THE
DEER TRACKS –
The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3
(www.controlgroupco.com)
Well, yes, there was a part 1 and a part 2. They came
out way back in 2011, and it’s taken awhile to complete
the finale, I guess. This is a very atmospheric album,
from the Swedish duo. Lilting vocals float about dreamy
electronics. Some of the tracks are practically soundscapes,
so atmospheric they are. Others have more of an edge to
them, like “Divine Light,” the third track
on the album. Some of the tracks are nearly dance club
worthy, if they were a bit more forceful – and no
doubt some oft these tracks will get remixed for the circuit
club scene. “Astral Ship” is one such track,
that has a good steady beat, and loads of electronics
plus soaring vocals. I kind of like the strings that make
it front and center through parts of this track, providing
an epic movie soundtrack feel. I dunno, maybe most Jersey
Beat readers won’t find this their cup of tea, but,
I must admit, I kinda like it.
DREW
ISLIEB – Stride (Ernest Jenning Recording Co., www.ernestjenning.com)
Nerd rock, in the best sense of the term! This is easy
loping indie rock. Partially acoustic, partially electric,
all nice to listen to. This is the kind of music that
your best friend would be making in his home studio while
you’re hanging out. Very easy and relaxed sounding.
There’s even ukulele on some of the tracks. I mean,
come on, how more laid back can you get than that? This
is just so super relaxed and enjoyable to listen to. Even
the most frantic, up-tempo track on the disc, “The
Tones,” has an easy feel to it. Cool.
ISOTOPES
– Blood Diamond (643 Records, theisotopes.bandcamp.com)
The EP came out as a digital download last spring, but
is also now available as a very limited edition 7”
on red vinyl. Each one is hand numbered in an edition
of 300. And if you like baseball and you like Ramones-style
punk rock, this is the record for you! Simple mid-tempo
pop-punk is the order of the day here. Two of the songs
are originals, “Rule 21” and “Operation:
Vamos,” while the third track is a punk version
of the old baseball favorite, “Take Me Out to the
Ball Game.” Decent fun, if not very original.
LUXURY
LINERS – They’re Flowers (Western Vinyl, www.westernvinyl.com)
This is the debut solo project from Carter Tanton. This
sounds kind of like what Bill Nelson’s solo stuff
would have sounded like, had it been released a couple
of decades later than it was. And, though I like the old
Bill Nelson stuff, this sound kind of stale and “been
there done that.” I dunno, the songs all kind of
sound the same to me, sort of retro electronic pop, with
no real level of excitement. Meh.
THE
MANX – Blood Chronicles (themanx.bandcamp.com)
I saw these guys last night at a show that I had hijacked
to celebrate my birthday. And it was the perfect show
for it, because the bands were pretty varied and original,
and you regular readers know I love variety and originality.
The Manx has it in spades! The Manx are best described
as “gypsy punk.” Four musicians, bass, banjo,
mandolin, and accordion, belt out some of the coolest
music I’ve heard in awhile. The 7” (also available
as a digital download) starts out with a manic, rapid-fire
track, “Blood Gold.” “Husky Tavern”
starts out as an epic sounding slow waltz, and then suddenly
breaks out into a darkly joyful 5/4 time tune. It then
transitions into a manic, crazy 4/4 time to finish things
out. The other tracks follow suit, evolving and changing,
being calm and quiet one minute, and off the hook crazy
the next. Gypsy music with a snotty punk attitude and
edge – beautiful and recommended!
MARINE
ELECTRIC – Restrained Joy (www.facebook.com/marineelectric)
This is a bit of a throwback. Marine Electric plays a
sort of indie-emo sound that a bunch of bands were playing
in the latter half of the nineties. It’s not as
hardcore or punk influenced as the earlier emo that came
out of DC or the Midwest in the late 80s and early nineties,
but it’s also not the “scream” kind
of stuff that was around for a (thankfully) short while.
It’s decent enough. The musicianship is good, the
songwriting is nice, but it just doesn’t have the
“oomph” I would want from a band like this.
The songs are just kind of there, never really propelling
the listener forward. Here’s a hint guys, one I
learned a long time ago from some professional music critics:
the first track on the album better be the best, and better
be a strong attention getter. Otherwise, a lot of critics
will stop listening right there, and you might not even
get a review written up. “Change Your Mind”
is OK, but it’s just not the energetic punch in
the face it needs to be. And that’s the failing
in the whole album, sadly, because I can see that, with
a little effort, this could be a really cool band.
THE
RESCUES – Blah Blah Love and War (Red Wind Records,
www.facebook.com/therescues)
The Los Angeles foursome have left the major label world
behind and struck out with a new indie release. Problem
is, they still sound like a “major label”
band. The best way to describe this is “adult contemporary.”
Soft pop-rock sounds with “soulful” vocals.
Bleah. I usually will stick with an album all the way
through, to give it a fair chance, but I really couldn’t
stomach this whole thing.
RISK
RELAY – After Fake End Times (Ernest Jenning Recording
Co., www.ernestjenning.com)
This is cool 90s sounding post-punk, kind of modal,
a little jangly, and all pretty much mid-tempo. Think
much smoother, poppier Circus Lupus, or less noisy and
angular Sonic Youth from that period, and you might get
an idea of the sound on this album. Individually, the
songs are pretty good. I don’t think there was a
single song here that I thought was unlistenable. It’s
all good stuff. But the thing that this album suffers
from is a severe lack of variety. The songs all sound
quite a bit alike, so after awhile it starts getting kind
of stale.
RVIVR – The Beauty Between (Rumbletowne
Records,
www.rumbletowne.com)
I know, I’m a loser who’s old and behind
the times, but it took me until last year to hear my first
RVIVR. It was a live show, a special celebration for a
good friend, and an occasion that I wrote about in these
virtual pages. If you remember that article, you’ll
recall that I was gushing about this band, and their incredible
friendly attitude, their smiles while playing, and how
great the music is. This brand new LP does not change
any of my feelings about them, except maybe to like them
even more. The music is just so great. It’s an edgy
sort of pop-punk sound. I absolutely love “Wrong
Way/One Way,” the fourth track on the album. I am
listening to this on an airplane right now, and I can
hardly contain myself in the seat. This track just makes
me want to jump out of my seat and dance in the aisle
– but the seat belt sign is on. The music here is
very melodic, jangly, but edgy at the same time. But I’m
getting ahead of myself. The album starts with “Seam,”
a track that kind of noisily meanders for a short bit
before resolving into a ferocious melodic pop-punk assault.
After a couple minutes of pure instrumentals, the vocals
come in, sing-along chorus style, with guitarist/vocalist
Erica Freas out front. Erica really shines on this album,
with her strong, clear voice. “LMD” and “Spider
Song” are both pretty good burners, churning along
with great bounce and melody. A couple of the songs start
out kind of slow, literally and figuratively, but then
they build up steam, the pressure rises, and they explode.
Tracks like “Old Dogs” and “Paper Thin”
fall into this category. One of the more interesting elements
of the album is “The Hunger Suite,” a three
track piece that all flows together into one. A little
more than half of the roughly nine and a half minutes
of the trilogy is taken up by part one, subtitled, “Go
Away.” It’s a slower track, almost –
but not quite – ballad-like, and has an “alternative
post-pop-punk” sort of sound. Part two, “Bleed
Out,” is a short, fast pop-punk track, and quickly
is followed by part three, “”Hunger,”
which slows things back down, in epic fashion. “Elephant
Song” is just gorgeous, a short instrumental that
has an almost spiritual feel, with lower register guitar
sounds. And this flows into the final track, “Party
Queen,” and talk about epic. The grandeur just builds
and builds. A fitting end to what will surely be considered
one of the best pop punk albums of the year.
THEE
OH SEES – Floating Coffin (Castle Face Records,
www.castlefacerecords.com)
What would you expect from a band that has “Thee”
as the first word in its name? You got it; this is garage
rock and roll. But this isn’t your usual lo-fi,
fast and loud and noisy garage rock. This has a modern
pop feel to it, as well, and a really cool counterpoint
between the tough guitars and make vocals, and the smooth
and beautiful female vocals. Right from the get-go, thing
get into high gear and right down to business, with “I
Came From the Mountain,” a rapid fire track that’s
really tight. Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster” slows things
down a bit, with cool heavy guitar sounds against the
smooth female vocals, moved to the forefront. The title
track has a cool psychedelic edge to it, while “No
Spell” is a beautiful floating pop tune, with a
honed edge. While I usually like more up-tempo tracks
better than slower ones (and who doesn’t?), I find
that the slower tracks on this album are just as mesmerizing
as the fast ones. “Strawberries 1+2” is a
good case in point, blending the best aspects of garage,
psych and shoe-gazer to create something pretty nice.
“Night Crawler” is another slower track, this
time with a heavy, yet spacey kind of feel. The closer
is a cool, loping track that adds strings (!!) to great
effect. Probably one of the better garage rock releases
these days, and recommended.
THINKING
MACHINES – Extension Chords (thinkingmachines.bamdcamp.com)
This is an interesting blend of shoegaze and prog rock.
It starts out really strongly, with a track called “The
Squid.” It shimmers like good shoegaze, but has
a heavy guitar feeling like old prog rock, pulsating.
At times it almost sounds grunge-like. But the album is
kind of uneven, with some of the tracks maintaining that
cool balance, and others veering too much into grunge
territory. The band is most effective when it maintains
that blend, because it’s a cool unique sound that
not a lot of other bands are doing. When it focuses more
on the heavy grunge guitar stuff, they end up sounding
like too many other bands out there. Besides the opening
track, “Lunge” is another really cool one,
with its indie-pop feel melded with the heaviness and
fuzziness. I just wish there were more tracks like these,
and less of the purely heavy grunge-fuzz noise ones.
YOUR FUTURE LOVERS – Eat. Play. Leave.
(www.facebook.com/YourFutureLovers)
Oh gawd. Crap pop-rock from LA. The kind that you would
have expected to litter commercial radio back in the late
70s. I couldn’t stomach this.
SCREAMING
FEMALES – Chalk Tape
(www.dongiovannirecords.com)
Screaming Females are back with a brand new EP, containing
seven of the newest offerings from this New Jersey post-punk-grunge
band. And, without a doubt, this is the most diverse release
ever from the trio. If not for the distinct sounds of
Marissa Paternoster’s vocals, one might think these
songs came from different albums and from different bands,
so varied are the styles. From the album’s opener,
“Sick Bed,” you can tell this is a different
sort of Screamales release. There’s a distinct divergence
from the previous, intense, grunge-punk sounds, in favor
of a somewhat lighter, even poppier sound. But, like I
said, the songs on this EP cannot be categorized, because
they’re so different from one another. “Sick
Bed” has a heavy, almost funky bass line, and Paternoster’s
double-tracked vocals are sung in a deadpan style to a
dirge-march like beat. “Crushing the Kingdom”
is a stark contrast, pounding out a rapid-fire, borderline
metallic sound. Then comes “Bad Men,” which
completely throws out everything you thought you knew
about this band, utilizing acoustic guitar to provide
a dark folk-rock track. “Wrecking Ball” is
an almost experimental rock track, with more of a free-form
feel.” “Poison Arrow” is the most “post-punk”
sounding track on the disc, in a 90s Sonic Youth sorta
way, but with less noise. “Into the Sun” has
a mysterious, Middle-Eastern sound, while the closer,
“Green Vapors,” is a sub two-minute noisy
pop gem, though it’s an odd choice to close, sounding
almost like an incomplete track. Probably one of the most
unique releases you’ll ever find from this band,
and a strong one, at that.
ANCHORS
– Lost at the Bottom of the World (Creator Destructor
Records, www.creator-distructor.com)
Hang on a sec. Where is this band from? It sure sounds
like they’re from SoCal or somewhere in the southwest
USA, with their cross between pop-punk and melodic hardcore
sounds. But no, they’re from…Melbourne, Australia?
Rapid-fire drumming, epic guitar power-chords, and half-sung,
half-shouted vocals blend together to create a powerful
sound. If there’s one criticism I could level, it
would be that about halfway through the roughly thirty-three
minute album, the songs start to blend together a little
too much. A bit more variety would go a long way, but
this is a strong effort.
BIG
DICK (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
I’m sure exactly where this Canadian duo get their
name, but I like to think it’s an homage to fellow
Canucks, NOMEANSNO, who had a great song with that name
on their seminal album, “Wrong. Wherever the name
came from, it’s good that it’ll be easy to
remember – and you should. Because I predict big
things for them. Not your traditional pop-punk or melodic
hardcore sound that you might expect from the kind folks
at Dirt Cult, this is a powerful thrust of in-your-face
grunge-punk. Featuring no guitars, just bass and drums,
this spunky outfit pound out some great tracks. OK, OK,
I’ll quit with the stupid puns (but they’re
so easy!). Seriously, you might think that a simple drum
and bass combo would be very limited and boring, but nothing
could be further from the truth. There’s plenty
of lo-fi garage rock and plenty of melodic sounds here
in the noisy hammering of the traditional rhythm section.
A perfect example is “Antisocial,” which is
a downright pop track full of melody. Of course, there
are also rapid-fire crunchy tracks, too, like the unrelenting
“Mayday,” which just hammers into your skull.
On this strong, unique album, standout tracks include
“School Yard Violence” and “Medic,”
for their cool post-punk vibe, and “Problems,”
and the aforementioned “Antisocial,” for being
unexpectedly melodic. Very strong debut release!
PETRA
HADEN – Petra Goes to the Movies (ANTI-, www.anti.com)
Petra Haden has music in her blood. The daughter of jazz
bassist, Charlie Haden, Petra has been a member of bands
such as THAT DOG and THE DECEMBERISTS. She’s contributed
to recordings from a number of performers, such as Green
Day, Mike Watt, Foo Fighters, Weezer and more. But what
has really made a name for her most recently is her incredible
a cappella singing. She did a track-by-track cover of
“The Who Sell Out,” singing all instruments
and vocals herself, though that was eight years ago. Now,
this album is even more incredible and astounding. Here,
Haden provides the same treatment for a number of movie
theme songs and soundtrack recordings. Most work incredibly
well. The dark moodiness of “God’s Lonely
Man” is so well captured, and the gorgeous beauty
of “Cinema Paradiso” is, well, gorgeous and
beautiful. The main theme from “Psycho” is
a lot of fun, and “Carlotta’s Gallop”
is a hoot! I love the rendition of the main theme from
“My Bodyguard.” Where the album doesn’t
succeed as well is on the tracks with actual lyrics, such
as “Goldfinger Main Title,” “It Might
Be You,” from the movie “Tootsie,” and
“Calling You,” from “Bagdad Café.”
In particular, the Goldfinger track just can’t come
close to the original Shirley Bassey recording, which
is such a classic and has such depth and power. “Hand
Covers Bruise,” written by Trent Reznor and Atticus
Rose for the movie, “The Social Network” works
well, but the closer, “This is Not America,”
is another with lyrics that fades in comparison to Bowie’s
original. Overall a very cool, very strong, very unique
album. And, as a special bonus, there’s an insert
with photos of Haden re-enacting scenes from several of
the films, full costume and all!
LIPONA
– Networks
(disconnectdisconnectrecords.bigcartel.com)
This is a cross between pop-punk, post-hardcore, and
wanky alternative rock music. It seems more than a bit
overdone and overblown to me, in a sort of U2 kind of
way, and is pretty dull. It’s kind of like crossing
U2 with Bad Religion, yeah, that’s it.
MASKED
INTRUDER (Red Scare Records, www.redscare.net, Fat Wreck
Chords, www.fatwreck.com)
Freeze! You’re under arrest for being incredibly
poppy! For those of you who don’t know, Masked Intruder
are a band of mysterious musical criminals, who are aiming
to break and enter your heart. OK, enough of the silly
puns. Seriously, Masked Intruder play some of the most
poppy pop-punk around today. Bouncy, energetic, sappy
and sassy music is the order of the day on this self-titled
LP. Some of the songs have a retro 60s pop/doo-wop feel,
like “Wish You Were Mine.” After the self-titled
track that announces their presence, the band jumps into
“25 to Life,” a track that has Ramones-like
elements, but loaded up with heaps more poppiness. “Breakin’”
has some stalkerish lyrics about “breakin’
in cause you broke my heart.” Lost love and unrequited
love seem to be a common theme among the baker’s
dozen tracks. “Heart Shaped Guitar” is another
stalker song, about a guy who is standing in front of
a girl’s house at 3am singing love songs on the
aortal stringed instrument, with the girl threatening
to call the cops. “Stick ‘Em Up” is
a straight up crime song, about a stick-up at knifepoint
in an alley. “Hello Beautiful” is a silly
fake 911 call, with a woman reporting people breaking
into their house. When asked what they’re doing,
the reply is that they aren’t damaging anything;
all they’re doing is singing. The band is incredibly
talented and fun. But I worry that they may end up as
a mere novelty act. From the colored full-face knit ski
caps hiding their identities (they are Masked Intruder,
after all), to many of the songs referencing “crimes”
of the heart, how long can they keep this up? The joke
could get a little stale after awhile. But for now, enjoy
some of the best power-pop being produced these days.
THE
PHARMACY – Stoned and Alone (Old Flame Records,
www.oldflamerecords.com)
The latest effort from The Pharmacy is, as expected,
slightly psychedelic garage-pop. The songs have a pretty
laid back quality to them, and a definite lo-fi edge.
Some of the tracks have an almost orchestral sound to
them, but not in an overblown, self-important or profound
way. It’s all just so relaxed and easy sounding.
Sometimes the vocals come across as a little too laid
back, a little imprecise. Despite the downer of a title,
the album has an upbeat sound, bouncy and chill at the
same time. Some of the tracks have an almost “island”
feel, if you can understand what I mean. While the album,
overall, is pretty OK, it’s not something astounding.
It’s a nice listen, but most of the tracks are,
you know, just OK. The one exception I would make would
be for “Pines,” the absolute best track on
this album – the one that I instantly connected
with each time I listened through the album. I think it
has to do with this being the most upbeat, bounciest track,
plus it has the coolest electric keyboards.
THE
SCOVILLES – Play Seven Songs (Dialed In Rekkids,
www.facebook.com/scovillesband)
Guess how many songs are on this album? No points for
a correct answer. This seven-song CD EP features mid-tempo
garage rock’n’roll. No bones about it, this
is garage rock. With a lo-fi sound, fans of bands like
White Stripes and the Hives will enjoy this. It’s
the same sort of genre, but more stripped down and raw
and real, so it’s got that going for it. But with
all seven songs all being kind of mid-tempo, the momentum
never builds and the energy this should have falls a bit
short.
THE
SOFT HILLS – Chromatisms (Tapete Records, www.tapeterecords.de)
This is an updating of the seventies groove rock sound.
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”
comes to mind, as do releases from performers such as
Neil Young and Led Zeppelin. But there’s a key difference
– this album doesn’t have the soul or the
freshness of those bands of yore. There’s just quiet,
rolling psychedelic rock ballads, the sort of stuff that
kids used to get stoned to back in the seventies –
but if they got stoned listening to this, they might just
have fallen to sleep instead of enjoying their buzz.
THE
SPASTIC HEARTS (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spastic-Hearts/293415424090397)
Pretty straight forward melodic punk rock and power-pop.
The album starts out strong, with “Gimmie Gimmie,”
a Ramones inspired track, with fast, loud, simple, poppy
power chords and a simple sing-along chorus. The following
tracks follow along in the same formula – and that
can be a problem. Too much of the same thing can get stale,
sometimes. On a number of tracks, the formula works pretty
well, but a few of the tracks are somewhat weaker, such
as “Wait a Little Bit,” “I Know,”
and “Just For You.” But there’s some
particularly strong tracks, too, like “Rocket Ship”
and “Rock N’ Roll.” Mixed bag.
GREAT
APES / KNOW YOUR SAINTS – Split 7” (Say 10
Records, say10.limitedrun.com)
This split came out about two months ago, but I just
picked it up at a show last night, and figured it was
still new enough to be worthy of a review here. Great
Apes are from San Francisco and Know Your Saints are from
Oakland, so this is kind of an across-the-bay split. Each
band provides two tracks of melodic post-hardcore. Great
Apes is up first, with “The Quack and the Leper
Master” and “Class(war) Room Master.”
They have an almost Chicago-like sound, in their unrelenting
massive guitar sound, but the vocals are more gruff while
still having a melodic quality. Both tracks are good,
but I particularly like the quicker pace, more kick-ass
attitude, and politics of the latter of the pair. When
did punk lose the social and political commentary it used
to have? Thanks for bringing it back, Great Apes! Know
Your Saints provide a poppier version of punk, with a
gruff edge to it. It’s really good, but also very
familiar – it’s pretty much the same exact
style you get from Lawrence Arms. So if you like them,
you’ll like Know Your Saints.
YO
LA TENGO – Fade (Matador Records, www.matadorrecords.com)
It’s been more than three years since New Jersey
indie-rockers released “Popular Songs” to
popular acclaim. They’re back now, with ten new
songs. The band continues to evolve, continues to play
a wide variety of musical styles, and continues to provide
lovely, gentle sounds. The album opens with “Ohm,”
a kin of vaguely psychedelic track, with heavy shoegaze
overtones. It glides and soars, but also as that drone-guitar
sort of thing going on, so you’re kind of standing
there, looking down and swaying while you’re soaring
– if you can get what I’m trying to convey.
“Is That Enough” is a pop ballad in the 70s
vein, complete with strings, and slightly country guitar
jangle, but with a constant noisy guitar buzz in the background,
providing a grating backdrop to the sugary sap of the
tune. “Well You Better” opens with an eerie
sound for a few seconds, but them immediately launches
into a quiet pop tune with electric organ, quiet vocals
and a strong back beat. “I’ll Be Around”
is a beautiful acoustic track, very simple and lovely.
“Cornelia and Jean” is another really nice
one, quiet, delicate and lovely, with trombones providing
some instrumental élan, along with contrasting
acoustic guitar providing a strong beat. About two thirds
of the way through, it gets quieter and more introspective,
losing the rhythm section, with just vocals and electric
guitar for a short while. Probably one of my favorites
on the disc is right at the mid-point, track 5, “Stupid
Things.” It starts out with a bit of classical style
guitar noodling, and then there’s an evil synth
that creeps up in the background, and the drums jump in,
with a distinct beat, sort of reminding me of German prog
rock, but with the beautiful pop stylings that then enter
in, it’s more like a calm, quiet Stereolab. Very
nice. This is a really nice release, one that I prefer
over “Popular Songs,” which was a little too
uneven for my tastes.
CHRIS
STAMEY – Lovesick Blues (Yep Roc Records, www.yeproc.com)
Well, this sure ain’t the dBs, nor is it anything
like what I expected. This isn’t power pop; it’s
sort of a cross between adult contemporary and singer-songwriter
folk music. Some of the tracks border on the almost orchestral,
so thick are the arrangements. What you get here is basically
easy going stuff. The disc starts out with “Skin,”
a track dripping with acoustic guitar and cello, and it
really sets the mood for the whole album. Acoustic is
a theme with most all the song here. “You N Me N
XTC” adds more acoustic instruments, in the form
of trumpets and trombones, adding a slight jazzy feel.
There’s even toy piano on this one. Throughout,
Stamey’s vocals come through crystal clear, and
there are all sorts of little ornamentations in the music.
If you’re thinking about getting this because you
think you’re going to get dBs-like music, don’t.
If you’re into nice, calm stuff, a la Michael Johnson,
you’ll like this.
THE
SHARP THINGS – Green Is Good (Dive Records, www.diverecords.com)
This represents the first in a series of new albums coming
out from New York orchestral rockers The Sharp Things.
The series’ title is “Dogs of Buswick,”
which is also the name of a track on this album. Though
the band has been together for some 15 years, they’ve
only previously released three full length albums. When
they started recording for this, apparently the output
from the sessions exceeded the entire back catalog’s
volume. The album opens with the track, “Blame the
Bankers,” which itself opens with a protester’s
rant about the bank bailouts and the disappearing middle
class. The track is a slow burner of a rocker, with a
very strong political message. “The Piper”
is a sort of folk-rock inspired song, with beautiful acoustic
guitar and harp. The album ranges from the jangly retro-pop
of “Flowers For My Girl” to the funkiness
of “Lights,” from the Americana of “Dogs
of Buswick” to the disco sounds of “Back Down
the Rabbit Hole.” The album is quite varied and
interesting. But it never really excites me.
BOBBY
JOE EBOLA AND THE CHILDREN MACNUGGITS – Trainwreck
to Narnia (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
OK, so am I supposed to review this as a serious musical
act, or as a novelty act? Because, they kinda succeed at
both. They’re super talented musicians playing entertaining,
sometimes-countrified music, but they’re also pretty
damn funny. The music mixes a variety of styles, ranging
from straight-up pop-punk, to country, to folk, to jazzy
stuff. You certainly won’t get bored listening to
this, because the songs are all pretty different. “After
the Armadillo,” after an introduction with some stolen
film dialog, is an acoustic western song, telling a story,
complete with whip sound effects and everything. “Blues
Turn Brown” is a song about going with the flow and
getting by until things turn around, with a job scooping
up dog shit from an uncle’s lawn. I love “My
Darling Boo,” a turn-of-last-century style jazzy pop
tune about the singer’s love, a mannequin who is the
only “girl” who has never been unkind. I particularly
love the Cajun-inspired waltz, “Baked Beans &
Whiskey,” a song about the two staples of life. It’s
a particularly great sing-along tune. Then there’s
the epic head-bangin’ thrash metal saga of “Bone
Dagger,” that’s guaranteed to get you violently
nodding back and forth, flinging your hair around. Lots
of fun to be had here!
DAN
PADILLA – Sports Fans (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com)
Oh, so solid melodic pop-punk from San Diego here. The recording
quality is good, with a clean, full sound. The guitars both
jangle and create a wall of sound, thick with melody. J
Wang’s gruff vocals beg to be sung along to. Overall,
the tracks tend toward the mid-tempo, with a strong back-beat
from drummer Gene Doney. The exceptions are the almost ballad-like
“Green Flash,” (named for the sunset phenomenon
or the brewery?) which includes *gasp* piano, and the decidedly
up-tempo “Geronimo,” the album’s short
closer. It’s all good-time pop-punk, perfect for group
sing-alongs. Recommended.
LOW
CULTURE – Screens (Dirt Nap Records, www.dirtnaprecs.com)
Imagine taking some great melodic pop-punk, then speeding
it up and adding a honed edge to it. This is what makes
Low Culture one of the great bands making punk music today.
Formed out of the ashes of the late, lamented Shang-a-Lang,
Low Culture has emerged to more than fill the void. After
dropping a couple of EPs, Low Culture has finally provided
a satiating dose of frenetic energetic tunage. The music
is the epitome of all that’s good in the pop-punk
world, with plenty of rapid fire jangle, sing-a-long choruses,
and hooks galore. The recording is a bit lo-fi, which
can work fine sometimes. In the case of this band, I would
have liked to have had a fuller sound. The recording sound
is a bit thin and tinny, and I would have loved to have
gotten the fuller, deeper sound I get when I see these
guys live. The album opens with the title track, which
seamlessly flows into “I Feel Your Ghost.”
If I hadn’t watched the iTunes indicator, I would
have thought it was the same track with a key change.
Pushing the boundaries of music, indeed, Chris Mason?
I really liked “Touchy Feely,” the fourth
track on the disc. It starts out like a classic hardcore
track, fast and furious, and angry sounding. It then transitions
to a more jangly pop-punk sound, and even borders on a
slightly more sedate indie-pop sound for a bit, before
returning to the more manic sounds. Another favorite is
“Nightmare,” with a sound that reminds me
of some of the early post-punk bands from the mid 80s.
The pace is still up-tempo, but there’s more of
a modal/minor key sound. “Modern World” is
just one of my absolute favorites from this band, faster
than is imaginable, with more jangle than you can jingle
a jangle at. This track has been a staple of the band
for a while, and is perhaps the shortest song in their
repertoire, at under a minute and a half. The lyrics for
the song, “California” make it clear, though,
that this band is from New Mexico, and not California.
We don’t drink whiskey on the beach, guys (at least
not legally). The song is plenty bouncy and fun, though.
As a matter of fact, it’s been hard to sit here
and review this album, because I just wanted to get up
and jump around the room. It’s that good and that
much fun. OK, I think you get the idea. This is the first
new release I am reviewing in 2013 and I already have
something to put on my best of the year list in December.
Mark my words. If you have this album, as the lyrics of
the title track say, “you have everything you need.”
MEAN
JEANS/BIG EYES – Mean Jeans/Big Eyes Split (Dirtnap
Records, www.dirtnaprecs.com)
Two tracks each from some of the better bands in the
pop-punk/garage-punk scene today. Each band offers up
one original and one cover of the other band. Mean Jeans
play a fast, Ramones influenced style of pop punk. “I
Miss Outer Space” is their new one, and has plenty
of punch, but when they play Big Eyes’ “Since
You Left,” they’re really in their element,
blasting out the fast’n’loud pop-punk with
style. Big Eyes offers their original, “Losing Touch,”
an intense garage rocker. Vocalist Kate Eldridge just
belts out the song like mad. They next offer “Too
Twisted,” a cover of Mean Jeans’ “2
Twisted 2 Luv U.” It comes out as a more relaxed,
poppy track in their hands, different but really good.
Recommended!
NOT ON TOUR – All This Time (notontour.bandcamp.com)
A hardcore punk band of women from Tel Aviv Israel? What
is this, a joke? Well, in a way, yes. They formed a few
years ago when all of the bands in their area were away
on tour, calling themselves Not On Tour as a joke. But their
music is no joke at all. This is fast, strong, powerful
punk rock, in the melodic hardcore vein. Having just listened
to the new Bad Religion album, I could definitely hear BR
influences here. Probably the lightest track is the very
pop-punk “Oded,” a song that, if it doesn’t
get you up and jumping around like crazy, well, you must
be dead. The tracks on this thing are just so strong, with
rapid fire music and powerful vocals. This album just rages!
Strongly recommended!
Mint
400 Records Presents A Very Merry Christmas Compilation
(Mint 400 Records, www.fairmontmusic.com/1/m4r.html)
Happy Holidays from the folks at Mint 400! This stocking
stuffer features a few traditional Christmas favorites,
such as Fairmont’s rendition of “Have Yourself
a Merry Little Christmas,” and The Duke of Norfolk’s
“Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” But for the
most part, this is all originals, future seasonal classics,
perhaps? The music ranges in style from the 50s early
rock’n’roll stylings of The One & Nines
and “I’m Gonna Lasso Santa Claus” to
more modern indie pop music such as “This Song Is
Your Xmas Gift,” from Fairmont, to the R&B sounds
of “Merry Christmas Baby,” also from the One
& Nines. I really enjoy the third track, “Lovely
Winter,” by The Duke of Norfolk. It’s got
a blend of acoustic, indie, Americana and traditional
Christmas music – no easy task to pull off. Ashes
gifts us with “Did Ya Hear? (Santa Was Arrested
for Burglary),” an old timey country honky-tonk
tune, as well as a jazzy bluesy tune, “Does the
Mistletoe Know?” Overall, this is a nice holiday
diversion. It’s certainly better than all those
regular carols we all get sick of every year, but it’s
not as fun as real punk rock Christmas offerings that
have come out in the past.
AUDACITY
/ BIG EYES – Fall Tour 2012 Limited Tour 7”
(Volar Records, volarrecords.blogspot.com)
I saw these two bands at VLHS, a great DIY venue in the
Inland Empire, California. The two bands were touring
together, and had this 7” available on the merch
table. Audacity’s “Bottle It Up” is
some of the finest garage punk I’ve heard in a long
time. It starts out slow and jangly, but quickly heats
up. The studio sound is just as good and just as intense
as the live show I saw, and the harmonized vocals are
even better here. The flip side is “Half the Time,”
from Big Eyes, and it’s a more relaxed, 60s style
pop tune. It’s something that could have come from
the early period Beatles, only much edgier. Good tuff
– and if you’re interested in getting these
tracks, they’re going to do a non tour version in
red and gold vinyl, and you can pre-order from the label.
AUX.78
– The Sun Decays Them (www.aux78.com)
This is an interesting release. Part experimental, part
psychedelic, part folk, all relaxed and laid back. Acoustic
and electric instruments blend together to create strange,
eerie and wonderful sonic landscapes. Vocals are used
sparingly, with long stretches of instrumentals and occasional
punctuation with lyrical content. The disc starts out
with ominous pounding of low bass notes on the piano,
on the track “Plan D.” This is joined by some
lilting higher range piano, and then some flittering guitar
and static. “I Love You But You Make Things Harder”
is a nice acoustic track with guitar strumming the chords,
lead vocals in the forefront, and plaintive backing vocals
seemingly far in the background. Glockenspiel or something
similar joins the fray part way, adding sparkle to the
desolate sound of the vocals. The track ends with the
depressing sentiment, “I love you / but you’re
not enough,” with an unresolved guitar chord, leaving
you just hanging there with this awful, wrenching feeling.
The title track blends acoustic and electric guitars,
along with electronic effects to effectively create a
very creepy atmosphere. “Dried” is one of
the most experimental sort of tracks on the disc, with
threatening noises and electronics, but it still has a
laid back, relaxed feel, as if the threat is real, but,
you know, it’s taking its time, so you can chill.
“Twenty Twenty” is full of awesome, alternating
between and intermingling bizarre, eerie soundscapes and
pounding industrial beats. This is worthy of your attention.
BIG
WILSON RIVER – Astronaut EP (bigwilsonriver.bandcamp.com)
At around 20 minutes long, it’s not quite an album,
but also a little longer than your average EP. Big Wilson
River plays something that blurs the lines between “Americana”
(another name for alt-country) and indie-folk-rock. The
title track is certainly on the country-ish side of things,
especially listening to the harmonized vocals and the
down home piano sounds. “Pallet” is a cool,
relaxes, slightly jazzy sounding track, sort of reminding
me a bit of the post-rock sounds of bands like Trans Am
and Tortoise (but with vocals). “Summer Song”
is maybe halfway between those two sounds, with cool,
breezy instrumentals (except for the intense guitar feedback
at some points), but with country twangy vocals. “Hannah”
is a full-on folk song sound, and the recording studio
banter at the end of track is kinda funny. The EP closes
with “Cali-Fuck-Yeah,” the most rock of the
tracks, with some cool fuzzy guitar and explosive moments.
After listening to this a couple of times, I think I like
this pretty well. The tracks have a good amount of variety
and enough hooks to hold my attention. Well done.
LISA
GERMANO – No Elephants (Badman, www.badmanrecordingco.com)
When Jim told me there would be a couple of nice surprises
in the latest package, I didn’t know he was talking
about this! This is the first new release from Germano
since “Magic Neighbor,” which made my “top
ten” list for 2009. Germano creates simple and intimate
songs and soundscapes, and “No Elephants”
doesn’t disappoint. This time, in addition to the
simple piano and ambient electronics melding with her
gorgeous, breathy vocals, she adds some more background
sampling, sounds, and noises to punctuate the songs. From
a phone dial tone on “Back to Earth,” to GSM
mobile phone interference sounds on the title track and
“Dance of the Bees,” effects serve to enhance
the mood. The music is simple, but lush, and very moody
and evocative. The opener and closer are like bookends,
with and intro to “Ruminants” opening with
the sounds of various birds, over a simple melody, and
“Strange Bird” ending the album with the same
melodic lines and lyrics that seem to speak about how
we’re all strange birds, in a way. In between are
some of the most beautiful tracks you’re likely
to hear anywhere. “Feast,” in particular,
is a sad celebration, alternating between distorted and
angular jingle bell and chime sounds and a morose waltz
with strings that swell with emotion. Sadly, this isn’t
coming out until February of 2013, but since I’m
reviewing it now, it’s going on my “top ten”
list this year…and maybe next year, too!
GIANT
GIANT SAND – Tucson (Fire Records, www.firerecords.com)
The newest from the expanded Giant Sand (thus now named
Giant Giant Sand) is subtitled, “A Country Rock
Opera.” Well, country rock has certain negative
connotations, and it’s not quite accurate in that
this album isn’t strictly country rock, so let’s
use the more acceptable terms, “Americana,”
or “alt-country.” But to just leave it at
that is misleading. This isn’t all Wilco type stuff
by a long shot. While the first track, “Wind Blown
Waltz,” certainly has a distinct twang, “Forever
and a Day” evolves from almost full-on country toward
a track with a distinct ska edge. “The Sun Belongs
To You” reminds me of the music you might hear in
a spaghetti Western movie, more than alt-country, with
it’s sort of Latin rhythm, trumpets, and dusty feel.
“Ready Or Not” is kind of like a twisted jazz
tune. “Recovery Mission” makes interesting
use of children’s vocals in this dreamy, jazzy track.
You get the idea – it’s all over the gamut.
And, while many of the tracks have a distinct “western”
feel, you would be very hard pressed to call this country
rock. “Caranito” is a full-on Latin track,
with lyrics even sung in Spanish! I guess there’s
supposed to be some sort of narrative tying all the tracks
together (thus the moniker, “A Country Rock Opera”),
but that doesn’t interest me so much. For me, it’s
always the music, the emotional content, and the power
of it. This stuff has some of that – this is decent
stuff. Is it something you have to run out and get or
download? Probably not, but if you do, you’ll probably
like it enough.
GOODMAN
– What We Want (goodmanmusic.bandcamp.com)
Goodman is the musical project of Michael Goodman, and
it features a sort of blend of indie-power-pop and retro
pop sounds. The instrumentals are dripping with organ
and guitar reverb in a surf-garage sort of way, and the
vocals are high up in the mix, with nice harmonization.
“Yawning” is a really nice track with gorgeous
melodic lines and harmonies. The overall sound is reasonably
spare and stripped down without over-embellishment. It’s
nice stuff, especially the first half of the tracks –
but there’s a bit too little variety to the sound
of the tracks. Decent stuff in smaller doses.
MAN
MADE SUN – More a Devil Than a God (www.facebook.com/manmadesun)
This is heavy, post-punk influenced music, geared toward
an alternative audience. Think Jesus Lizard crossed with
the Melvins, turned into a commercial act for mainstream
consumption. At least that’s how the first track,
“God Vs. God,” comes across. “Belief,”
the second of the five tracks on this EP, has a more angular
sound, while “Signal” borders on industrial
dance sounds without the electronics. Meh.
MOON
HOOCH
(moonhooch.bandcamp.com)
What can you do with two tenor saxophones and a minimalist
drum kit? Apparently quite a lot, and Brooklynites Mike
Wilbur, Wenzi McGowen (tenor saxes) and James Muschler
(drums) set out to prove that on this self-titled debut.
The music is quite spare, as you might guess, very stripped
down to essentials. But to say that the music is exuberant
is doing it a disservice of understatement. The music
is pure joy, danceable, jazzy, and entertaining as hell.
The sparseness of the instrumentation makes me think of
street musicians or something you would find in the subways
during rush hour – and apparently that’s where
Moon Hooch trace their roots. The tracks seem to start
off at a moderate pace, and then get even more frenetic
with each passing track. “Tubes,” besides
being one of the only tracks with a real name (other than
a number – and not even in numerical order), also
introduces a bit of additional instrumentation, in the
form of a stringed instrument of some kind at the start.
One of the saxophones is used to create a dark drone-like
sound, to great effect. In a way, this can seem a bit
repetitive to the casual listener. But if you pay attention,
you’ll be rewarded.
OCCULT
DETECTIVE CLUB – Alright Gentlemen (Dirt Cult Records,
www.dirtcultrecords.com)
A solid blend of power pop and punk rock music. Occult
Detective Club serves up four tracks of aggressively melodic
stuff. “Sad Kids” is probably my favorite
track, with its faster tempo and simple yet effective
hooks. “The President Says” is the closer,
and is another strong track – but then again, they’re
all good tracks. Another Dirt Cult winner.
THE
PINE HOLLOWS – Something My Heart Understands (www.thepinehollows.com)
Not just an homage to the pop sounds of the 60s, this
is an updating of the sound. Bouncy pop music abounds
on this disc, and instantly evokes memories of the Beatles
without sounding like a cover band. Front man, Gianni
Napolitano (guitar, vocals) is obviously a big John Lennon
fan, and even his voice sounds a bit similar to the Beatles’
legend. The music ranges from the previously mentioned
bouncy tracks, to more ballad-like songs, but all with
the same sparkle you would expect from music so heavily
influenced by the Fab Four. I think my favorite track
on the disc has to be the last one, “Everything
Is Gonna Be Alright,” mainly cool use of a recorded
guitar line that has a “bit of trouble” starting
and stopping. It’s a cool effect. Overall a pretty
nice release!
SISTER KISSER / RUMSPRINGER – Split 7-inch (Dead
Broke Records, www.deadbrokerecords.com)
This split has been available for on-line streaming for
some time, but it just now made it to vinyl. Each band
contributes two songs. Sister Kisser, hailing from New
York, provide a couple of mid-tempo tracks, with guitars
that pound, jangle, and soar. The music sounds like a
slightly commercially viable form of modern pop-punk –
commercially viable in that it could almost sound at home
on an alternative radio station. Rumspringer is not an
Amish band; they’re a modern pop-punk band out of
Tempe, Arizona. The music is bouncy and fun, it’s
serious and strong. And this represents the better side
of the EP, in my opinion. Both “It’s Been
Awhile” and “…And It’ll Be Awhile”
are more up-tempo, more powerful, faster, punchier, and
catchier.
THE
SWITCHBLADE KID
(missmollymusic.storenvy.com, theswitchbladekid.bandcamp.com)
Noisy, retro garage music that sort of crosses the super
fuzziness of shoegazer with a heavy-ish-ness of 90s post-punk.
Think the Jesus and Mary Chain crossed with Sonic Youth,
perhaps. The music is super noisy, with thick wall of
guitar sound that’s nearly impenetrable. The tracks
tend uniformly tend toward the mid-tempo, the production
is lo-fi, and there’s a distinct British feel, probably
from the shoegaze influence. I like this. I wish there
was a little more variety, but I like it.
WIDE
ANGLES – Smile More (Dirt Cult Records, www.dirtcultrecords.com
/ Dead Broke Records, www.deadbrokerecords.com)
Rough & tough sounding melodic pop-punk here. The
vocals are guttural and have an urgency to them. The production
is a bit lo-fi – I don’t know if that was
intended or not, but I think a cleaner sound would have
been of benefit. The band is from the Chicago area, but,
contrary to the description provided by Dirt Cult Records,
the band does not sound like Naked Raygun. Wide Angles
belongs to a more modern school of punk music, with more
melody and more musicianship. The musicianship is evident
here, as is the song writing – the melodies and
hooks are cool. “Horoscopes” has some pretty
damn nice chord progressions. “Instrumental in C”
is the oddball track, sounding more like a Bob Dylan number
than anything else, complete with acoustic guitar and
harmonica. “I’ll Get Back to You,” the
closer, is probably the best track on the disc, with thick
instrumentation, a controlled manic sound, and loads of
changes in tempo and melodic feel – I really like
that song a lot. Good album!
JABBER
– Too Many Babes (Bloated Kat Records, www.facebook.com/BloatedKatRecords,
jabberpop.bandcamp.com)
I normally don’t write reviews of demos from bands
no one’s ever heard of before. Normally, I review
stuff that Our Fearless Editor has sent to me, and occasionally
I’ll review stuff I’ve picked up at shows.
Real released records, you know? From bands that have
actually played some shows. Well, this is different. This
band hasn’t played a single show yet. Their first
show isn’t even until late November (2012). So why
the hell am I reviewing them? Because they’re really
good and really worthy of your attention! The band was
only just formed in September of this year, and already
they’re playing some incredibly awesome pop-punk.
Think Ramones, only sung in three-part harmony by women.
The four-song demo (eventually to be released on a 7”
by Bloated Kat) starts out with “Maybe Next Year,”
a song just bursting with optimism about what the future
can hold. In an interesting bit of humble lyricism, the
second verse indicates “My world spins at 45 revolutions
/ I can handle the concept but not the execution / I don’t
want to teach the world to sing / I can barely even play
this thing.” Ummm, you certainly can play! “Girlfriend”
sounds so Ramones – simple lyrics, simply melody,
but makes you want to jump up and down and pogo like it
was 1980 all over again. I really like the final track,
“Talk to You,” about the downside to a really
long-distance relationship. Expect big things from this
quartet!
BNLX (Susstones, http://susstones.com/mainwp)
Seriously retro 80s style post-punk/new wave blend. This
stuff sounds sort of like that 80s “serious”
new wave stuff, but with more of a guitar edge and no
synths. But that’s about all the edge it has, as
the songs themselves seem to be fairly tame, teetering
on the edge of commercial viability. Think Interpol or
the Smiths, but without the depth, and a bit poppier.
“999” opens promisingly, with a sort of mid-period
Sonic Youth sound, but not quite as dissonant. The short
introductory track is followed by “Vibrant,”
with very Morrissey-like vocals and interesting guitar
drones in the background. This is probably one of the
strongest tracks on the disc. I mean, this isn’t
bad or anything, but it just doesn’t quite measure
up to those who created this sound before them. It’s
just a little too blasé, a little too bland, a
little too smooth.
BOY
EATS DRUM MACHINE – The Battle (www.boyeatsdrummachine.com)
This is the latest release from one-man musical extravaganza,
Joe Ragel. An earlier album, “Hoop and Wire,”
made my top albums of the year list a couple of years
ago, so I was excited to see this in my latest package
from Jersey Beat HQ. Whereas that album, though, reminded
me of twisted children’s music, this has quite a
different flavor. The tracks have a more grown-up sound,
a little disjointed and disorienting, but with the same
lo-fi feel, with Ragel’s distinct vocals and plenty
of electronic sounds. There’s a lot more edge to
this album, too, with distorted guitar on some of the
tracks, and plenty of soul. One of my absolute favorite
tracks on this disc is the outstanding “Speak for
God,” which has a cool sort of gospel-ish vibe to
it. There’s some really intense guitar work on this
one that just is hard to describe, but suffice it to say,
this track right here is one of my favorites of the year.
Some of the other tracks, like “Election Drinking
Song,” have a distinct funk sound. “Destroy
Imagination” is a track that started out with very
simple sounds, but a little overbearing. But as the song
evolved and added more melody, it grew on me quite a lot,
especially with the guitars at the end of the track. It
seems that the most successful tracks on this disc are
the ones with guitars. Which is such a contrast to “Hoops
and Wire.” Quite an interesting release.
COOL
MUTANTS (Let’s Pretend Records, www.letspretendrecords.com)
This band from the heartland of Evansville, Indiana,
featuring a member of Be My Doppleganger, offers up eight
songs of lo-fi garage punk energy. “She Sang the
Blues” opens the cassette (huh? Yeah, they “pressed”
up 100 cassettes, those things with magnetic tape inside
plastic shells!), with pounding drums and super distorted
bass. This is the kind of music that would drive John
Reis – I mean the Swami – crazy with joy (Reis
hosts the Swami Sound System radio show here in San Diego,
featuring great classic garage sounds). “Shock Shop”
slows things down, but maybe even increases the distortion,
giving the track sound that crosses the Ramones and classic
50s/60s rock sounds. “What’s Wrong With Your
Head” is a cool standout track – fast, loud,
lo-fi, simple, perfect punk music. “Coolest of the
Cool,” the closer, is an unmistakable surf-rock
tune and a fun way to end this great tape. Check them
out!
FASTER
HOUSECAT
(fasterhousecat.bandcamp.com)
Faster Housecat are a five-piece pop-punk band from Oregon,
feature former members of such stalwarts as Off With Their
Heads, Tiltwheel, and Rivethead. This 4-song EP features
mostly mid-tempo, melodic pop-punk; it’s sort of
Screeching Weasel-ish in a way. Maybe the most interesting
track of the disc is the closer, a cover of Adele’s
“Someone Like You.” No ballad, this, it’s
probably better than the original. It’s fast and
packed with pop-punk goodness. A promising release.
HEROES
OF TOOLIK – Winter Moon (www.heroesoftookik.com)
This is a fairly unique release, from this New Jersey
based band. Featuring trombone and accordion, in addition
to normal guitar, bass and drums, the songs tend to have
a little bit of a ska edge, but also plenty of folksy
country twang from the acoustic guitar. The songs range
from bluesy to country-ish, and some have a pretty rock
edge. The vocals have sort of a Jim Morrison quality to
them, with that relaxed, easy, deep sort of sound. “F
String” has a coo sound of Talking Heads crossed
with groovy 60s music. “Crazy Old Broad” is
a rockin’ garage rock tune, with the exception of
the trombone and accordion, which add an unusual element
to the sound. “Yellow-Haired Sea” is a gorgeous
track featuring interplay between acoustic and electric
guitar. It’s an instrumental, slow, lazy sort of
song, like you would listen to on a rainy Sunday morning
or something. “Long View” is probably the
most country of the tracks, with a slightly down home
feel – if not for the trombone. Country jazz? “Two
Humans” is another one that sounds like the vocalist
is channeling Jim Morrison. Overall an interesting, nice,
relaxing listen.
RESEARCH TURTLES – Mankiller Part 2 of 2 (www.researchturtles.com)
This sounds like fairly commercial “pop-rock music.”
There’s female backing vocals, wanky guitars, and
a smug-sounding lead vocalist. I think they thought they
were sounding “alternative” without being
too rock – and it is, indeed, poppier than the typical
heavy sounding alternative bands out there. That doesn’t
make it good, though.
SPACE
WOLVES (UT Records, www.ut-records.com)
The Space Wolves, hailing from New York, don’t
believe in putting more into a song than they feel they
need to. That’s why the song lengths on this thirteen
track cassette/digital download max out at 2:46 and go
all the way down to 0:26. The average seems to be around
1:30. The music is lo-fi, slightly punky, and definitely
garage and surf influenced. The music is definitely on
the melodic side, and pretty smooth, as bands in the genre
go. Sometimes they venture way into the realm of pop music,
as is the case with “(((It Broke) My Heart) (When
You Forgot)),” a track with a fully parenthetical
title. Songs aren’t terribly serious in nature,
as is evidenced by “Here’s Pizza (Do You Love
Me Too),” another song in a series with parenthesis
in the title. Unless you find pizza to be serious in nature,
that is. And apparently the Space Wolves do, because another
track is “Pizza Ice Cream (Is My Dream). The songs,
are, though, quite bouncy and fun, and even sunny and
island-like in the sparkly nature. Overall a reasonably
enjoyable listen, but not something that is going to shake
your world.
BRICK
MOWER – My Hateable Face
(www.dongiovannirecords.com)
This is a buzzy, noisy, but melodic and catchy album.
Most of the tracks are fairly up-tempo, pretty much until
you hit “Off to the Races,” the ninth track.
But right after that it’s back to the fairly up-tempo
buzzy noisy stuff. Taken individually, these are really
cool songs. But they do all tend to sound the same; there’s
little to no diversity here. The album opens pretty strongly,
with “Touchdown Jesus,” a hard rocking pop-punk
sounding track, with lots of buzzy guitars and cool angular
lines. Sometimes the vocals go a bit off track, like on
“Black Market Cigarettes,” which sometimes
sounds like they just didn’t listen to the playback
before letting this go out for pressing, because some
of the vocals are way out of tune here. On “Trip
the Stairs” that works, though, because the guitar
lines have plenty of purposeful dissonance, and I really
like the sound of this track, but in some of the other
tracks it doesn’t work as well. I also enjoy the
poppiness of “Back to Haunt Me,” and the aforementioned
“Off to the Races,” which has kind of a cool
swirly feel to it, though it sometimes suffers from out
of tune vocals. A lot of the tracks are not bad, if taken
individually. The problem is that, when listened to back-to-back,
the result is eventual boredom, because the tracks all
sound a lot alike.
AUNT
ANGE – Olga Walks Away
(www.AuntAnge.com)
From the opening notes, played on a toy piano, this is
one unique release. Blending jazz, indie, smooth harmonies,
psychedelic sounds, bluesy riffs, and everything in between.
“Black Funeral Dress,” the opening track,
is a standout. I found myself snapping my fingers to the
beat. This one swings, in a cool understated way. “Circles”
is another interesting one, with contrasting smooth harmonized
vocals and the gruff, throaty vocals. The sitar on “Down
the Rabbit Hole” is a nice touch, too, giving the
track an air of mystery. “King of the Damned”
sounds like the soundtrack for a twisted gypsy carnival,
with the plucked violins, toy piano, accordion, judicious
use of reverb, and so on. Very cool effect. The title
track is so bizarre and cool! It’s in waltz time,
and it tells a story, complete with characters that spring
to life. One of the more unique and interesting releases
this year.
BEDHED
AND BLONDY – Down South (www.bedhedandblondy.com)
This is marketed as “alt-country” or “Americana,”
which are real terms for a type of music that’s
indie rock with a distinct country twang. That’s
not what this is. This is country/southern rock music.
The music is partially acoustic, so there’s undertones
of folk, but there’s loads of twang and electric
guitar, too. At the moderately slow tempos, it comes across
as kind of bluesy, too. None of which impresses me. If
you like slowish, bluesy southern rock that’s kind
of folksy, you will probably like this. But the more I
listened to this the more it annoyed me. I mean, I’ve
reviewed and enjoyed some real “Americana”
albums. But I couldn’t take too much of this. I
mean, the organ in the background alone put me over the
edge. Skip this.
MARCO
BENEVENTO – Tigerface
(www.royalpotatofamily.com)
Well, the first track started out pretty promising, with
a really cool jazzy jam vibe with rough and raucous electronics
and smooth female vocals. But the second track sounds
pretty damn commercial. After we dispense with the two
tracks featuring Kalmia Traver from dance outfit Rubblebucket,
we move onto some instrumentals that Benevento is more
known for. The music is kind of jazzy, a lot tamer than
the first raucous track, and kind of mild. Sort of edgy
elevator music, if you will. I could see this stuff being
the soundtrack to some movie about sophisticated hip people
in New York City, or something. “Escape Horse”
(track 8) is an exception to the rule, being a lot more
raucous sounding, more along the lines of the first track,
sans vocals. It pounds kind of hard, despite some smooth
sounding electronics. Some of the album almost reminds
me of “space age bachelor pad music” that
was hot in the 90s, except with acoustic instruments and
less cheese factor, "Basilicata." I dunno, overall
it’s a tough call. There are some interesting moments,
but overall, I think this is a little too commercial sounding
for my tastes.
CALLERS
– Reviver (Partisan Records, www.partisanrecords.com)
The most apt description for this, the third release
from Callers, would be smooth jazz indie rock. Plenty
of closely harmonized vocals, breezy instrumentals, jazzy
rhythms, but plenty of electric guitar blend together
to create the sound. I dunno, it comes across as kind
of bland adult contemporary sounding music to me. I like
jazz, but not smooth jazz. I like indie rock, but not
“smooth” indie rock. There are no rough edges,
and I can see it putting me to sleep if I leave it playing
too long.
DIVINE
FITS – A Thing Called Divine Fits (www.mergerecords.com)
I’m hearing 80s new wave blended with rock here.
Plenty of syncopated, guitar punctuated rhythms and synth.
Much of the disc is decent, if forgettable pop music,
but “The Salton Sea” is unforgettable, if
only for the unceasing 80s electronic rapid-fire thump
of a drum machine. I’m trying to decide if I like
it or not. It’s one of those borderline things,
you know? “Civilian Stripes” is a breath of
fresh air, after all the 80s synth, being pretty basic
acoustic guitar and vocals, with piano and tambourine
joining in about half way through the song. Simple and
nice. “Shivers” is another cool one, with
a much more modern sound. It starts out as a reasonably
modern ballad sound, and the vocals are extremely well
done, exuding emotion. The last couple of minutes of this
track really start to rock really well with some cool
guitar effects. And the final track, “Neapolitan,”
has a kind of retro garage sound that’s interesting.
Unfortunately, these tracks seem to be the exception,
and most of the album has loads of bright 80s electronics
that get on my nerves.
THE
EERIES – Home Alone (Evil Weevil Records, www.evilweevil.bigcartel.com)
This is good old fashioned 60s style garage pop. “Wait
On You,” the third track on the disc, sounds like
it could have been performed by the Beatles in some of
their earliest gigs. Think of what pop music sounded like
in the transition from doo wop to rock and roll, and that’s
a hint of this stuff. “Blue,” is just what
you think it would be, a jangly blues pop tune, straight
out of the early 60s. The opener, “Should’ve
Stayed Home,” is probably one of the best tracks
on the disc, with a distinct retro garage punk sound.
The closer, “You’ve Got the Moves,”
has a real surf/beach sound a la the Beach Boys early
stuff. I can imagine seeing these guys live would be a
lot of fun. Studio recordings are nice, but with this
kind of stuff, a live show would have a lot more energy.
THE
FUR COATS – Don’t Make Me Beg
(www.dirtcultrecords.com)
Nice! This four-song 7” EP contains some nice edgy
indie-pop. It’s not punk, but it’s very cool
stuff. Super melodic, super catchy and moderately up-tempo,
it makes me want to get up and start jumping around the
room. I like the sentiment of the first track on the B-side,
“Tiny Fists.” It references a growth of the
next generation of the “scene,” and encourages
them to “raise your tiny fists and take a pole at
the world.” Hanging out with the people I have been
lately in SoCal, they are doing just that, guys. Awesome
stuff, but too short, leaving me wanting more.
HOLMES
– Complication Simplified
(www.groovegravy.com/about.html)
Smooth poppy music here. The disc starts with “Put
a Hurt on Me,” which sounds like it could have been
written as a Smoking Popes tune, but without the crooning
vocals of Josh Caterer. It has a hint of punk edge in
it without being punk, has a bit of an edge without being
off-putting to the masses. “Crawling” has
hints of Beatles influence, as well as a jazzy feel. Some
tracks start to sound too late 70s commercial pop, like
“Caught on Fire,” which has a spacy feel like
Pink Floyd, but with pop sensibilities instead of psychedelic
artistic ones. It comes off as pretty bland, actually.
Other tracks tend to be listenable, but unremarkable,
retro pop music that sounds like it could have been made
in the 70s or 80s or 90s.
THE MAGNIFICENT – Bad Lucky (www.dirtcultrecords.com)
This is strong, polished punk rock. There’s a strong
sense of melody, but with a big guitar sound. If I didn’t
know that they’re from Yorkshire, in the north of
England, I would swear they were a Chicago band, because
they have that signature Chicago guitar sound –
you know, like Naked Raygun and Pegboy, in days of old.
There’s even some woah-ohs here and there, just
like those bands! “Foreign Legion” is one
of my favorites on the disc. It has some early punk snottiness
in the mix with those big guitars. “Longshot”
has slight hints of Ramones influence. And I really like
“Walk a Mile in my Jeans,” which has a nice
pop-punk feel to it. I could see the kids crowding the
stage to sing along to this. “Working Men’s
Club (Part 3)” is a nice, fast one that’ll
have ‘em moshing like crazy. Again, it reminds me
of an old Chicago band, this time The Slammin’ Watusis.
All this would need would be a saxophone screeching along
in places to complete that picture. I know people talk
about comparing this band to the Clash, but I think the
Chicago comparison is more apt. I like this stuff a lot.
MUHAMMADALI (www.dirtcultrecords.com)
I saw Muhammadali live at Awesomefest 6 earlier this
year, and didn’t really think that much of them
at the time. Their set came off kind of muddy. And, while
this studio recording is, thankfully, cleaner than the
sound at the club, it’s still kind of thick and
muddy. The thick party is the good part. This is a solid
sonic assault, with full-on guitars and multi-voiced vocals.
Which I like a lot. I guess the lo-fi nature is part of
the sound they’re going for, though, and while lo-fi
works well for indie nerd pop, when you’ve got this
big a sound, it hinders rather than helps the sound. OK,
that aside, how is the quality of the music? It’s
pretty cool, actually. I’m having a hard time following
which tracks are which, though, because the label has
no track listings, and the insert and dust jacket don’t
show a clear order. Yes, this is a vinyl release! I don’t
think I’ve reviewed vinyl in Jersey Beat in a good
15 years, at least! This comes on nice clear yellow vinyl,
perfect for us collector nerds. OK, so, as I said, this
has a super big sound, a sonic assault of guitars and
en masse vocals. The opening track, “Someday,”
is a moderate tempo, sort of melodic, and even kind of
poppy, especially with the cool “oooh ooh ohhh”
vocals in the chorus. I really dig it. The second track,
“Opposition,” has a real angular feel to the
melodic lines, which is cool. The vocals seem to be more
shouted than anything, and the overall effect is kind
of chaotic, but it works. “Exploding Ego”
is a heavy, slower track, very crunchy, with an almost
metallic edge. The soaring melody in the guitar over the
grinding crunch, though, is just gorgeous. Toward the
end of the track, there’s what sounds like trumpet,
hovering over the chaos, or maybe it’s still just
guitar. But it’s cool. “Gotta Be a Reason”
opens side 2, with a super angular line. “Elephant”
is another chaotic one, fast and noisy. “You Don’t
Miss Me” is an awesome garage punk tune in the best,
classic sense. Then there’s “Smilin,”
another retro sort of track that pulses with a bit of
a psychedelic vibe. The album ends with an unlisted “bonus”
track with lyrics “I’m not stupid / I’m
not retarded.” Not a great way to end an otherwise
pretty cool release. I really like the vibe, and I get
what they’re trying to do with the lo-fi nature,
but it seems a bit overdone. If the sound was cleaned
up just a bit, this would be incredibly awesome.
PEER
PRECIOUS – Bless This Mess (www.dirtcultrecords.com)
This is melodic punk, but without lots of melody. The
tracks are edgy without having a well-defined edge, and
they tend to sound pretty much the same as each other.
It’s moderate tempo punk, and each song is decent
enough, but nothing out of the ordinary. I guess I just
find this to be average, the kind of stuff you could see
from any local band opening a show. Variety is the spice
of life, and it’s essential for preventing boredom.
SUNDOWNERS (www.dirtcultrecords.com)
This four song self-titled 7” from the Minneapolis-based
Sundowners has lots of jangle, and has nice melodic lines,
hints of pop, but with lots of emotional edge so it doesn’t
come off sounding too poppy. The tracks come off kind
of on the punk end of the indie spectrum, or on the indie
end of the punk spectrum, whichever way you want to look
at it. It’s edgy without coming off as too punk
(is there such a thing?), but also without being silly
pop fluff. They got it just right, if you ask me. The
musical writing and arranging is really cool. I especially
love the guitar embellishments on “Can’t You
Help Me Get My Thai On,” the opening track on this
little piece o’ vinyl. “Misplaces Mistakes”
is a bit more of a hard driving punk track, and “Life
After Berf” relaxes it back just a tad. Relaxed
is not quite right – they have an easy sound while
still sounding intense. Casually intense? “CN-END”
has a very similar feel, and the last two songs sort of
flow one into the other. The one thing that might be the
weak link for Sundowners is the vocals – when there’s
only one person singing, it’s OK, but when there’s
two or more of them singing together, it’s a little
messy, a bit out of key. But, damn, I love this kind of
punk music!
SWANS
– The Seer (Young God Records, www.younggodrecords.com)
The Swans burst back onto the scene a couple years ago,
after spending several years focusing on other projects.
Their album My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the
Sky was gritty, intense, and dark, and made my top
10 list of 2010. It was more accessible than the earlier
Swans releases too, with less pure noise and more melody
and purposeful noise. This new double CD/triple LP is
not only the follow-up to that album, but is the culmination
of thirty years worth of Swans material, according to
frontman Michael Gira.
Well, it certainly is a further evolution, as this album
is calmer, smoother and less “noisy” than
any previous Swans album. To be sure, there is the minimalist
sort of repetition of phrases, there is plenty of percussive
bass, and yes, there is some noise. One of the most interesting
comments Gira made about My Father Will Guide Me…
was about the opening track, which really set the tone
for the album. It was several minutes of ecstatic, ordered
noise that meshed together into a thing of intensity and
beauty. He commented that it should have been twice as
long as it was, but he chickened out.
Well, here, Gira doesn’t chicken out so much, with
some tracks in excess of 20 or even 30 minutes! The music
is unrelenting in its shifts, changing character completely
multiple times in the course of a single track. “Mother
of the World” is a pounding jam that evolves into
a spacey track, and then sort of an apocalyptic folk tune
toward the end. The intensity is subtle here, with high
pitches scratched from a violin under the mix, just getting
under your skin with the tension. The title track clocks
in at more than 32 minutes, and begins in a cacophony
of bagpipes and chaos. Over the course of the next several
minutes it evolves into a throbbing, pulsing track, punctuated
with percussion, and strings gliding across like razors
cutting through. Gira’s vocals are deadpan, rapidly
repeating “I’ve seen it all.” It gradually
slows down and quiets down into something eerie sounding,
with little slithery sounds and dark, ominous growls,
and then a plaintive wail of a harmonica joins the mix.
“93 Ave. Blues” opens with the sound of soprano
saxophones crying out. The drums and electric guitar slowly
join the chorus, taunting the saxophones, and then low
pitches wailing vocals join the fray. Disc 1 then closes
with the short apocalyptic folk tune, “The Daughter
Brings The Water,” which sounds like it could have
been made by a grittier, meaner David Tibet.
Disc 2, with only four tracks to disc 1’s seven,
has a noticeably different character. It opens with “Song
for a Warrior,” which begins with a dark Americana
feel, and then starts to shimmer a little less than two
minutes in. It’s much lighter than the tracks that
precede it, even uplifting in its feeling. “Avatar”
features chimes playing a repetitive melodic line, slowly
being overcome by the gathering drums that pound louder
and louder, as if an army is gathering up for battle.
But it, too, is much more melodic than the disc 1 tracks.
It continues to build in intensity to the very end of
the track. “A Piece of the Sky” starts its
nearly twenty minute run with sound effects. It’s
a campfire. Or a fire of some kind. It then adds various
ambient sounds, slowly building a quiet cacophony. It
starts to shimmer, in a noisy way, sounding uplifting
again. Then shifting to a melodic rock feel, then evolves
into a nice ballad. The disc closes with the twenty-three
minute “Apostate.” Another track that changes
dramatically over the course of time. It meanders for
a while; it stops and starts pounding with an urgent feeling,
and continues to change in nature.
As I said at the top of this review, this album may be
less intense and smoother than the previous studio album,
but I think it may be less accessible, as well to the
casual listener. But, then, Gira and company are not looking
for casual listeners, are they? The attentive listener
will be rewarded with quite the aural experience. Another
winner, here.
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