Jersey Beat Music Fanzine
 

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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