BLUNT
MECHANIC – World Record (Barsuk Records,
www.barsuk.com)
Very lo-fi, but interesting indie-pop. The songs
tend to be mid-tempo, maybe feeling like they
drag a little bit, but they’re laden with
hooks. The songs really are getting into my
head after just one listen. On the second listen
I was already humming along. Bouncy, and catchy
are words that come to mind. Even so, some tracks
are definitely morose-sounding, such as “Is
Or Isn’t All the Same,” a track
that can bring a tear to the eye. Thankfully,
it’s immediately followed by the decidedly
up-tempo “Our First Brains,” and
if you don’t at least start tapping your
feet at this one, you missed out on YOUR first
brain. If I could change anything about this
album, I would do two things: 1. I would dump
the lo-fi. It’s so over, and so affected.
Your songs would sound so much better without
all of the distortion. 2. While some of the
slower songs are appropriate as they are, some
of them would be better of with a quickened
pace. Overall, pretty good.
C.D.
TRUTH – Completely Destroyed (F.I.M.P.,
www.cdtruth.com)
C.D. Truth have been around a long time, 19
years, and this is just their third full-length
release in all that time. I can imagine the
frustration of their fans, with the long wait
between releases, because this is pretty decent
stuff. It has equal measures of Dead Kennedys,
Mission of Burma, and Alice Donut. There’s
a definite early punk influence, loads of crunchy
guitar, very tight musicianship, and a definite
sense of fun and humor. “Body Bag is a
very straight-forward punk tune, while many
of the others have a more post-punk feel. Some
of the songs have Akron-centric lyrics (the
band hails from that former rubber capitol),
like “Y-Bridge,” (“Spread
your wings and start flying, make your mark
on Elizabeth Park”). “Cleveland,
You’re Still #2” is another Ohio
song, with humorous and cynical lyrics. And
my Internet research has revealed that CD Truth
has even played at a Church of the Subgenius
Devival, so hey, they’ve got to be pretty
cool! The disc closes with a fitting tribute
to Akron’s most famous citizens, Devo,
and a cover of their first big “hit,”
“Jocko Homo.” All in all, this is
a pretty cool album.
THE
FARMERS – Fulmination (www.thefarmersmusic.com)
If you’re into mid-tempo hick/redneck
sounding roots rock, you’ll like this.
Me? I find it to be pretty dull stuff. It actually
sounds kind of affected, like they’re
trying too hard to have that inbred backcountry
sound. They’re from San Diego, and a lot
of their songs seem to be about East County
and it’s environs, such as on “Walkin’
Back to Lakeside,” Lakeside being an East
County town. For those who don’t know,
East County is the part of San Diego County
that is more rural, mountainous, and very, very
conservative. Roots rock can be lots of fun,
raucous and snotty, but this stuff is just so
middle-of-the-road, really dull stuff.
THE
GILDED PALACE OF SIN – You Break Our
Hearts, We’ll Tear Yours Out (Central
Control, www.centralcontrol.co.uk)
Interesting stuff here. It has hints of folksiness,
with banjo and acoustic guitar, with some country-like
melodic lines. But then there’s also the
growling guitar, glockenspiel, and Theremin
mixed in. It’s sort of like experimental
shoegazer music for the alt country set. And
all of this from a UK band! Pete Phythian’s
vocals kind of remind me of Jim Morrison; there’s
a similarity in the vocal quality, and the kind
of relaxed intensity in the style. The sound
is very thick and orchestral, an amazing feat
given that this just a trio, but I guess that’s
something that studios are good for. There’s
an ominous tone underlying the music, leaving
you feeling like there’s danger just around
the corner, that all hope is lost. Yet this
is not dirge, even though the tempo is always
slow to moderate. There’s a gritty intensity
here. Pretty cool stuff, I like it.
GIRL
LOVES DISTORTION – You Better Run, Your
Highness (Etxe Records and Productions, www.etxerecords.com)
Mid-tempo indie-rock. That about sums it up.
It’s decent stuff, but it’s not
like any bands are going to start citing GLD
as their influence. Distorted guitars, bass
and drums play reasonably straightforward indie
rock, with a bit of DC post-emo and more than
a hint of shoegazer influence. “Cryptogram”
is a really good example of this. The closer,
“Ascend,” has an epic sounding quality
to the chorus, but I’m not sure it really
meshes well with the rest of the song. And there’s
a bridge halfway through that’s equally
interesting, but also seems to be quite out
of place. Overall, like I said, this is decent,
but isn’t going to change the world.
HEY
YOUNG BELIEVER – Invisible By Day (www.heyyoungbeliever.com)
Sparkly, bubbly, old-school indie-pop! It’s
been too long since I heard stuff like this.
There’s electronics punctuating the tracks,
adding to the glimmer with a hint of new wave
influence. And piano adds an element of classic
old pop tune. If I had to pick out one standout
track, it would likely be “Grand Design,”
the second cut. It just bounces and sparkles,
reminding me of Washington D.C. greats, Tsunami.
“Walking Over You” is another good
one, with a jazzy feel, and those vocals do
so remind me of Tsunami again. And if there’s
one complaint I have about the album is that
it’s just a little bit too long. Yeah,
the songs are good, but too much of a good thing,
you know? Always leave them wanting more, as
the old saying goes.
KILL
PARADISE – The Second Effect (Break
Silence Recordings, www.shopsilence.com)
My god, what were these people thinking, sending
this to Jersey Beat for a review?? I knew I
was in for trouble when the press release blared
that the band was “hand picked by MTV
to have their music featured in new reality
series,” and that the album was to be
distributed exclusively through Hot Topic stores.
This duo plays electro-pop with sugary lyrics
and a distinct dance beat. It sounds like bubble-gum
boy-band music for the junior high school set.
Synth, drum machine and vocals are about all
that’s here, so it sounds like a professional
recording of real amateurs. Lyrics tend to be
about sexy girls or about the pretty girl with
the lousy boyfriend and how she deserves better
(presumably the singer). Presumably elsewhere
on the site are the “top 10” lists
for 2009. Well, this disc would appear on my
“bottom 10” list, it’s so
bad.
MV
& EE – Barn Nova (Ecstatic Peace,
www.ecstaticpeace.com)
MV is Matt Valentine and EE is Erika Elder,
and this disc is the two of them performing
countrified musical doodlings with their friends.
It’s very self-indulgent, and not even
very good. MV’s vocals are out of tune,
and it sounds like their jam sessions were fueled
by illicit substances. Imagine a bunch of college
buddies getting stoned and jamming, thinking
they were making the greatest music in history,
and then upon listening to the recordings the
next day, their friends tell them it’s
shit. That’s what this is, except in this
case, no one wanted to tell them how unlistenable
it is.
PATRICK
& EUGENE – Altogether Now (Birds
Bees Flowers Trees) (Tummy Touch Records,
www.tummytouchmusicgroup.com)
So, this started out as a quaint, mildly charming
album of vaudevillian-like music. This British
duo use banjos, ukuleles, various percussion
instruments, happy-happy-joy-joy vocals, and
an old-time sensibility in creating their unique
music. And then they toss in a track that really
got me, “Llama.” The topic of the
song? “What’s your favorite ungulate?”
as the lyrics query. The song sounds like it
could have come from “Sesame Street”
almost, with its list of various animals. Except
that children’s TV show would never sing
about ungulates! Then it hit me what this duo
reminds me of – a blend between the old-time
jazzy feel of Leon Redbone and the dry wit of
Flanders and Swann, another musically comedic
duo from Great Britain from many years ago.
Another apt description would be what the press
kit says about them. “Try to imagine Noel
Coward on stage with the Duke Ellington Band
at the Monterrey Pop Festival and you’re
getting close.” I am sure that most Jersey
Beat punk/indie rock fans would not be impressed
by this, but I sure do like it. You should try
it, especially for the unique cover of Kylie
Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out
of My Head.” The disc keeps getting better
and better, too, and toward the end of the album,
“Take a Step Back” seems to be the
standout track. This is serious fun!
THE
SHOW – Here’s to Your Jigsaw (www.theshowofficial.com)
Umm, hard to pin down what to call this. Sometimes
it’s poppy, sometimes it’s almost
like listening to Bruce Springsteen, sometimes
it’s garagey, and sometimes it’s
a little shoegazey. Two of the band members
take turns on lead vocals, and I’m not
sure which is which, but one is fine, the other
is a little annoying. One sounds normal, the
other sounds like he’s being strangled.
Sorry, but it really annoys me – it’s
particularly annoying on the album closer, “Semihopeful.”
The songs are pretty uniformly mid-tempo or
ballad, there’s nothing really energetic
here. It just really was kind of annoying overall,
so I would skip this if I were you.
SYSTEMS
OFFICER – Underslept (www.temporaryresidence.com)
Systems Officer is the solo project of Armistead
Burwell Smith IV, member of San Diego bands
PINBACK and THREE MILE PILOT. Busy guy. The
album is very thickly orchestrated, epic indie-rock,
with sort of an alternative Brit-rock feel.
It seems to be pretty commercial sounding, like
it would be at home on your typical “alternative”
radio station, but there’s something about
it I like. The arrangements are rich, interesting
and soothing, and there’s really nice
layering to the sounds. Everything is kind of
understated, mid-tempo, which normally would
put me to sleep (I like variety). But, again,
there’s something here that just gets
to me. Systems Officer seems to be to “alternative”
rock what Orb and the like are to electronica
dance music -- let’s call it perfect “chill-out”
music for the indie-rock set.
TERMINAL
LOVERS – As Eyes Burn Clean (www.publicguilt.com)
Metal-tinged, jazz-influenced psychedelic rock
music. It started OK, with “Press the
Bank,” an instrumental, spacey, free-jazz
rock sort of track. But “Iron Gate”
turns this into a wank-fest, clocking in at
nearly 10 minutes long. And the vocals start
about halfway through. From there out, this
album reminds me of the worst of the 60s and
70s acid rock, very self-indulgent, with no
respect for the listener. You have to be on
drugs to get into this, with long-form jams
and all. It’s everything that the punk
revolution was trying to smash, and it’s
so sad to see it making a comeback with younger
bands.
YOU
SCREAM I SCREAM – Bug in a Light (www.youscreamiscream.com)
Here’s a band that obviously doesn’t
take itself too seriously. The songs are lightly
humorous, and the musicianship is aces. Fun
instrumentation like toy piano and baritone
sax adds to the effect, such as in the song,
“Dog,” an ode to man’s best
friend. “High Maintenance” has an
epic feel to it, with some keyboards and glockenspiel,
and lyrics about how the singer needs this “high
maintenance” person like he needs a hole
in the head. In a way, YSIS reminds me a bit
of Ween, in that they’re doing songs in
a variety of styles, always sounding like they’re
playing them with a smirk or a sly grin. “Gefilta
Fish” is sung in Hebrew, for cryin’
out loud, and even has some Hebrew rappin’
on it! Interesting stuff.
FARMER
DAVE SCHER – Flash Forward To The Good
Times (www.kemado.com)
This disc starts out strongly, with “Bab’lone
Nights,” a retro power-pop tune, replete
with great hooks and punctuated with piano.
“You Pick Me Up” is a really cool
track, with a dub sound (reggae beat with
reverb aplenty), but there’s punches
from a string quartet or something. It’s
kind of schizo that way, but it works. The
schizo nature continues, with tracks featuring
a surf-pop sound, 70s bubblegum pop, 60s love-and-peace
folk-rock, and everything in-between. Yet,
it always has an underlying signature feel
to it, so you know it doesn’t just sound
like a retread of the past. While it doesn’t
break new ground or anything, it’s a
pretty darn decent listen, and has enough
quirkiness to it to keep it interesting.
LISA
GERMANO – Magic Neighbor (www.younggodrecords.com)
This may not appeal to many of the punk-minded
Jersey Beat readers, but I love it. It’s
stunning in its quiet simplicity. Breathy
female vocals, strings, acoustic guitar, piano,
and glockenspiel blend together to provide
a gorgeous tapestry. Some of the songs offer
up some dissonance, some toss in interesting
sound effects, but it’s all just awe
inspiring. It’s amazing what you can
create with such minimalism, without all the
“Sturm und Drang” of loud punk-inspired
indie or emo music. This is the proof.
HYPERSTORY
– Hyperstory (Pureland Records, www.hyperstory.com)
Hyperstory is LA-based C. Scott Blevins,
with help on this disc from the likes of vocalist
Julian Cassia, Joey Waronker (Beck), Deron
Johnson (Seal, Miles Davis), and Chris Chaney
(Jane’s Addiction). The result is smooth,
easy, breezy pop music. There’s plenty
of interesting instrumentation here, giving
some of the tracks an epic feel. “A
Happening” has a really cool choral
backdrop to it. “Something Good”
sometimes sounds a little too slick and commercial,
but other times has an almost Stereolab feel,
particularly in the vocal harmonies in the
chorus. “Will It Ever Change”
uses a trumpet section to give it a cool,
jazzy epic feel, which I really like. “Ascension”
has a bit of a funky feel, and almost sounds
like it could be a theme song for a black
exploitation crime film of the 70s. It’s
kind of interesting, because a lot of these
tracks use some innovative instrumentation
and nice touches to make it sound very compelling,
yet some of these tracks are on that edge
between indie and commercial, which makes
me a little uneasy sometimes, like I’m
not sure what Hyperstory is trying to be.
Overall, though, I think I can say I like
this.
MISSION
OF BURMA – The Sound The Speed The Light
(Matador)
I lived out in the Boston area for a couple
of years a long time ago, but it was too late
to catch any live Burma shows – they
had already called it quits by the time I
got there. But that didn’t stop me from
hearing the stories about this great band,
and it could hardly prevent me from being
exposed to their all too small catalog of
recordings. I was hooked, and avidly sought
out as many recordings as I could. Fast forward
to 2002, and Mission of Burma has reunited.
This is their latest post-revival effort.
And a solid effort it is, though not ground
breakingly innovative, the way they were back
in the early 80s. To be honest, while many
of the tracks sound similar to classic Burma,
some of this sounds a more like the stuff
Roger Miller was doing in the interim, with
his band No Man, than it does the early Burma
stuff. But that’s not a bad thing, and
not really surprising. The album is bursting
with power, pounding bass lines, burning guitar
lines, thunderous drumming and tough vocals.
The disc starts out with “1,2,3 Partyy!”
which is the most punk, most non-Burma-like
track they’ve ever done. It’s
a lot of fun, as the title would imply. We’re
then treated to a succession of more “traditional”
Burma/Miller fare. It’s amazing, but
this stuff sounds so familiar, yet still sounds
so fresh. If you’ve listened to Burma/Miller
before, you’ll know what I’m talking
about (and if you haven’t, shame on
you!). I must admit, though, that I was only
vaguely aware of the reunion, and hadn’t
really listened to any of the “new”
Burma material over the past few years, nor
caught them live. But listening to this reminds
me of how much I’ve missed this band,
and I will definitely finally try to catch
them live when they do their mini-tour in
November to promote this album.
OS
MUTANTES - Haih or Amortecedor (www.anti.com)
OK, so Os Mutantes have been hailed as one
of the most influential bands of all times.
Unfortunately, I’ve never heard of them
before, but maybe that’s because this
is their first release in 35 years, following
a reunion in 2006. It also may be because
they’re from Brazil, and the US music
market is difficult to break into by foreign
artists, especially those not from Western
Europe who are also singing in English. That
said, this is outstanding stuff! It’s
quirky and diverse. It’s psychedelic,
and it’s very Brazilian. I just wish
I could understand Portuguese, because the
lyrics are all in that beautiful language.
Some of these tracks would feel right at home
on a Broadway stage. One of the weirdest,
coolest tracks on the disc has to be the final
one, “Hymns of the World Pt. 2,”
which is a blending of the Russian, US and
Brazilian national anthems. This is not indie
pop or punk rock, but this IS highly recommended.
JOSH
OTTUM – Like The Season
(www.cheaplullaby.com)
Josh Ottum serves up some interesting, bouncy,
light pop music with an instrumentation sometimes
reminding me of Chicago, the 70s band. There’s
a jazzy feel to these tracks, with intricate
guitar work and brass aplenty. The vocals
sound like kind of a cross between what you
would hear from They Might Be Giants and The
Fire Show, with a very relaxed, easy feel
to them. There’s also loads of 70s sounding
synthesizer – maybe a little too much.
This is an album that seems to walk a fine
line between 70s retro and modern, trying
really hard not to be too much one or the
other. Sometimes this works really well, and
sometimes, like on “Break My Bones,”
the 70s element comes across a little too
strongly. I was not a fan of much of the 70s
era pop music, and that aspect doesn’t
really do it for me. But overall, this is
an interesting, inventive disc.
THE
WINGDALE COMMUNITY SINGERS – Spirit
Duplicator (scarletshamerecords.com)
This is a project from novelist Rick Moody,
vocalist Hannah Marcus, musical genius David
Grubbs (noted for his involvement in Gastr
Del Sol, Squirrelbait, and others), along
with Nina Katchadourian. It’s a modern
take on musical Americana. There’s loads
of acoustic guitar and harmonized vocals,
and sounds folksy without being too folksy.
Think of a poppier Cordelia’s Dad, perhaps.
That said, “On the Carousel” is
an a capella track with beautiful four part
harmonies in the Appalachian tradition, though
it’s clear that these vocalists, talented
as they are, are not mountain-folk. Their
voices are just too modern sounding to make
that really work as well as Cordelia’s
Dad does. Overall, it’s a nice diversion,
but not revelatory.
CUB COUNTRY – Stretch That Skull Cover
and Smile (Future Farmer Records, www.futurefarmer.com)
This is yet another Alt/country album, and the
first in five years for Cub Country. Cub Country
started in 1999 as a side project for Jeremy
Chatelain, who was then bassist for Jets to
Brazil. But you would never know it from the
type of music here, as it could hardly be any
different. There’s plenty of twang and
folksiness, yet there’s also the breeziness
of indie-pop, as especially evidenced on “Red
Carpet,” the third track on the disc.
Some of the tracks are a little heavier on the
twang than I like. When they stick to the blending
of indie-pop and folk, it works better. That
said, “After the Song’s Been Sung”
is a nice, bluesy track that just rocks. And
many of the other tracks do have that nice balance.
The closer, “The Stars Drip Down,”
is an especially pretty track, very quiet, with
piano, vocals, and bowed bass. Overall, this
is a good effort.
AULD LANG SYNE – Midnight Folly (www.viperbiterecords.com)
This band is from western New York State, but
you wouldn’t know it to listen to the
music. Alt/country has sort of been exploding
lately, and Auld Lang Syne is another example
of a band playing this genre. I’ve never
been a fan of country, and when the alt/country
genre came onto the scene, I was not impressed.
Too much twang and not enough alt was my main
complaint. But there’s been a number of
smaller bands popping up lately that combine
solid indie sensibilities, some great songwriting
and some soulful, folksy twang, and this has
me changing my mind. Jersey Beat readers have
seen me extolling the virtues of bands such
as Old Californio, Winfred E. Eye, and Hoots
and Hellmouth, so let’s add Auld Lang
Syne to the list. The disc opens with “Long
Ago,” a track that’s reminiscent
of a cross between Social Distortion and Johnny
Cash. I really like the melodic lines, the energy,
and the deep gravely vocals are especially effective.
Overall, though, there’s more of a quiet,
epic, yet intimate feel to most of the tracks.
“Greasy Horse” is a good example
of this. There’s less country twang and
more straight-on indie, but the track is still
folksy, especially with the flutes toward the
end, giving it a sort of Central American Indian
folk feel. “My First Soul” has a
breezy guitar line that I really like and Dylan-esque
harmonica. A nice listen here.
CELLARSCAPE – Animation, Suspension
(www.sbrecords.co.uk)
This is the acoustic-based project from the
UK’s Paul Terry, and it’s primarily
a solo effort, with Terry providing the lead
vocals, most of the backing vocals, guitars,
drums, etc. I dunno, maybe it’s the interplay
between band members in real time that generates
energy and excitement on a recording, maybe
not. But too many multi-tracked studio solo
efforts just don’t have that spark, and
that’s certainly the case here. The songs
are nice enough, I guess, but the execution
seems too sterile and mechanical. You have basic
guitar (acoustic and electric), drums, and vocals,
with a sort of indie-ish feel. But it just kind
of is there, you know? And there’s not
a whole lot of variety in the music. This one
just didn’t do anything for me.
MIKE
HALE - Lives Like Mine (www.suburbanhomerecords.com)
This is very slow, quiet, understated acoustic
music. And maybe it’s too slow, quiet
and understated. It nearly put me to sleep.
The songs have so little variety, there’s
no interesting textures, no changes in tempo,
they all just sound the same. A good singer/song
writer should have some variety – some
fast songs, some slow. And they should use key
changes. But not here – everything is
just flat. Sorry, I like acoustic singer/song
writer stuff, but this is just too dull.
TED RUSSELL KAMP – Poor Man’s
Paradise (PoMo Records, www.tedrussellkamp.com)
This is another in the current explosion of alt-country music – country
music with a rock base. It’s very country,
very bluesy, and just a bit of rock. When it
works well, like on “Ballad of That Guy,”
it’s really good stuff, with loads of
soul and plenty of fun twang. But too often
if seems to try too hard, and comes off sounding
too close to the southern rock of the 70s, like
on “Dixie.” “Never Gonna Do
You Wrong” is another really cool track,
with a bit of 60s R&B feel to it, thanks
to the horn section and back-up vocalists –
think Blues Brothers style music. Another mixed
bag here, with a few hits, but several misses.
EMPTY SET – As Neat As a New Pin (www.toughloverecords.com)
This is really nice, quiet folk-pop, with
most tracks featuring ukulele and piano, but
with other tracks including violin and guitar.
Glockenspiel adds to the nature of these tracks;
this is delicate, beautiful stuff. Some of
the tracks glide, some bounce, but they’re
all divine. Recommended.
ELIZABETH
AND THE CATAPAULT – Taller Children
(Verve Forecast, www.verveforecast.com)
The first half of this disc contains some pretty
nice pop music, with a brightness in its eyes
and a bounce in its step. It blends classic
pop sounds with jazzy touches, folk-like acoustic
sounds, and orchestral flairs. Most of the songs
have a nice thick instrumentation that works
really nicely. “Race You” is a really
fun track that best embodies the spirit of these
tracks. But then halfway through, Elizabeth
and the Catapault goes a bit off track, as with
“Hit the Wall,” which adds a disco
beat and string section, and just seems to go
on forever. Ugh. Things then slow down and gets
lots of reverb in “Right Next to You,”
and it just comes across as wanky 70s era ballad
pop. After these couple of songs, things start
to tentatively get back on track with Leonard
Cohen’s “Everybody Knows,”
a track that starts out with hints of blues
and work songs. But then it gets a little too
overblown with strings again. “Complimentary
Me” really gets things going again, with
its alt-country feel and uber-bounce. But then
the last two tracks fizzle out a bit, losing
the bounce again. A mixed bag, but some of the
tracks are really good.
THE DANCE PARTY – Tigers (www.myspace.com/thedanceparty)
If you’re a fan of 80s music (the popular
music, not the punk or post-punk stuff), you’ll
love The Dance Party. This 5-song CD EP jumps
into the 80s sound with both feet from the first
track. This is not an updating of the sound,
this is music that could have easily been on
the top 40 back in the day. There’s plenty
of new-wave inspired synthesizer, and all of
the sort of hooks and attitude you remember
from the days of Def Leppard, Tears For Fears
and a host of 80s bands. Me? I liked a lot of
the music of the 80s, but I preferred the punk,
hardcore, early emo and post-punk stuff that
was going on. I even liked a lot of the new
wave. But much of the “pop” music
of the 80s was pretty insipid, and this fits
right into that category. Unless you miss the
early days of MTV, you can skip this.
LEMONHEADS
– Varshons
(www.theendrecords.com)
OK, so this is an album of covers by others.
Sometimes it can work really well, and other
times it can be a disaster. In this case, it
falls somewhere in between. The covers are certainly
new interpretations of the originals, not just
copies. There’s a definite folk-country-rock
feel to many of these versions of the songs,
which are by such varied artists as Wire, GG
Allin, Leonard Cohen, Christina Aguilera and
Gram Parsons. The normally unlistenable GG Allin
is transformed into a straight-ahead country
tune. The song about a man who gets tired of
his girlfriend, kills her and goes on the run
is classic GG Allin, and sounds completely at
home as a country song that could make it on
the Grand Ol’ Opry. Sam Gopal’s
“Yesterlove” is an interesting track,
featuring Indian tabla, as does the original.
The track that doesn’t seem to fit with
the rest is Arling & Cameron’s “Dirty
Robot,” with guest vocals by none other
than super model Kate Moss. The synthesizers
make this sound too much like the original and
too unlike the Lemonheads. And who would have
ever thought that anything performed by Christina
Aguilera would work as a quiet, understated
ballad? Well, that’s how it’s presented
here. An interesting interpretation of these
songs, I guess. And I know that Evan Dando has
made a career on dropping covers here and there
into the Lemonheads’ repertoire. But I
think the only real stand-out has to be the
GG Allin cover.
PRONTO – The Cheetah (Contraphonic,
www.contraphonic.com)
Pronto is the side project of Wilco keyboardist
Mikael Jorgenson. But don’t let that fool
you; Pronto is nothing like Wilco. Pronto is
best described as the easy listening band for
the rock and roll generation of this decade,
much like Tortoise was for the 90s. This is
laid-back, relaxed, subdued instrumentals, some
with a jazzy feel, some a bit more ambient.
It’s a great chill-out album, but an alternative
to the fully electronic, dancey chill-out stuff,
with more pop sensibility for the fan of indie
rock that wants something to chill to. Some
of likened this to elevator music, but that’s
being a bit harsh. Elevator music tends to take
existing tunes and turn them into something
sappy. Pronto provides relaxing mood music,
but it’s not sappy, by any stretch of
the imagination.
THE
NATIONAL RIFLE – Man Full of Trouble
(www.thenationalrifle.com)
This is a band that’s hard to classify.
Their songs have a lot of variety, and none
of them fall into any neat category. This is
a good thing, in my opinion. The 5 song CD-EP
starts out with, “It’s Just Whiskey,
Mama,” which reminds me of a less polished
version of Jawbox. “Love Crack”
is kind of lack a more lively, manic, early
period Elvis Costello, with a harder edge to
it. Next up is “I Think I Have a Tumor,”
an oddly named track, is very bluesy and soulful.
“Bad News From the District” also
has a bluesy, R&B feel to it, with an almost
“classic rock” edge. And the closer,
“Big Units,” has a sort of reggae-rock
feel, and on the chorus goes back to the disc
opening, raw Jawbox sort of feel. I really like
this disc. National Rifle are not out to sound
like everyone else out there. The uniqueness,
the quality, and the sounds make for a good
listen.
TIME AND DISTANCE – Gravity ( www.notalonerecords.com)
This is straight-ahead “alternative”
power-pop, much as you might hear on any of
a million “alternative” radio stations
across the country. Do these stations even pretend
to be “alternative” anymore? In
other words, this is the modern day equivalent
of popular rock music. It sounds like everything
else out there. There’s nothing new or
unique about it. It bores me to tears.
J.
TILLMAN – Year in the Kingdom (Western
Vinyl, westernvinyl.com)
This is really nice singer-songwriter stuff
that kind of reminds me of a great from back
in the 80s, Michael Johnson. This is quiet,
delicate acoustic stuff, with guitar and vocals
predominating, but with touches of other instrumentation,
such as keyboards, hammered dulcimer, strings,
etc. that are really nice touches and aren’t
overblown. This is the perfect soundtrack for
a rainy day, and it’s recommended for
all those who like the acoustic singer/songwriter
thing.
SCOTT WARREN – Quick Fix Bandage (scott-warren.com)
This is a fusion of three genres, indie, country
and singer/songwriter. It has the basic guitar,
bass and drums elements of indie pop, the soulful
feel of country, and the understated, quiet
nature of singer/songwriter material. Many of
the tracks seem to be a little too heavy on
the country side for my tastes, but when the
indie side shines through, the results range
from good to spectacular. “I Got Your
Back” is a good track, with a nice, easy
indie feel. “Both of Us Know” is
even better, with a country-tinged feel to a
shoegazing sort of indie tune. It shimmers,
yet it has a twang, an interesting combination.
Overall a pretty decent listen.
YESMISTERBLOODVESSEL – Racing the
Relapse
(www.yesmisterbloodvessel.com)
When I first read the press kit description
of the band, as a “cross between hard
rock / industrial and pop; Nine Inch Nails meets
Depeche Mode meets The Beatles meets Nirvana
meets Filter,” I was scared. I thought
to myself, this is going to be unlistenable
crap. But I was wrong. The description is fairly
apt. This is pretty cool stuff, fairly unique
in its sound. Some of the tracks are truly astounding,
such as the instrumental, “Aries and Leo,”
with a slightly heavy, yet almost ambient sound.
The angular piano lines are really awesome,
keeping things off kilter. Other tracks are
melodic power-pop with cool arrangements, and
are definitely rock-based, but I wouldn’t
really ever call them “hard.” I
really like the retro harmonies of “You
Will Never Know.” All the songs on this
disc are pretty cool, pretty unique, and enjoyable.
BRIAN
BOND – Fire and Gold (www.myspace.com/brianbond)
This is quiet neo-folk music. It’s got
calming vocals, acoustic guitar, and yet also
has some electronics on it. It has all of the
qualities of traditional singer-songwriter fare,
but with a dash of Pink Floyd, a teaspoonful
of chill-out electronica, and just a hint of
Current 93 apocalyptic folk. To add another
comparison most Jersey Beat readers will never
have heard of, Brian Bond also sometimes reminds
me of Michael Johnson, one of the great folk-ish
singer songwriters from back in the 80s. Like
Brian, he had a very easy style, layering other
instrumental arrangements over his acoustic
guitar. I remember Johnson’s calming music
helping me get through some rough patches back
in the day, and I can easily see this doing
the same. It’s just very beautiful.
THE
BROOMSTARS – The Silvermine Sessions
(www.broomstars.com)
This is competent, if generally forgettable,
electro-pop music from Asheville, NC. One exception
on this five-song CD EP is track 4, “Nobody
Knows,” which is pretty good. We’ve
got guitar, bass drums, electric piano, and
synth, plus some nice harmonized vocals on all
of the tracks, but it generally doesn’t
have a sense of excitement. It’s just
kind of there, you know? A few of the tracks
seem to drag a little bit, too, such as the
opener, “Flew Away,” and “Moonage
Daydream,” the third track on the disc.
What makes “Nobody Knows” stand
out a bit from the rest are the dynamics (some
quiet parts, some raucous parts), and some great
hooks.
CHAIRLIFT
– Does You Inspire You (Columbia)
Their PR machine calls this “dream-pop,”
but to me it sounds more like an easy listening
version of 1980s new wave ballads. Its got the
same crooning female vocals, the same funky
bass lines, and the same sparkly electronics.
That said, there is a decent track here in “Bruises,”
the track that’s been getting some airplay
on alternative radio stations around the country.
It still has that 80s new wave ballad feel to
it, but it has quite a lot of bounce, and I
really like the hooks. But then there are really
cheesy songs, like “Le Flying Saucer Hat.”
And there’s a little bit of variety here,
too. “Make Your Mind Up” has a little
bit of a Caribbean feel to it, while “
Don’t Give a Damn” is distinctly
country & western in nature. “Chameleon
Closet” is a short instrumental that’s
quite ambient and eerie, and it leads right
into the closer, “Ceiling Wax.”
Overall, this isn’t worth your time, unless
you really want some new 80s style music.
DETOURNEMENT
– Screaming Response (www.chunksaah.com
&
www.piratespressrecords.com)
This is classic hardcore punk! Fast, loud, furious,
and politically motvated. The average track
length is 1:30 or so, and there’s only
8 tracks on the disc, unfortunately. But this
is great hardcore, some of the best I’ve
heard in years! Too much “punk”
today is really power-pop, geared toward alternative
rock fans. This is the real deal, folks. Recommended.
GOES
CUBE – Another Day Has Passed (www.theendrecords.com)
Goes Cube offers up intense, heavy music, with
pounding bass, crashing drums, violent guitar
work, and plenty of screamo vocals. But that
doesn’t mean they are devoid of melody
or anything like that. “Saab Sonnet”
is a very melodic track, with hooks and everything,
yet it’s still a very intense track. “The
Only Daughter” is also very cool. It’s
still heavy and screamy, but there’s a
cool, simple melodic line in the chorus. “Goes
Cube Song 57” is pretty cool. It has some
nice melodic lines, plus has some angularity
reminding me of NOMEANSNO. Usually, the heavy
screamo stuff can be great in small doses, but
too much at once is just too much. Goes Cube
offer enough variety to keep it interesting,
not just on the tracks I’ve mentioned,
but on several others, too.
THE GREAT UNWASHED – EP (www.myspace.com/thegreatunclean)
This is manic post-punk in the vein of greats
like Husker Du and Mission of Burma. There’s
also a power-pop post-emo feel to it, sort of
reminding me of DC bands like Grey Matter or
3, especially on the fourth track, “I
am a Spec of Dust.” Track 3, “All
Night Breathing,” also reminds me a bit
of a great Chicago area pop-punk band of the
past, the Smoking Popes, with its lo-fi production,
simple repeating lines, and powerful, relaxed
vocals. Overall, this four-song EP provides
some enjoyable listening.
HOOTS
AND HELLMOUTH – The Holy Open Secret
(Mad Dragon Records, www.maddragonrecords.com)
I haven’t got a clue why Hoots and Hellmouth
sent this to Jersey Beat for a review, but I
sure am glad they did. They don’t play
punk, they don’t play indie-pop, and they
aren’t even an “alternative”
band trying for some mainstream attention. They’re
a country/folk/bluegrass band, playing some
great foot-stompin’ old timey music. Acoustic
guitars, mandolin, upright bass, and harmonized
vocals mix together on this disc with a joyfulness
and energy sorely lacking in a lot of today’s
recorded output. Some of the tracks, like “Watch
Your Mouth,” have a soulful gospel feel,
too. A few of the tracks, such as “Ne’er
Do Well” and “Three Penny Charm,”
have hints of pop to them, but without losing
that Americana charm. “Ne’er Do
Well” is an especially pretty tune, with
guitar work that glides through the air, and
some piano and glockenspiel embellishments mid-way
through the track are a nice touch. “The
Family Band” is a fun track, with a jazzy,
Leon Redbone sort of feel. Great stuff!
MAGIK
MARKERS – Balf Quarry (www.dragcity.com)
This kind of reminds me of a slightly less noisy
Lydia Lunch, from back in the 80s. Deadpan female
vocals and sonic mayhem were key ingredients
of her style, and both are present here. At
least on some of the tracks. The sonic mayhem
gives way on others to something quieter, but
no less unnerving, such as on “State Numbers,”
which features spooky atmospheric sounds and
piano. But while Lunch actually sang in tune,
the vocals here are unnerving for another reason
– they’re not on pitch. And the
piano used seems to be in need of a good tuning,
too. Maybe that was intentional, but it’s
pretty annoying. “The ricecar of Dr. Clara
Haber” is just noise instrumentals, and
is maybe even more annoying. I don’t know,
it sounds to me like this band is supposed to
be a joke on the listener, but maybe they’re
serious about it. If so, it’s kind of
sad. Sorry to be so brutal, but this really
sounds like that high school band that got together
and practiced a few songs once, and then tried
to do a show in someone’s basement.
RIK
MERCALDI (www.rikmercaldi.com)
This an acoustic solo effort from this long-time
NYC area musician. This is somewhat of a departure
for him, as he usually plays stuff that’s
louder and electric. This stuff has a definite
folk/alt-country feel to it, featuring, besides
acoustic guitar and vocals, mandolin, harmonica,
and steel lap guitar (plus electric piano on
some tracks, and even sitar on the intro and
final tracks). “Homoe Away from Home,”
the eighth track on the disc, even features
trumpet and brushed snare drum to give it an
easy jazzy feel. It’s nice stuff, very
much in the singer-songwriter vein, though most
Jersey Beat readers probably won’t go
for it.
MONEY/PAPER/HEARTS (www.myspace.com/moneypaperhearts)
Cool, crunchy post-punk, with a math-ish feel
to it. Angular guitars jut out, with Midwest-style
vocals, reminiscent of Pegboy and Bhopal Stiffs,
especially on the track, “Hey Camera.”
Overall, there’s more of a feeling, though,
of bands like Jawbox, Crunchy and melodic are
keywords here. It’s pretty decent stuff,
though it doesn’t break any new ground.
You’ll like it, I’m sure.
THE
ORANGES BAND – Are Invisible (www.theorangesband.com)
The former Lookout! Records band from Baltimore
is finally back, after four years since their
last release, when Lookout! stopped releasing
new titles. And what we now get is very engaging
indie-pop. It’s laden with hooks, very
melodic, and has interesting lines. For the
most part, this is really catchy power-pop,
but there’s also variety on the album,
as if the band is experimenting a little bit
with different sounds. The opener, “Ottobar
Afterhours,” chugs along nicely in a standard
indie manner. “One More Dog” sounds
sort of like a Smiths tune, if just a bit. I
really love “I Wouldn’t Worry About
It.” There’s a melancholy feeling
to it, especially in the chorus, “I wouldn’t
worry about it / because not everyone’s
listening.” And “Do You Remember
Memory Lane” could be the best track on
the disc, with it’s garage surf feel to
it. “When Your Mask is Your Revealing
Feature” has a hint of funk and reggae
mixed in with the pop, sort of what the Police
were doing, and it adds interesting variety.
The disc ends with a couple of more relaxing
tracks, “Absolutely Instru(Mental),”
an long-form instrumental, and Toulouse-Lautrec,”
a breezy pop tune. Probably not the strongest
of endings, given how punchy the earlier tracks
are, but this is a good album. Recommended.
PLAYER/KOMMANDER – On the Eve of
Absolute Get Down (Mighty Loud/Fontana, www.playerkommander.com)
This is hard-rock “alternative”
music. If that’s not enough to turn you
off, it’s a “concept” album.
Now that you’re sound asleep, sweet dreams,
and hopefully you didn’t forget to take
this disc out of your CD player before you fell
asleep, or they might be nightmares. This sounds
like one of those bands that’s trying
really hard to have a good, mainstream commercial
sound, but what they produce is so off the mark,
and won’t even appeal to indie fans. There’s
lots of white-boy funky undertones here, which
is another big turn-off. Skip it.
PUSH-PULL
– Between Noise and the Indians (www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com)
This band hails from Bloomington, Indiana, of
all places, but this never sounds like a Midwestern
band. Instead. it sounds like Canada crossed
with East Bay punk. The thumping bass and exaggerated,
silly vocals sometimes remind me a bit of NOMEANSNO,
one of my favorite Canadian punk bands of all
time. The music is kind of heavy, but remains
firmly planted in pop-punk territory. The band
is tight, the music is catchy, the guitars buzz,
and the whole thing is really good. Sometimes,
the silliness in the vocals reminds me a bit
of an obscure band from DC from back in the
80s, 9353. If you like buzz-saw guitars, poppy,
yet crunchy music, you will definitely like
this.
R00K
– Sera (www.r00kmusic.com)
This is an album of electro-pop, with the emphasis
on pop. This is very poppy, and not in a pop-punk
or indie-pop sense. It’s more like pop
music you would find on very commercial radio.
It’s the sort of thing that Madonna or
Beyonce or someone like that would do, if they
were a little more inventive, and a little more
personal and profound in their lyrics. But the
lyrical content and bits of originality can’t
save this disc from the fact that it is pretty
commercial sounding pop music. They even use
that annoying vocal processing so popular with
the top-40 acts where the pitch suddenly changes
instead of gliding from note to note, like unprocessed
vocals. Even though the band claims to be “alternative,”
this album uses some of the “top session
musicians” in the San Francisco Bay area,
musicians who have worked with the likes of
Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Chapman,
and Sinead O’Conner. That should give
you a good idea of how “alternative”
this is. It actually gets annoying to listen
to this.
SHARON VAN ETTEN – Because I Was In
Love
(www.languageofstone.com)
Sharon Van Etten is a Brooklym-based singer/songwriter
who offers up a melancholy album of quiet, acoustic
songs, featuring guitar, multi-tracked, ethereal
vocals, and the occasional organ and percussion.
The songs are very simple and calming, and Van
Etten’s vocals are almost angelic. This
is a beautiful album, but I think there’s
not quite enough variety to hold my interest
for the entire length of it. If there was more
texture to some of the songs, maybe that would
improve things, but maybe the arrangements are
a little too simple, too sparse.
OLD
CALIFORNIO – Westering Again (www.oldcalifornio.com)
Old Californio, based in Pasadena, California,
is a country-tinged rock band. But don’t
let that fool you. I am not normally a fan of
country music or country rock but this is something
different. Sure, there’s plenty of twang,
but there’s also plenty of 60s and 70s
influenced rock and folk-rock. “From the
Mouths of Babes” sounds like it could
have been from Bob Dylan, down to the characteristic
vocals and the accordian and mandolin. “Warmth
of the Sun sounds almost Beatles-like. “Are
You Coming Home” just glides along in
a brilliant, sparkly way. The piano contributes
a lot to that feeling. But the stand-out track
on the disc has to be “Riparian High,”
the second track. It features trumpets in the
mix along with the acoustic guitars and mandolin,
giving it a slightly jazz, yet ethnic feel,
very cool. It’s almost like the prog-rock
from the first Ambrosia album of yore. Now,
this won’t be everyone’s cup of
tea, and that’s especially true for Jersey
Beat readers. But it’s really well executed,
enjoyable music.
ORION – 10011011 (Pop Up Records,
www.popuprecords.com)
Orion is a trio from the nation’s heartland
of Kansas, who credit Weezer, Helmet and Failure
as their influences. And if you like that sort
of commercial alternative sound, that’s
exactly what you’ll find here on this
4-song CD-EP. This breaks no new ground, and
pretty much sounds like almost anything you
can listen to on your local “alternative”
radio station. Sure, they’re competent
musicians, the tunes are decent enough for what
they are, but that doesn’t do it for me.
I need something unique and/or edgy to get me
going. And this just doesn’t deliver.
And, anyway, I can see Weezer as a possible
influence, but Helmet? No, Helmet has (or at
least had, in their earlier days, when I used
to follow them) a much heavier, harder, edgier
sound. Orion has much more of a laid back, easy
going sound. OK, Orion has some interesting
hooks here and there, but it’s not enough.
Please, do something edgier, riskier, more original,
I’m tired of bands who play it safe by
playing to the masses.
PEELANDER-Z
– P-Pop-High School (Eat Rice Records,
www.peelander-z.com)
If you’re not familiar with Peelander-Z,
be prepared! They are from New York City and
– oh wait, no, they are from the Z area
of the planet Peelander, or so they say. They
dress up in costumes reminiscent of the Power
Rangers and play power-pop-punk tunes that are
bouncy and fun. They’re silly, too, taking
on Japanese manga or cartoon character personas.
They are Peelander-Yellow, Peelander-Red, and
Peelander-Green (who replaced Peelander-Blue
on drums just before this album was recorded).
They’ve got a video posted on YouTube,
linked from their website, for the song “Ninja-High
Schoool” which features a Power Rangers
style battle with a giant monster in a downtown
district full of high rise buildings, many of
which end up smashed. And with song titles like
“Let’s Go! Karaoke Party!”
“Pillow Pillow,” “Panda III,”
and “Super Health” how can you go
wrong? What a trip!
SATELLITE TRAGEDY – New Beautiful (
www.popuprecords.com)
Well, this is primarily “alternative”
rock music, such as you might find on your commercial
radio stations; but on some of the tracks, it
has a little bit of an edge to it. “In
My Head Again” is a mid-tempo track that
starts out nice and calm and quiet, with guitar,
tinkley keyboards, and almost whispered vocals.
A little more than halfway through the track,
though, it bursts out with wall-o-guitar sounds,
and reminds me of some of the more interesting
80s post-new wave bands. “Ethanol”
alternates between a heavy chorus and quieter
verses, with a little bit of a punkish edge
to it. Good track, but I could have done without
the guitar solo at the end of the track. “Out
of My Mind” is a heavy, angular, angry
track that was way too short at one minute,
and probably the best track on the disc. I would
have liked more like this. For the most part,
though, things stay a little too close to safe
for my taste.
WINFRED
E. EYE – Til I Prune (www.antennafarmrecords.com)
This is really nice, beautiful stuff. It’s
quiet, country-folk / Americana influenced music,
with a hint of a psychedelic edge in some of
the tracks. The music sounds so delicate and
personal, it’s hard not to be moved by
it, even if you’re the most dedicated
headbanger. It evokes emotions of loneliness,
hard times, back road travels, and dreams gone
wrong. In other words, the perfect soundtrack
for these times. I know this is not what most
Jersey Beat readers listen to, but I recommend
you give it a try. It’s just so touching,
sad and beautiful.
Building a Better Robot, An Indie-Electronic
Music Compilation (Electronic Eel Records,
www.electroniceel.com)
OK, first thing to note is that this comp is
available as a mp3 download from www.electroniceel.com/buildingabetterrobot.
The label encourages people to go to their website
and help themselves. The big question is, is
it worth your time and disc space to do so?
The fourteen track album features indie electronic
music from around the world, including the US,
Italy, Sweden, Britain, Germany and Colombia.
And the disc is as diverse musically as it is
geographically. It ranges from ambient to dance-trance,
there are tracks that are all instrumental (most)
and some with vocals, some with guitars and
drums, and some with all electronics. Obfusc,
from New York, opens the disc with a hybrid
indie pop ambient piece. Detektivbryan from
Sweden offers up a purely electronic piece that
evokes wind-up music boxes and children’s
nurseries. Sintemu, from Italy, provides a dance
track with heavy beats and primitive sounding
electronics. One thing I noticed listening to
this is that the common thread among most of
the tracks seems to be a retro 80s feel. Iqtu,
from Colorado has a cool track with some really
interesting, out of the ordinary sound effects.
The Sweeps, from Germany have probably the most
conventional offering here, a very 80s piece
with full electronics and silky female vocals.
Homesic from the UK provide a really cool track
that has an ethnic feel to it, courtesy of marimba
effects, with an outdoor atmosphere coming from
the simulated bird sounds. Axiotronic’s
contribution, from Pennsylvania, is almost Christmas
carol like in quality. Other tracks include
drum & bass type stuff, deep ambient, and
trip-hop. Overall, if you like electronica,
I think you’ll at least find a few tracks
here to enjoy. So, to answer the question, yes,
I think it’s worth the time and disc space,
so go ahead and download away. It’s not
the greatest all time electronica, but it’s
good, interesting, and entertaining music.
The Nurse Who Loved Me: A Tribute to Failure
(Pop Up Records, www.popuprecords.com)
Failure was an “alternative” band
of the 1990s, which means they played primarily
grunge music. They never achieved the success
of many of their peers of the time, such as
Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc. But they, apparently,
have been well respected within the musical
community, at least enough for some bands to
decide to do a tribute album of covers of some
of their songs. They were not your typical grunge
band, because, mixed in with the grunge was
a bit of space-rock, ambience, texturing and
effects. And that’s exactly what you get
here on this sixteen track disc. Now, I must
preface this with the fact that I was never
very familiar with Failure. Some of the tracks
here are fairly predictable grunge, but some
of them are revelations. EMOTRON’s rendition
of “Undone” is a surpise here. Not
a hint of grunge in sight, just lots of spacey
electronica, and pretty cool to boot. SATELLITE
TRAGEDY’s version of “Frogs”
is also pretty cool, with a lot more spaciness
than grunge. THE COMPANY WE KEEP & RILIAN
offers up “Pitiful,” which is loaded
with ambience and a heavy beat mixed with the
grungy guitar works. The song has a pretty damn
cool melodic line, too. It’s interesting
how a lot of these tracks could be equally at
home in a rock club as well as a dance club,
and this is one of them. Some of the tracks
are just boring, alterna-rock, like PARAMORE’s
cover of “Stuck on You.” It just
sounds so out of place here, showing way less
creativity than the bulk of the tracks. But
for the most part, this is an interesting treat.
If you are a fan of grunge and a fan of ambient/space-rock
type music, I recommend this. And I think I
may check out some of the originals now, to
see how faithful to the originals these are.
BORIS
SMILE – Beartooth EP
(www.myspace.com/ countyourluckystarsrecords)
This is really nice, quiet, intimate sounding
indie music. It has loads of acoustic instruments,
and a sort of easy, relaxed vocals that sort
of makes it sound like you’re listening
to the band just relaxing and playing in your
living room. It has a sort of somber, rainy
day feel to the music, very appropriate for
the rainy day today while I’m listening
to it. The lyrics can be quite moving, such
as on “Hour of the Wolf,” which
includes a chorus of Everybody loves you /
Everybody loves you / Everybody loves you
but yourself. Strings and horns are included
in the arrangements, enhancing the mood, but
it avoids sounding too sappy. Very nice, pretty
stuff.
GREENLIGHT CARAVAN – Mother Earth
Revival
(www.smashinggrassrecords. www.greenlightcaravan.com)
This band, hailing from Lafayette, Louisiana,
have their feet firmly planted in the past.
Think 70s era funky, jazzy rock and you’ll
start get the idea. There’s Latin sounds,
organ, funky bass lines, and jazzy horns galore
throughout this album. While the second track
on the disc, “Room 909,” is a pretty
decent one, the jazziest of the bunch, most
of the tracks just seem a little lackluster,
lacking the sort of energy and excitement one
would expect from a band playing this music.
I mean, if you’re trying to play a particular
style from the past, you better well be so in
love with it that it shows in your playing.
And it just doesn’t here. A few tracks,
such as “All These Midnight Colors”
deviate a little bit from the formula, but only
in that it’s more rootsy bluesy rock,
rather than funky or Latin. But it’s still
not getting me going. Overall, kind of a snore.
THE
MATTHEW SHOW – February (www.wampus.com)
This starts out as “art rock” a
la Pink Floyd, but with less psychedelia and
more indie indluence. There’s loads of
“interview” style talking on various
topics interspersed between and within tracks,
which, at first, was kind of cool. But it’s
overused and turned into an annoyance. “The
Impotent Rage” is out of place here, as
a sort of raucous country tune. “The Last
Words of Sigmund Freud” is another one
that’s a little different, sort of a rock
band version of a Viennese waltz, complete with
violin. It was interesting, but not different
enough to make me want to listen over and over.
The whole disc is a little too much the same
thing, over and over, too laid back, too quiet,
too slow, except for that country track. This
one didn’t do anything for me.
GIRL LOVES DISTORTION – Earth Beings
on Exhibit
(www.etxerecords.com)
Individually, the songs on this album from this
Washington, DC based band are pretty good. Edgy
indie-rock is what comes to mind. The song “Psychic
Raygun” is a standout track, with a throbbing,
repeating line in the bass and raspy, puling
guitars, sort of reminding me of another great
DC band, Lungfish. “Luminance (We Don’t
Dance)” is another, with a funky bass
beat, 80s retro vocals, and a post-punk edge.
But, taken as a whole, the album leaves me a
bit cold. There’s no variety from song
to song. The tempo is the same throughout the
album, and there’s just a general feeling
of lack of energy or enthusiasm, especially
in the vocals. The end result is that this sounds
too middle of the road, too safe. This would
have been better as an EP.
MINIATURE
TIGERS – Tell It to the Volcano (www.modernart.com)
This is pretty cool, different pop music. There’s
cool, unique hooks, interesting harmonies, stop/start
lines, and interesting, quirky lyrics. This
all starts out with the opener, “Cannibal
Queen.” It starts out with a rapidly thumping
bass line, and a chorus that declares, “Coming
for your heart like a cannibal / Oh she let’s
me right in and I’m fed ‘til I’m
full. / If something goes wrong I’m accountable.
/ Life without her is no life at all. / I la
la la la la la la la love you Cannibal Queen.”
Cheesy, but cute. “Dino Damage”
is a very cool track, with interesting interplay
between the vocals and a stringed instrument
that sounds like a cross between a guitar and
a violin. The title track is another cool one,
with a very South Pacific feel. It’s about
the downside of love, when it’s not returned.
In this case, the extreme reaction is “Oom
I’d like to chuck ya,” down the
volcano. Hmmm…. “Haunted Pyramid”
is yet another cool one, with sort of a 20s
song feel to it, with the clarinet and piano,
along with the lo-fi vocals in the chorus. Oh,
so nice. There’s much to like here, and
nothing to dislike. It’s fun, unique,
quirky pop music that’s different enough
to set it apart from the crowd.
SOS – Adult Situations (www.sosnyc.com)
SOS offer up their fifth release, featuring
heavy, energetic, melodic rock ‘n’
roll music. It’s not quite punk or even
post-punk, but it certainly isn’t your
average “alternative” commercial
radio friendly stuff, either. Instead, it’s
pure, in-your-face, hard and heavy music. There
have many notable “heavy” bands
over the years, most notably the Melvins and
Steelpole Bathtub. But where much of the heavy
music of the past has tended toward the slow,
grinding sort of stuff, SOS mix in speed and
energy with the heaviness. SOS also tosses some
angular lines into the mix, with the result
hinting at a bit of NOMEANSNO influence. The
one drawback is that the album is a little too
long. Too much of this style can get a little
grating. But in smaller doses, this is great
stuff. Put it into your iPod and set it to shuffle
and you’re set to go!
POINT JUNCTURE, WA – Heart to Elk
(www.mtfujirecords.com)
Wow, this is just gorgeous! Think about Stereolab,
but with a much more chill feel. This in indie-pop
with a jazzy edge, but it’s infinitely
laid back. It’s kind of like a blending
of the driving indie-pop of Stereolab with the
jazzy chill of Tortoise. Besides the standard
guitar/bass/drums, there’s horns, keyboards
and vibraphone, and breathy, understated vocals.
The execution is perfect, everything in place,
but without sounding too contrived. Some of
the tracks are quiet, some are a little more
driving, but all are relaxed and laid back.
“Melon Bird” is just one example
of a track with a nice driving beat, through
the bass and drums, but with such a cool, easy
feel to it that it just glides along. It’s
impossible to pick out any stand-out tracks,
because they’re all so good. Recommended.
