nod along. Although the band has been working the DIY for a number of years on their Truck Records (and Truck Studios) (and Truck Festival), Goldrush has gone with upstart Better Looking Records for their US debut. While Goldrush snubs its nose at the trendy British sound, your pop soaked dreams are not likely to come true on the eleven-track Ozona. The reason is that none of the songs are memorable besides from the off-thought that Ozona has a calming effect on your nerves. After repeated listens, I couldn’t surface an inkling of remembrance of a particular song or two. A couple come close including the opener “Wait For the Wheels” and “Come On Come On,” but these won’t suffice. It is clear that Goldrush has the base for putting out exceptional pop rock, but Ozona is just not the arc in their vita.
June Compiling a strong sense of melodic punk without bowing to any one immediate fashion or not, If You Speak Any Faster is June’s debut full-length. Conveniently enough, Chicago’s June just happened to get picked up by Chicago’s Victory without an extensive touring history – something that most bands would kill for. It is true that June reminds you of citymates Fall Out Boy, but placed on a narrower path peaks and valleys in emotion; still June seems to have walked into a great deal with Victory. The immediately apparent downside to much of this four-piece’s offerings is a rather unremarkable sound. A majority of the eleven tracks are solid melodic punk, but you dream of hooks that could really grab you. Yet, June are not always at a lost here and several songs will get you to hit repeat. These include the opener “Speak Up” that comes on strong two-thirds in, the compelling chorus of “Elevators Are Matchmakers,” “Scandals and Scoundrels,” “You Had It Coming” and the awesome vocal cadence of the ‘gave up on you awhile ago’ line on “The City.” As a debut full-length, If You Speak Any Faster is a solid release for the young June. Unlike their beginnings look for June to be putting crazy miles into touring over the next couple of years.
Mustard Plug If you were a fan of ska during the third wave craze of the late 90s, then Mustard Plug was a band that was consistently on your tongue and in your head. College radio took to the band like white on rice particularly for their 1997 release Evildoers Beware and 1999’s Pray for Mojo – as well as the lead up 1993’s Big Daddy Multitude. Of course, the wave had long crested by the band’s Yellow #5 in 2002, Mustard Plug are still trying to keep the faith alive as they head out on tour with the Toasters and Planet Smashers to bring ska back from near death. While Mustard Plug never hit the superstar status of bands like Less Than Jake, the number of songs that sound familiar across the nineteen on Masterpieces will surprise you. The sequencing on Masterpieces doesn’t follow any logical (or chronological order) but you are immediately warmed up on the opener “Beer (Song)” that makes you say ‘oh, shit I remember this.’ Others begin to roll into your brain including “Not Enough,” the always impressionable “Mr. Smiley,” “Lolita,” “Everything Girl,” “Yesterday” and “Thigh High Nylons.” Maybe ska will make a comeback or maybe the sound will be rumbling on the fringe forever with that crazy spike during the late 90s. As trends ebb and flow, the chances of ska rising are high. In all likelihood, Mustard Plug will be helping to direct the sound.
Nightmare of You Two details need to be pronounced up front about Nightmare Of You. First, this is their debut record and it will elevate your pop loving ears to new extremes, while appealing to the whole family. Second, the members of Nightmare Of You are nowhere near newbies to the game of music, but their background may surprise you. Up front is guitarist Brandon Reilly who spent much of his music career ripping guitar for the Movielife and subsequently really began the Nightmare Of You uptick after their breakup. Reilly is joined by Joseph McCaffrey and Sammy Siegler (known for his efforts in Rival Schools, CIV and the Gorilla Biscuits). Little of this information would give you any idea of the music of Nightmare Of You. While there is movement between sound contextures, the core element is an affinity towards pop and melody-laden lyrics. This becomes immediately evident on the opener “The Days Go By Oh So Slow,” which speaks to a slight new wave feel, but carries itself. The follower “Dear Scene, I Wish I Were Deaf” knocks the trendy pop up a notch and the downstroking guitars partially parallel the Strokes. After the off “Thumbelina” comes one of the best tracks “My Name is Trouble,” where the band follows an electronic pulse and is full of catchiness on the chorus. With a solid video, “My Name is Trouble” may become a ‘hit’ song of the fall. “Why Am I Was Right” is strangely like the Aquabats and “I Want to be Buried in Your Backyard” is without doubt modern rock – somewhere in the vein of Morrissey. And uncommon “I Want to be Buried in Your Backyard” is a rather appealing number. Reilly shakes the darkness with the appropriately named and uptempo “Ode to Serotonin.” To add their musical range, Nightmare Of You adds steel guitar to “Marry Me” in slowed down number that is reminiscent of a less whining Good Life track. Electronics come back on “In the Bathroom is Where I Want You,” while “The Studded Cinctures” is enhanced pop punk and is a song that is close to awesome but is just missing a crucial latent piece. The self-titled debut ends on the strange “Heaven Runs on Oil” where Nightmare of You follow a haunting beat and atmosphere and Reilly provides some crooner magic that cumulates on a phenomenal chorus. As much as I was disappointed by the collapse of the Movielife, if Nightmare Of You was the result then it was more than worth the destruction.
Ric Ocasek Although Ric Ocasek is known and will always be known as fronting the incredibly popular quasi-new wave Cars in the late 70s and early 80s, Ocasek has spent the past two decades working as producer for some notable bands and releases (including Weezer’s highlights). During the same time, but with less intensity, Ocasek has released several solo records since the early 90s, most receiving recognition of existence but not much else. Now, Ocasek offers up his latest record Nexterday – an eleven-track effort that can only be counted amongst the stereotypical sound of the Cars and Ocasek. Admittedly, not uber-versed in Ocasek’s solo records, Nexterday sounds like an extension of the Cars almost as if they emerged in 2005. This makes sense as Ocasek was the voice and pen behind the Cars. The conclusion is that you have a collection of super pop rock songs that will get your head bouncing with little effort. Maybe most impressive, besides from the solid writing, is that Ocasek’s voice sounds incredibly young even if he’s beginning to physically show his age in person. I don’t how much singles-focused publicity Nexterday is/will be receiving, but highlights come from the super “Bottom Dollar,” “Come On,” the mellow “I’m Thinking” and the solid closer “It Gets Crazy.” Notoriously shy about touring, if Ocasek is coming through your area check him out as you never know if he’ll return.
The Pacific For the sake of what is right and good in the world, there is no reason why the Pacific doesn’t have a fatty-boom-batty record deal! This hardworking four-piece from Los Angeles have been rocking the self-promotion route for the past three years and have moved out of the shadows of marginal notes thanks to this new, awesome twelve-track record. While the Pacific focus on melody-drenched rock, there are specs of sweet catchy indie rock that peer into from time to time that, at least for me, creates smitteness. My preferences probably lie slightly askew from the Pacific’s, but when they rocking the indie dazzling “Don’t Know You,” I just want them to be my best friends. The rhythmic guitar solo that carries “Don’t Know You” echoes such brilliance as The Forecast, Fairview and Helicopter Helicopter. Other times, the Pacific make pop like the Dandies such as on “Keeping Me Around” or “Post-Stardom Era” – which satiates more mainstream listeners. Other lookers include “Drunk Stumbling Suitcase,” “Come On, Come Down,” “Try” and dreamy pop of “Actors, Photographers & Designers.” The two cautions for the Pacific on this self-titled full-length are not to sound generic – which creeps in from time to time – and to possibly re-record these songs when they get their sweet deal because a close listen reveals sporadic problems (particularly on “American Crime Song”).
Silverstein After first hitting the national scene with When Broken Is Easily Fixed a couple years back, the Burlington, Ontario five-piece of Silverstein offer up eleven tracks that massively outpaces their initial effort for Victory. As is common for a band that just released a major record, Silverstein spent the next two years constantly touring with like- minded bands including newly huge Fall Out Boy and labelmates Hawthorne Heights. For those with the effort and desire to discover such things, much of the eleven songs here are geared towards finding direction in life. But for most, the assessment of Silverstein comes in the form of whether the songs hit you where it matters and you can get your rock on. And while Silverstein are one of the tightest and strongest melodic hardcore/punk outfits going, the partial lack of ingenuity is going to strike some the wrong way. That is, a quick listen to Silverstein and one may easily conclude they are just playing the current sound and aren’t doing much. It takes more listening to assure that this isn’t the case. Margins be spared, you can find a number of songs to take home to your parents. These include “My Heroine,” the strong melodic chorus on the latter part of “Always and Never,” the opener “Your Sword Vs. My Dagger,” “Smile In Your Sleep” and the ultra melodic closer “Call It Karma” which features high soloing double guitars. It should only be a couple of months before Discovering the Waterfront is on everyone’s shelves and putting Silverstein with the best in this sound.
Simple Minds Even if you think that you have never heard of Simple Minds, you have heard of Simple Minds. It is for the simple fact that they wrote “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and it soon became the anthem for everything 80s after being featured on the Breakfast Club. The song reaches beyond the 80s to rocking proms, weddings, etc. even in recent years – though to be honest it has been awhile since I’ve been to any such events. Now if everything I just said is not ringing any bells than first I’m really starting to get old and second you need to do some serious AMC 80s movies watching (or at least a primer with the Wedding Singer). Naturally, Simple Minds would like to be remembered for more than writing one smash hit and disappearing forever. To many this is probably what they do think. Yet, this Scottish outfit has continued rocking since their start in 1979. Of course, the path has ebbed and flowed with members leaving, shuffling and deciding what to include, leave out and whether to just stop. Although Simple Minds’ high point may have been 1985’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” the band consistently released records into the mid-90s – and as recently as 2003. Some were better than others and by the late 90s, Simple Minds audience may have been considered long since past. Not deterred Black & White 050505 helps Simple Minds ride the New Wave return that is fronted by young fellas like Franz et al. It is without any doubt that if there was a perfect musical atmosphere for Simple Minds to get back on their feet it is now. Across the nine tracks on BW, you often feel that you have gone back to the mid-80s as Simple Minds ride that poppy electronic art-punk. Though there are clear commonalities with peers Roxy Music and U2, I found it surprising that on tracks like “Different World” how much the Dandy Warhols (when playing their straight-up rock and not random nonsense) play off Simple Minds. While songs like “Stay Visible,” “Home” and “Underneath the Ice” inspire, if you are not down on the 80s rock sound you are not going to be down on Black & White 050505. If you are just the opposite, like Uncle Rico, you will love this.
The Spill Canvas The first spell of singing from headman Nick Thomas on the opener “Lust a Prima Vista” parallels Coheed and you are thinking ‘well that’s cool that the Spill Canvas are doing that.’ Yet, that feeling is soon replaced by more of ‘what the hell is this?’ Joined by Dan Ludeman, Scott McGuire and Joe Beck, Thomas belts the chorus of ‘open a bottle of red…’ and soon you are in a strange generic rock world. The Spill Canvas’ mid-tempo songs and Thomas’ vocal cadences sound suited to soothing sorority girls than for rocking your pants off. As the album labors on through a long-winded succession of thirteen tracks, you increasingly want to strangle Thomas’ neck and force him to sound like he wants to be the indie rock Counting Crows or some shit. I find it incredible that Ed Rose produced One Fell Swoop and he would let the Spill Canvas get out of his Kansas’ compound with something not spectacular. Yet, could the Spill Canvas do damage on the charts? Certainly. Are you going to make a special spot on your shelf for One Fell Swoop? Please don’t.
Supercreep This self-titled debut from Supercreep is a rather odd affair for a mainline rock record. Supercreep is not a band as much as the musings of Jody Delli Santi who once played in the Supercreeps, then left the band and just dropped the ‘s.’ Besides from being the awful named Pat’s Record Company (who has released fairly good records from Number One Fan and From Satellite), Supercreep and Jody mix between straight-up pop rock and British rock exemplified by Coldplay. Another strange thing about the one-sheet is the constant references to being a NYC artist and all that, but now Supercreep is rocking LA and sounding infused with enough pop to do keep the hotties hot. After the first song “Mushroom Cloud,” which is ordinary and dirty, comes the sunshine pop of “One Day.” While “One Day” is sweet, Supercreep comes with the more Brit pop “Time,” which has a solid hook but is a bit on the repetitive side. This shift on “Time” to Brit pop rock mostly continues on “Soft Summer Breakdown,” “The Kids” and you are also met with the super pop of “Stereo” – which could be the top single here. If Jody and his Supercreep could ever arrive on focused pop sound, he could be a force.
Withered Following on the heels of citymates Mastodon, this Atlanta four-piece seek to demolish your ears and speakers on the opening number “It’s All Said” where guitars sludge as fast as possible. Formed a couple years back by Chris Freeman and Mike Thompson of Social Infestation, and rounded out by Greg Hess and Wes Kever, Withered go after a standard 90s death metal sound and layer it out-of-bounds distortion. This makes a possibly slick and super-produced record sound dirty, intense and real, sort of just like Atlanta. In the right context and with heavy bass blasting speakers, Withered surely rips your ass out. Yet, you can’t escape the feeling that Withered aren’t traversing anything new nor performing what has been done with any new insight. Part of this surely comes from Withered lacking both brilliant vocals and/or smoking guitars. For instance, you can be down on a metal band with bad vocals, but awesome guitars and vice-versa. Withered are sort of ordinary on both those fronts and that’s disappointing. Still, I can see fans of Scandinavian death/black metal of before seriously getting into Withered.
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