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Danielson
Brother is to Son
Secretly Canadian
Danielson, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile…a number of different
incarnations of essentially the same
thing; and if Daniel Smith is the one doing the singing, his signature
voice
is a sure sign that it’s more of the same.
Not that that’s a bad thing – I love all things Danielson, and their
version of
folky-Pixies songs sung through a helium
balloon, but they are most certainly not for everyone. They pretty much
send my
girlfriend into convulsions every time
she hears one note of theirs. I suppose the main thing that sets
this apart
from other Danielson releases is that
instead of collaboration with fellow family members, he wrote the
entire thing himself
and then had them help out in
the recording only. This album also features the talents of many
already-familiar folks who
often pop up on the
Danielson releases – Sufjan Stevens, John Ringhofer, and more. If you
know what you’re
getting into, I highly
recommend this album, it’s as good as any of the Danielson’s other
work. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Darediablo
Twenty Paces
Southern Records
What happened to these guys…where is the edge? Not that this is a bad
record at all, I enjoyed most of it,
but the metal-oriented rock that they showed in their earlier
releases has been contorted into something much
more prog-rock-like. They cranked their signature organ sound
way up on this one, and the results sound like
a long-haired kid born of Uriah Heap and Procol Harum and a big brother
named Rush. If you’re already a fan,
approach with caution – maybe it’s just me but the difference
in sound is quite surprising. As for anyone else,
if you seek instrumental prog-rock that is light on the wankery and
heavy on the keys, you’ve come to the right
place. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Camille Davila
World of Gliding Monsters
Below Recordings
Camille Davila is the sort of music I would normally write off as
“latte music”, that mellow-electronic with a hint
of world music sound that you always hear in coffee shops
and probably a lot of Volkswagen Jettas. But some-
how, despite my normal predilections on this sort of music, I don’t
mind this at all. It sounds like the sort of thing
you’d find on the Darla label, and although they don’t really sound
alike, fans of Stereolab and Stereo Total and
maybe even some other “Stereo” bands would probably really dig this.
For me, the best part is her interesting
take on the Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale” – one of my favorite
songs turned into electro-pop would
probably drive me up the wall 99% of the time, but it really works
here. Great production and a strong voice help
matters a lot, and this album has plenty of that. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Dead Meadow
Feathers
Matador Records
On their second release for Matador (and fifth overall I believe),
Washington DC’s Dead Meadow have yet
again provided my ears with the glory of the riff-rock. On their
previous record they took blended a lot of Black
Sabbath and a little Pink Floyd to produce one of the better rock
albums of the last few years. This go around,
the flipped the equation, turning up the Pink Floyd and turning down
the Black Sabbath in an effort to create the
most perfect pot-smoking album ever and my favorite release of
theirs so far (bear in mind, I’m also a bigger
Floyd fan than Sabbath, but both are obviously awesome).
This is a fantastic album that should not only appeal
to their long-time fan base, but may even bring new “tokers” into the
fold. I could even see the jam-rock hippies
getting into this, although it may be too slow and heavy to achieve
that true “whirling dervish” spinning thing they
do. Then again, their saviors Phish broke up and none of
these people have jobs anyways, so they might as
well find something new to move on to. Just so long as they don’t
get in the way of my heshing out…(SLAP)
Deerhoof
Friend Opportunity
Kill Rock Stars
- 7 out of 10 -
I’m looking at the Deerhoof discography, and I just can’t believe that
“Friend Opportunity” is their 9th album…
this not only means that this San Francisco band has been producing
quirky
pop music for 10 years, but it
also means that I’m getting really old (which I suppose is a subject
best
left for another time). The fantastic
thing about the ‘Hoof is they feel just as strange and fresh on their
9th
album as they did on their first – you
never know what you are going to get, not just album to album, but song
to
song. The record has about
anything you can think of, from straight-forward pop songs to
Bjork-like
musical numbers to repetitive
kraut-rockish moments to songs that I have no idea how to describe,
like
the track “Kidz Are So Small”
which is sung from the perspective of a dog talking to its owner.
Truly, there is no one quite like Deerhoof,
and they just seem to keep getting better and better with each passing
album.
(SLAP)
Denim & Diamonds
Street Medics Unite
Bloodlink Records
Wow, this is pretty terrible – boring dance punk with nasally vocals is
not my idea of a good time. And the liner
notes are absolutely impossible to read. If you just really will dance
to anything and this is all you have around,
I suppose it would suffice. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The Desert Fathers
The Spirituality
Three Spheres
Polvo – one of my top five favorite bands to ever exist; and any band
that can merit a comparison to these heroes of
mind is indeed a great band worthy of checking out. The Desert Fathers
sound like the bastard stepchild of Polvo and
early-nineties era Flaming Lips, equal parts poppy-psychedelica and
twisted, strangely tuned guitars. There’s some-
thing so intoxicating about that bending guitar sound, and this album
is chock full of it. For those who are keeping
score and care, it was produced/recorded/whatever by Steve Albini. This
is most certainly a sleeper hit of the year in
my book. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Desoto Reds
Hanglide Thru Yer Window
Floating Man Records
More screwball, Elephant 6-inspired pop from here in the Bay Area, but
it’s tough not to like this. The level of
whimsy involved in this record probably surpasses even old Of Montreal,
and it does verge on crossing the line
into “annoying land” a time or two, but it never actually gets there.
The whole record has a very summery feel,
and it’s somewhat interesting that anything like this could come out of
the monotonic climate that is their home.
Nonetheless, it’s a decent, catchy listen that makes me wish I had
a convertible and some warm weather in
which to properly utilize this CD. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Destination:Oblivion
Shock Therapy
Dead Awake Records
When I first put this CD in to listen to I thought someone had put in a
jock Jams disc to try and fool with me…but
no, that’s just what Destination:Oblivion sound like. Sometimes upbeat
arena techno jams you could imagine
cheerleaders performing routines to, other times mellower
fare with vocals reminiscent of Trent Reznor. All in all,
pretty terrible unless you need something to practice your dance team
moves with. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Destroyer
Notorious Lightning and Other Works
Merge Records
Although it is only titled as a Destroyer release, it should be noted
that in reality this album is Dan Bejar with
Frog Eyes as his backing band, producing some sort of indie rock super
group that might possibly be much
better than either of the original bands involved. I can’t say that I’m
a huge Frog Eyes fan, but this material
makes me want to revisit their catalog even if they didn’t write it;
and as for Bejar/Destroyer, I nearly burned a
hole in my copy of “Streethawk: A Seduction” when it came
out I loved it so much, and this might actually be
better. All six of these tracks were previously available
on his last album “Your Blues”, but not like this they
weren’t - the opening track “Notorious Lightning” is a sprawling,
beautiful mess and easily one of my favorite
songs I’ve heard from anyone all year. The full, live band sound really
fleshes out Bejar’s songs much better
than the synth instrumentation that he has been experimenting with
lately, and hopefully he continues down this
road. This record is easily an early contender for one of
the best records of the year, and it just gets better
every time I listen to it. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Detachment Kit
Of This Blood
French Kiss
It’s no secret these guys sound a lot like Les Savy Fav; now, they’ve
taken that one step further by putting out their
newest release “Of This Blood” on their label. For their sophomore
effort, they parlayed that sound with a slightly
more mainstream “indie” influence on some tracks, recalling groups
such as The Walkmen or former Self-Starter
label-mates Haywood. This blend really works for them I think – still
spazzy enough to appeal to the already estab-
lished fan base, but with a broad enough appeal to attract outsiders
who might not have otherwise considered
them. Comparisons aside, this is a very enjoyable record that I’m sure
will see a number of spins on my stereo.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Devolver
Sky Full of Holes
Transsiberian Music
I could describe the music of Devolver in the following ways in any of
the following ways: My Bloody Valentine
discovers laptop-tronica; Tram getting a little more excited than
usual; what if the Beta Band got put on downers?
Anyways, I think the general idea is guitar driven, feedback-oriented
rock with an electronic beat bent and British
pop song sensibilities. For the most part, it’s a decent record
although it runs a little longer than I might like, but
that’s not much of a complaint. Anytime a Canadian produces something
that isn’t Rush or Barenaked Ladies,
I have to salute them.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Dinosaur
Jr.
Beyond
Fat
Possum Records
- 8.5 out of 10 -
I’m sure like
most music fans, you’ve sat around bored and daydreamed about “what if” one of your
favorite
bands got back together. For me, this mostly revolved around The
Misfits, Archers of Loaf, Polvo, The Smiths,
The Clash (before
Joe Strummer died), and Dinosaur Jr. The sad truth is that when these reunions
actually do
happen, it rarely sounds as good as it did “back in the day”, and
you’re left a little disappointed. Even worse is
when a reunion
is claimed but half of the original band fails to show and you get a bunch of filler
randoms playing
the part of your childhood heroes. There are the odd
exceptions like Wire and Mission of Burma who have had
successful reunions, but I’d guess the batting average is pretty low.
But you
still keep hoping and hoping that
former bandmates put away the differences and
rejoin forces like a gray-haired Voltron.
Well, if you are
a religious person this is the moment you get down on your knees and thank your
god of choice,
because Dinosaur Jr. are back! And we’re not talking the
later era of Dino here – this is the real deal original
line-up with Murph on drums and Lou Barlow (who has also recently reformed Sebadoh) on
bass and additional
vocals. The songs they’ve written for this album sound
like they were pulled straight from a time capsule labeled
“1990”, and I mean that in the best possible way – fans of the band’s glory days
will not be in the least bit dis-
appointed in the new material. Songs like
“Crumble” and “Been There All The Time” I would already include in
any greatest hits package for the band, and “Back To Your Heart”, sung by Lou,
would probably find a place on
there as well. I can’t imagine anyone who
grew up on Bug and You’re Living All Over Me not professing this
record
as one of the best releases of 2007. (SLAP)
Dinosaur
Jr.
S/T (reissue)
Merge Records
It’s about damn time they reissued these classic albums…not only are
they some of the most important music
released in the 80’s, they’ve been out of print for a while and the
sound quality was pretty bad anyways. Take
the masters, give them just a touch of polish, and re-release – seems
like a goldmine to me. Thankfully Merge
took on this task and we are all the better for it. If you have any
sense you already own the originals, but the
sound quality here is so much better it might be worth picking
up. Dinosaur Jr. was one of the best at com-
bining some of the fury of punk with the arty New York/Sonic Youth
sound that ruled the underground in those
days. This album is my least favorite of the three reissues (the other
two being “Bug” and “You’re Living All
Over Me”), but in the grand scheme of things it’s still much, much
better than most anything else out there.
That said, this album still includes “Repulsion”, one of their
greatest songs and a clear cut case of how influ-
ential this band probably was on an adolescent Kurt Cobain. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Dizzee Rascal
Boy in da Corner
Matador Records
That sound you hear is the collective “Holy Shit!” that comes out of
people’s mouths the first time they hear the
sounds of the 18 year old British superstar. I don’t think it
would be a stretch to say that this is the most original
and imaginative hip-hop album to come out in quite some time, but there
is something extremely limiting by just
calling this a ‘hip-hop’ record after you’ve heard the glorious sounds
etched into its wax. The music is mostly a
combination of extremely hard, erratic beats and Rascal’s intense
lyricism, which is nearly overpowered by one
of the thickest English Cockney accents I’ve ever heard on record or
film; there are times when you think you’re
listening to a foreign language. Additionally, there are
songs that bring in heavy guitar riffs, operatic chorus
singing, and odd techno-style bleeps and bloops that really round out
the recording. I’ve been pretty bored with
hip-hop for quite a while now - with the exceptions of El-P, Meanest
Man Contest, Outkast and Dalek, the only
groups out there willing to do something different than tow the line
and push the boundries of hip-hop and music
in general – but hopefully this release will help swing some folks in
the direction that different can be better, and
being sheep no matter what the musical genre is serves no purpose but
to put people asleep. I know that’s what
the record companies want, but we as consumers need to hope and want
and fight for more. (SLAP)
DJ Shadow
Funky Skunk
Public Works
In between his “official” studio releases, DJ Shadow often
puts out limited-edition mixes to help quench the
thirst of us rabid fans. This material differs from his more
original compositions and rely much more heavily
on their source material, but still maintain that unique quality that
tells even the most casual fan that Shadow
has had his hand in it’s creation. At their basest form they are
glorified mix tapes, but his ability to mesh
disparate sounds together into a cohesive and highly listenable package
is second to none as far as I’m
concerned. Truly, I think the man could make even the most
difficult material sound golden.
If you’ve followed along with his releases at all, you know how great
the “Brainfreeze”, “Product Placement” and
“Diminishing Returns” discs are; but this most recent album, “Funky
Skunk”, may be the best of all. Limited to
450 copies and produced in conjunction with Shepard Fairey
and Obey, this disc mostly focuses on hip-hop.
Both old and new are well represented - you’ll hear Three Six Mafia,
Too $hort, Birdman, David Banner, and
god knows what else, all mixed in amongst snippets of obscure funk,
psych rock, booty bass…shit, he even
uses part of a Terry Gross interview from NPR. In a word, it’s
brilliant. It may not be the easiest album to come
across, but spending a little extra time searching it out will prove
well worth your time. (SLAP)
DJ Shadow
The Outsider
Island Records
- 6.5 out of 10 -
I’m sure there are many of you out there who eagerly anticipate every
nugget of goodness that Josh Davis aka
DJ Shadow puts forth to the world. God knows that describes me –
I’ve spent more time and money than I care
to admit trying to track down all of his albums, singles, limited
edition bootlegs, recorded DJ sets, you name it.
I’m known in my circle of friends for having serious
attention deficit disorder when it comes to music, so the fact
that I’ve felt strongly for Shadow for 10+ years says a lot in my book.
Obviously, with such lofty praise comes high expectations, and no
mortal man can fulfill these desires day in and
day out. In other words, to get to the root of
the issue, the new Shadow album is disappointing. And yet
at the
same time, it’s a pretty good record too.
First and foremost, this is not your typical Shadow collage of dark,
obscure samples laced together flawlessly…
this album, for the most part, is a hip-hop mix tape. There are a
few rock-oriented numbers and a couple of
almost-typical Shadow tracks, but the overall feel is that of a current
Bay Area mix tape; in other words, Shadow
has done gone “hyphy”. I personally like pretty much everything
on this album, but really at no point do you feel
like you are listening to another DJ Shadow masterpiece, but rather the
local college radio station. There is no
flow between songs at all, which is probably the worst part of it –
even this smorgasbord of tracks would be
better suited to a different placement of song locations.
But on to the songs themselves – Shadow has assembled a fantastic cast
of musicians to help him out on this
album. The three best tracks in my opinion are
assisted by David Banner on “Seein’ Thangs”, a tag-team of
Q-Tip and long-time Shadow cohort Lateef on “Enuff”,
and Phonte Coleman of Little Brother on “Backstage Girl”.
The hyphy gets brung by Bay Area locals Turf Talk, The Federation, Keak
da Sneak, and the legendary E-40.
Add in the guitarist dudes from Kasabian, a couple of tracks with
vocals by Chris James of Stateless, and a few
other odds-n-ends and that is the record.
Make no mistake, there's going to be a lot of backlash over this
release from long-time fans. Some will like it,
others won’t, and I’m guessing all of them will be a
little bummed (like me) that the album isn’t what they expected.
All told, I still expect to listen ot this a lot, as
the music is good – but when I’m really itching to hear some DJ
Shadow, I doubt this release will ever be the first to pop into my
mind. (SLAP)
Dntel
Life Is Full of Possibilities
Plug Research recordings
Dntel. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it, cause I don’t
know. I do know that they produce some damn fine music;
very beautiful and relaxing. In actuality it isn’t a they – it’s
a he, but he has collaborators. The he in this case is
one Jimmy Tamborello, formerly of Strictly Ballroom (an amazing rock
band from the mid 90’s that often got
lumped in with the emo bands, but were far better than most of
them). This is Dntel’s third album, and although
I haven’t heard the first two, I think it would be pretty difficult to
top this one. The music reminds me of Boards of
Canada, u-Ziq, Oval, and some of the others out there that populate the
hordes of people trying to program their
way to success in the electronica/glitch pop world. Somehow, this
album surpasses all of those. Part of it comes
from the extra atmospheric feeling that permeates many of these songs –
when listened to through headphones
the sounds seem to swirl around your head, as opposed to just being
sounds coming from the speakers in your
ears. The main ingredient to the success of this album comes from
it’s immaculate line up of guest vocalists –
Chris Gunst (Beachwood Sparks, and former band mate of Tamborello in
Strictly Ballroom), Meredith Figurine
(of Figurine, another band that Tamborello is in), Mia Doi Todd, Rachel
Haden (That Dog), and Ben Gibbard
(Death Cab for Cutie/All Time Quarterback). My personal favorites
are the Mia Doi Todd track ‘Anywhere
Anyone’ – a dark and brooding song, at times reminding me of Bjork
without actually sounding like her; and
‘The Dream of Evan and Chan’, with Ben Gibbard, which in many ways just
sounds like a Death Cab song
because of Ben’s easily identifiable voice, but somehow remains it’s
own entity because of Tamborello’s stellar
programming. If this sort of electronic goodness floats your
boat, or if you are already a fan of any of the people
collaborating on this disc, you should check this out. (SLAP)
John Doe
Forever Hasn’t Happened Yet
Yep Roc Records
Is it wrong that my favorite thing John Doe has ever done is the
co-star job in the film “Roadside Prophets” with
Adam Horovitz? Not that I dislike his music, I just don’t find it
terribly exciting either. Much like his output with X,
this new album by him has a couple of ear-catchers but is mostly
forgettable as far as I’m concerned. A number
of folks help out on the disc, including Neko Case (his duet track with
her, “Hwy 5”, is the highlight of the album),
Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Alvin, Smokey Hormel, Kristen Hersh, and even
his 16-year-old daughter, Veronica
Jane (who has a decent voice). A fairly uneventful adult-contemporary
folk record that will no doubt please the
fans and keep the rest of us wondering what the catch is. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Dolour
New Old Friends
Made in Mexico
Shane Tutmarc is the man behind Dolour, and what a man he is –
writing an album that is so instantly likeable
that you want to start listening to it again the second it finishes
playing. This is pop music exactly the way I like
it - full of hooks and reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub and Sloan and Big
Star and the DB’s and…whoever else
comes to mind when you think of the great Beach Boys and Zombies
followers. I’ve listened to some of the older
Dolour stuff, and while good, none of it sounds nearly as complete and
fleshed out as the music contained in
“New Old Friends”. Head over to www.dolour.com for tons of tracks to
download - highly recommended for pop
lovers. (SLAP)
Charles Douglas
Statecraft
Enabler Records
There’s something endearing about this Charles Douglas CD, but I don’t
think I would go so far as to call it good.
Due to his mental instability and lyrical style, Douglas often gets
compared to Jonathan Richman and Daniel
Johnston even though he doesn’t really sound like either – he’s not
upbeat or goofy enough to be Richman nor is
he as delicate and damaged as Johnston comes across. It’s
more as if someone highly influenced by those two
folks decided to make a well-produced baroque pop record.
Wharton Tiers and Joey Santiago of The Pixies
lend a helping hand to this release in the realm of guitar tomfoolery,
but outside of a couple of tracks the results
just aren’t that interesting. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Johnny Dowd
Cemetery Shoes
Bongo Beat Records
By all accounts, this guy seems to be really well acclaimed, with
comparisons to Nick Cave and Tom Waits and
whoever else…but I don’t get it, any of it. He doesn’t sound like those
guys, and his music is not very good. If
anything it sounds like what you would expect Dwight Yoakam’s character
in Sling Blade to play with the band
full of misfits he hangs out with, or maybe I’ve just watched and
thought about that movie too many times. It seems
weird trashing the album of a guy older than my dad, but I find this
totally unlistenable. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
The Drones
Further Temptations
Cherry Red Records
The Drones were never one of the particularly good punk bands of the
era, but they still hold some appeal…it
would have been great to see live footage of them from their original
reign. Unfortunately, what you get with this
DVD is live footage from a mid-90’s reunion. Not terrible,
just kinda boring and missing that fire that I’m sure
would have been there in older footage (if it exists). But
if you’re already a fan, I’m sure you’ll dig it - plenty of
live footage spanning three different concerts, 90 minutes
or so in length. But that’s all you get here, no inter-
views or whatnot. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Drool
Brothers
Kasio Montigo
Barfing Glitter Records
To put it bluntly, this CD is one of the worst things to happen to me
in some time. I would be willing to go on
record as it having the worst album cover ever…and I know
you’re not supposed to “judge a book by its cover”
but we all do it anyways, so get off your high horse. I then scan the
track list…songs titled “Itchy Turtleneck”, “Le
Funky Sweat”, and “Dry Hump” lead me to believe that I’m going to be
dealing with terrible novelty music, and that
it is. Frankly, the album art is so bad the music could never match it,
but that’s not for lack of trying – it really is
terrible. In trying to think of something to compare this
to, I’m really strapped for examples…but the gist of it all
seems to be a bunch of jokesters playing white boy funk mixed with
mid-90s commercial radio pap, the sort of
crap that would probably go over well at a drunken frat house party. Oh
yeah, and their label is called Barfing
Glitter Records, so they have that going for them too. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Nicolai Dunger
Tranquil Isolation
Overcoat Recordings
Nicolai Dunger’s press release states that ‘in his early twenties
he made the choice between a future as a
soccer pro or as a full time musician’. Not that this has anything to
do with his music or even serves as a witty
beginning to the review, I just thought it might be an interesting
tidbit of information the reader might like to
know. I guess this Swedish folkie picked a good a time as any to try
and break into the musical market –
given the current ‘return to rock’ and immense popularity of a number
of Swedish bands, everything’s coming
up roses in the great northern part of Europe. But if anyone is looking
for more garage rock, they need to look
elsewhere. Dunger’s musical inspiration comes not from the Detroit
scene but rather somewhere a bit south
of there – Kentucky and the folk music of the Appalachian Mountains to
be exact.
Somewhere along the line Dunger made friends with Will Oldham and
his posse, and when it came time to
record this album he took up residence with this gang of
ne’er-do-wells, who occasionally help him out in the
production. And the album sounds like it too – it creaks and moans in
that timeless fashion like you might
expect to hear under one of Oldham’s million monikers (Palace, Bonnie
‘Prince’ Billy, etc). What set’s Dunger
apart from this crowd is his voice – lots of comparisons to Van
Morrison abound when you read reviews, and
rightly so; but if you’re looking for something more contemporary
to compare him to, he sounds a whole hell
of a lot like a less theatrical Rufus Wainright.
This album might be a little long winded in places, but it’s still a
good listen. Anyone yearning for that feel of
listening to someone who sounds like they’re just sitting on their
porch playing to the crickets would do them-
selves justice to pick this up. And I can’t think of a better way
to listen to it – put it on the stereo, aim those
speakers out the window, grab a cold beverage, and go relax on the
porch and watch the sun set. This is the
music for those times. (MUSIC
SPORK)
Earlimart
Everyone Down Here
Palm
Here we have proof-positive that moving from a well respected
underground label to the big time doesn’t nec-
essarily spell doom for the creative out put of the band. Southern
California’s Earlimart, once the darlings of the
Devil in the Woods record label roster, now find themselves in
the major leagues and with a terrific new record,
‘Everyone Down Here’. Imagine a mixture of Sparklehorse, Pavement, The
Pixies, and Grandaddy, and you’ll
begin to understand what sort of sounds these guys and girl produce.
Especially great is the second track and
first single ‘We Drink on the Job’, which offers not only a catchy
chorus but comes across with a great idea as
well – who wouldn’t like to mix some libations with the workplace?
Well, other than your boss that is? If there is
a down side here at all it’s that the record is too short, but
sometimes it’s better to leave them wanting more
anyways. (SLAP)
Early Day Miners
Jefferson at Rest
Secretly Canadian Records
Whoever has been hiding the Early Day Miners from me for this long is
in deep, deep trouble. It’s my own fault
really for not paying more attention, as the band is made up of 2/3rds
of Ativin, a fantastic band who I’ve followed
for some time (check out their Pills Vs. Planes EP for some great
Slint-ish rock). nonetheless, I finally discovered
this gem of a band on their third release, ‘Jefferson at Rest’. Equal
parts moving and relaxing, it takes obvious
cues from the likes of New Year, Barzin and Low, filling the void left
by the break up of Codeine and near perm-
anent hiatus of Seam in the realm of beautiful, mellow post-rockish pop
songs. And one of the things that makes
this album particularly great is that it’s a grower – one of those
albums that’s just ok at first, but the more you hear
it the more you want to. It took me a month to get eve na couple of
listens into this, but since then I couldn’t
recount the number of times it’s been in my CD player. You can
download and decide for yourself just how great
they are at the following place: http://www.earlydayminers.com/ (SLAP)
The Ebb and Flow
MurMurs EP
Self Released
The Ebb and Flow, an ethnically diverse band out of my fair city here
in San Francisco, have stepped forward with
their sophomore release, ‘MurMurs’. Although only an EP, it manages
to pack quite a bit of sound into it’s relatively
short playing time (25ish minutes would be my guess, I’d give you the
exact time if my stupid cd player actually had
that function). One thing hits you immediately upon hearing this record
– keyboards, and lots of them. Moog, Farfisa,
Melodicathey all step right up to the foreground. At first, it can
seem a little overbearing even, but with further listens
all of the sounds seem to blend together and the keyboards begin adding
to the total sound of the band instead of
standing out from it.
heWith a sound like The Ebb and Flow has, a comparison to Stereolab
would be obvious, but still fitting. But try and
imagine Stereolab with less drone and more beats and bass, because both
of these instruments figure in pretty
strong in this release. In fact, the bass is so heavy and omnipresent
in a couple of spots that it makes me think of
Firehose somewhat. They rounded out their sound for this EP by adding
horns to a couple of the tracks with the help
of some guest musicians (most notably Ralph Carney, former saxophonist
for Tom Waits). This release is a solid
outing by The Ebb and Flow, and I don’t see any reason why they
couldn’t become quite popular in this area if they
keep putting out such releases. (MUSIC SPORK)
The Elected
Me First
Sub Pop Records
One of the first things you always see and hear when The Elected are
mentioned is the phrase “featuring Blake
Sennett of Rilo Kiley”. Well, I’m here to say that I won’t be surprised
if that changes soon – Sennett and company
have created a wonderfully entertaining record, much more so than
anything I’ve ever heard from Rilo Kiley. The
music falls somewhere between The Byrds/Flying Burrito
Brothers/Beachwood Sparks-style California-fied country
rock and spacy electro-pop like you might hear on a Postal Service
record; and more than anything, the production
on this album blends together all of these sounds in such a beautiful
way that I think it would be difficult for most
anyone to dislike this album. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Electric Frankenstein
Burn Bright, Burn Fast
TKO Records
It seems
like Electric Frankenstein has been around forever, and I guess 13
years is “forever” in the music
business. Their brand of heavy bar-rock with just a tinge
of punk hasn’t changed too terribly much over the year,
so if you dig them then you know every album is going to be worth a
listen, and that is indeed the case here. It’s
not going to set the world on fire, but “Burn Bright, Burn Fast” is
full of catchy heavy songs that instantly make me
wish I was on a road trip with the windows down and the music blaring.
As a bonus, the album includes three
covers at the end, most notably their version of The Car’s “Candy-O”. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Electro Group/St.
Avalanche
Split (7")
Claire Records
This is the best split 7 inch I’ve heard in a long time – Sacramento
comes strong with excellent outings from two of
their finest, St Avalanche and Electro Group. Having previously heard
Electro Group before, I knew what to expect –
quirky shoegaze prettiness mixed with some Stereolab-ish drone and a
great overall electro-pop feel to it. I wasn’t
disappointed by their songs here, and in fact they just reminded me
of why I need to get off my ass and get Electro
Group’s full length. St. Avalanche was previously unknown to me, but
I’ll certainly be on the lookout for them in the
future. They play an interesting mix of 60’s garage pop and shoegaze,
sorta like what you get with the likes of
Henry’s Dress , but with a slight British quirky pop feel not unlike
Elastica. On top of all this, it comes on clear vinyl
and some great packaging, all clear and actually an x-ray of something
or another when you hold it up to the light.
Well worth searching out. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Electro Group
Ummo
Omnibus Records
Well, now we know what kind of kid you get when you mate My Bloody
Valentine and old-style Stereolab.
This is highly enjoyable, noisy pop music at its finest coming straight
out of Sacramento, California. God
knows if these kids will ever get the fanfare and praise they deserve
for crafting quality tunes; my guess is
the press will keep heaping the praise on the crap irony rock and
cheeseball electroclash. Too bad for the
band, but at least us fans get to keep them all to ourselves. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Elf Power
Walking with the Beggar Boys
Orange Twin Records
In what seems to be their seventh proper album (along with god knows
how many EPs, compilations, what-
ever), Elf Power bring you “Walking with the Beggar Boys”, an album
that manages to sound instantly recog-
nizable as their work and yet have a number of odd influences and
quirks that you wouldn’t necessarily expect
to hear out of these erstwhile Elephant 6’ers. Most notably, this
record is much more of a straight-forward rock
record than the silly songs that populate the band’s past; at times it
sounds like it could be a Snow Patrol
record as much as an Elf Power one. Still, it’s a good listen, with a
great 1-2 punch out of the songs “Walking
with the Beggar Boys” and “Drawing Flies”. This album may be a
disappointment to some die hard fans, but
I think most folks will easily realize it’s still a great record, even
if there’s no mention of serpents or leopards or
birds with candy bar heads. (SHREDDING PAPER)
El Guapo
Fake French
Dischord Records
I love bands that can pull of being really weird, strange music and
still retain some catchy pop sensibilities to hook
you into the music. For me, that’s exactly the sort of music El
Guapo produces. On their newest record they con-
tinue in their ‘art rock’ leanings but with a more song-like
approach. This probably upset some of the purists, but
it still makes for a solid listen. Try to imagine Clinic, Le
Tigre, The Fall, and some electro-type beats all thrown in
a blender and spit out in a very haphazard fashion. Add into that
mix the vocal interplay of the two singers and
sometimes spooky carnival-like atmosphere of their album and you’ve got
yourself a winner. Check out a couple
of songs from the album here:
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/ELGUA/19634_audio.html (SLAP)
Emperor X
Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip on an Edgeless Platform
Snowglobe Records
Emperor X is Chad Matheny a one man group that specializes in not
specializing in anything. This release
is all over the map like a blind man throwing darts. Sounding like Syd
Barrett, one moment, Sebadoh the
next, and Postal Service after that, it’s pretty obvious that not only
does the emperor have clothes, but he has
a ton of different outfits and likes to play dress-up quite often. And
while not an amazing release by any
means, it’s eclecticism holds one’s interest decently over the first
few listens; for how long it continues to
sound good to you after that depends wholly on how much you enjoy one
man’s solo version of an eclectic
mix tape. I mean, the man name-checks Friendster for chrissakes.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
The Ends
Concrete Disappointment
Dirtnap Records
Hey, who says people from Texas can’t sing with a British accent? If
Robert Pollard, born and raised in Ohio,
can pull off Paul McCartney impressions, then The Ends should be
allowed to sound as much like Joe Strummer
and The Clash as they like. The songs on “Concrete Disappointment” are
very catchy and good, especially the
second track “Workin’ on Some Feeling”. For some reason I never mind
when a younger band (or maybe any
band for that matter) apes a classic group as long as the music is
still enjoyable, and this very much is. This is
a lot more common in punk, especially since everyone who writes a good
poppy track almost always sounds
like The Buzzcocks or The Ramones or The Clash anyways. And to
the credit of The Ends, it doesn’t all sound
like The Clash – the disk opener sounds quite a bit like Mott & the
Hoople, which is pretty damn cool. Check
the band out yourself over at the label’s website, www.dirtnaprecs.com,
where they have that first track available
and there may be more on the bands website (which is linked from
the label website…I’m not going to do all the
work for ya!). (SLAP)
Jeremy Enigk
World Waits
Reincarnate
- 7 out of 10 -
It’s been 10 years since Jeremy Enigk split off from Sunny Day Real
Estate, found jesus, and released the
absolutely brilliant orchestral pop album “Return of the Frog
Queen”. A lot has changed around the world in
those 10 years, so while I might have been hoping that Enigk’s
sophomore solo effort “World Waits” would be
“Frog Queen (Part 2)”, it’s not really reasonable to expect that to
actually happen. Instead, we got an album
that is more electrified, less orchestral, and…dare I say it – possibly
befitting of an “adult contemporary” label.
The one thing that entered my head upon first listen and never let up
was the mid-80s work of Peter Gabriel,
particularly the album “So” that was immensely popular. It
doesn’t sound dated like that release, and there is
nothing quite as silly as “Sledgehammer” on “World Waits”, but other
than Enigk’s recognizable voice many of
these tracks would easily be passed off as fare for one of those crappy
lite-rock stations. With all that said –
I quite like this record. I know, it doesn’t add up, and maybe
it’s a sign of me turning into my parents, but out-
side of some overly serious lyrics here and there, this is a really
beautiful album, with more than enough going
on to tide over pop fans and Sunny Day fans alike. (SLAP)
The Epoxies
S/T
Dirtnap Records
“New Wave” bands have been popping up all over the musical landscape
over the last couple of years to go
along with the ironic 80’s fashion and predisposition to cocaine that
all of the hipster kids are into right now.
But the bottom line is that most of these bands suck. Have no fear
though, the Epoxies are here to change that –
their keyboard laden, female fronted punk attack manages to sound both
familiar and fresh at the same time.
more than anything, these are just some damn catchy songs, and no
manner of gimmicks can either make up
for or cover up that fact; after only a couple of listens, you’ll most
likely be singing along. This album is short,
sweet, and to the point – short bursts of quirky songs that never get a
chance to become redundant. Don’t be-
lieve me? Check out some tracks here -
http://www.theepoxies.com/audio.htm. Also, word on the street is that
they put on a damn good live show – I know I’ll be there next time they
come to town. (SLAP)
Erasure
Nightbird
Mute Records
To be brutally honest, I can’t say that I’ve ever really been a big fan
of Erasure, but having known folks that were
I can appreciate their importance in the dance-pop scene of the 80’s
and apparently still to this day, as they
recently sold out 5 nights in a row here in San Francisco in support of
this album. I figure at this point if you are
buying new Erasure records you’re probably already well aware of what
you are getting yourself into, and no
twit reviewer is really going to change your mind. To me, this
sounds pretty much like everything else they have
done, in fact this record could be from 1988 and they just lied to all
of us about it being a new release. This can
be read two ways, either the group is stagnant or they are giving the
fans what they want, which are both prob-
ably true statements. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Erasure
Union Street
Mute Records
Given the both the popularity and the length of their career, unless
you are a young kid or have been living in
a hole you’ve probably made up your mind at this point as to whether or
not you like Erasure. Never ones to
shy away from re-releasing already available material in different
formats, “Union Street” finds the band
rehashing some of their classics unplugged/acoustically. When I think
Erasure I think of shirtless men dancing
in discos, or at least that’s what the TV has led me to believe happens
when their music gets played…well
you’re certainly not going to be thinking that after hearing these
versions. No doubt the hardcore fans will find
something to glean from this release, but it seems a bit odd to release
mellow versions of dance music – kinda
defeats the purpose I would think. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Eternity’s Children
From Us Unto You: Original Singles Collection
Cherry Red Records
Rev-Ola is back again with more reissue goodness – this time
it is the soothing sounds of Eternity’s Children.
Like me, you’ve probably never even heard of these cats, but
there is a good chance you have heard of Curt
Boettcher and Keith Olsen, two of the pioneers behind much of the good
psychedelic soft rock that was being
made in the mid-to-late 60s; they were also responsible for this group,
and were in fact their first production if
I am to believe what the press sheet tells me. The Children themselves
came from Mississippi, were once
called the Phantoms, and played with the likes of Charlie Rich as his
backing band from time to time. They
added folk singer Linda Lawley and changed their name, got signed to
A&M, but never quite made it on the
charts in any significant way. Which is a shame, because this is some
pretty good boogie/psych soft rock…
lots of vocal harmonies, a touch of twang, and would sound right at
home on a tour with Strawberry Alarm
Clock (which actually happened in 1967). There’s also a few tracks that
make me think of some of Kenny
Rogers output at times, but that is probably just me. Is this a lost
classic? Probably not, but it is a good listen
especially for folks who enjoy the late 60’s sunshine pop music. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Ex-Boyfriends
Dear John
Absolutely Kosher Records
Different people think of different types of music when they hear the
term “pop punk”. For some it means radio-
friendly pap like Green Day or Blink 182; but for me, I think of
Superchunk and Jawbreaker and San Francisco’s
newest entry to this field, the Ex-Boyfriends. And while the Ex-BFs
don’t really sound like those bands whom
they share a descriptor with, but they certainly seem to be coming from
the same origins. To be sure, this SF trio
floats more to the pop side of the spectrum, dashing their
music liberally with plenty of “oohs” and “ahs” and that
manner of business, but the pace of their songs, brevity of their
tracks, and occasional crunch to their tone keeps
them from being a pop band exclusively. Singer Colin
Daly’s vocals may take some folks a listen or two to
adjust to, as he sounds quite a bit like Robert Smith if he weren’t
busy making maudlin synth-pop and instead
took some trucker speed before performing. Like all good
bands, you never have to take the word of some
shifty reviewer – just go their web site and listen for
yourself…www.ex-bf.com. (SLAP)
The Exploding
Hearts
Shattered
Dirtnap Records
- 9 out of 10 -
It feels like I’ve been waiting on this compilation for a long time;
ever since that fateful night that took three of
The Exploding Hearts lives, I knew it was inevitable that Dirtnap or
someone would release a compilation of
unreleased songs, singles, b-sides and outtakes so that us fans would
have at least a little more of the Heart’s
glammy pop to hang our hats on. Anyone who at this point hasn’t
listened to and memorized the band’s only
release, “Guitar Romantic”, should drop this magazine and instantly run
to their nearest record store and pur-
chase it (or maybe it’s even on iTunes for you internet nerds).
That album wasn’t just the best record of 2003,
it will probably go down as one of the top 5 records of the
decade. As you can tell, my feelings run high with
this band so this odds-n-sods release is the only real chance for fans
to get a “new” Exploding Hearts album
(even if you do already know most of the songs in one form or
another). How tragedy befalls a band of this
talent and yet Nickelback still walk the earth I’ll never understand,
but any fan of catchy pop songs with a late
70’s punk vibe could do no better than the Exploding Hearts. (SLAP)
Explosions in the
Sky
Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
Temporary Residence
I am not a religious man, but there is something so moving about the
music of Austin-based Explosions in the
Sky that it makes me want to start a whole new faith that revolves
around their glorious instrumentation. And
where their amazing last album “Those Who Tell the Truth Shall
Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever”
may have seemed to be obsessed with death and dying, their new
album “Earth is not a Cold Dead Place”
shows that maybe there’s hope after all, even if it’s the smallest
glint. That’s all fine and well, but the real question
on the table is “is this any good?” the overwhelming answer is
yes – where it’s predecessor was an exercise in
the dramatic difference between quiet and loud in this genre of
instrumental post-rock (as the kids like to call it),
this album is a much more soothing affair, but not without it’s
moments. Instead of running up and punching you
in the face with the music like the last album did, this go around they
ease you into it, like taking the stairs into the
pool, but before you know it you’re in the deep end, so to speak.
In my opinion, they make up one-fourth of the
most important bands out there performing this type of music –
Mono from Japan, Mogwai from Scotland, and
Godspeed You! Black Emperor from Canada being the other three.
This may be my favorite type of music being
produced right now, and it would be difficult to say that Explosions in
the Sky aren’t leading the whole pack. You
can check out some of their tracks at www.temporaryresidence.com and
make up your mind for yourself. (SLAP)
The Faraway Places
Unfocus on It
Eenie Meenie Records
The Faraway Places are a pop band from Southern California, featuring
some folks who may have at one time had
something to do with Boston poppers Papas Fritas (whose self-titled
album is truly great if you didn’t already know).
The sound here runs some where between the aforementioned Fritas,
quirky pop of Elephant 6 minded folks like Of
Montreal, and classic California sounds like you might hear from The
Byrds earlier stuff or the Mamas and the Papas.
Nothing terribly special here, but not a bad listen by any means. Most
of the songs tend to blend into the background
though, like something you might hear when shopping in one of those
hipster boutiques. My only real complaint is the
moments when things get a little too “funky”, not a style I’ve ever
been partial too. I could imagine good things coming
out of these folks after a little more work at it. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Far Rad
This Candy’s Gross
Johanns Face
I think I’m starting a new genre called “cocaine rock” and this falls
squarely in it. Because I’m pretty sure you need
to be hopped up on blow or something to enjoy this album.
It sounds like electronic music set to a rock backbone,
distorted vocals, hyper drum machine beats, cheesy synths…all good
things at the right time but not necessarily
assemble in a listenable fashion here. They have a couple
of moments that are Devo-like that are tolerable but
they are few and far between. Recommended if you want to equivalent to
a bad dose of speed.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Faux Fox
Cusp of the Precipice
Artist One Stop
More synthy dance punk for the masses, especially if you like the
boring variety. Fans of The Faint or Interpol or
Franz Ferdinand (or whoever else manages the combo of danceable and
dark) might like this, but even though
I like The Faint I found this to be a snoozefest. Maybe this even
counts as electro-clash – are people still listening
to that anymore? (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Fiel Garvie
Leave Me Out of This
Words on Music
I’m willing to make a bet that one of the members of this band has
a tattoo on their arm that says “I Heart the Cocteau
Twins”. Actually that is a little harsh (and a pathetic display at
attempted humor on my part), but their music certainly
evokes that era of 80’s music. Although not terribly engaging for the
entire record, it’s a decent listen and a lot better
than most bands trying to pull off this type of sound nowadays. Most of
what makes this interesting is lead singer
Anne’s voice, and this is especially heard in the best track on the
album (and most upbeat one at that) “Talking a
Hole in My Head”.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
50 Foot Wave
Golden Ocean
Throwing Music
This is Kristin Hersh of the Throwing Muses’ new band, and you
know it right from the get-go. One listen to this
record is like an instant time-warp back to the late 80’s/early
90’s of “college rock” nostalgia. A follow up to
their self-titled EP released last year, I would imagine most long-time
Muses fans would be happy with this
recording. It’s full of pounding-drums-and-guitar fury that would put
most punk rock to shame nowadays.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Film School
AlwaysNever EP
Amazing Grease Records
This is a nice, pleasant EP of music that the kids might call ‘post
rock’. This release isn’t groundbreaking and it
probably won’t blow you away either, but it’s still a good listen that
I would recommend. Film School is basically the
work of Krayg Burton, with a rotating cast of folks that help out in
all the other areas. Mellow without ever becoming
boring (but let’s face it, if you get bored just listening to an EP of
any band then that’s a sure sign that something is
wrong), this would make a great record to go to sleep to. For some
reason the comparison that comes to mind when
I listen to Film School is Jim Yoshi Pile Up mixed with some low key
shoegazer stuff. Another great thing about this
short player is that it’s a grower – it might not impress you terribly
on the first listen, but the more you hear it the more
you want to. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The Firebird Project Suite
Band
Archives
Lucid Records
Some of you out there may already be familiar with the Firebird Band, a
great and under-appreciated group who
seemingly came to be formed by Chris Broach after his more famous band,
Braid, broke up. Well, it appears
that the band’s history goes back a little farther than that, to 1997
and a time when Braid was still around and
The Firebird Band was just a side distraction for those days not filled
with recording and touring (and Braid tour-
ed the crap out of this country when they were together). Through the
years the group has gone through two other
band names – the Firebird Suite and the Firebird Project, which leads
me to believe someone must really like
Pontiacs or has a hang-up with mythology. Broach is the only
mainstay through all three line-ups, but his voice
shapes the sound of the music so much that all three variations of the
band sound pretty similar; which is to say,
they sound a lot like Braid with the Van Pelt/the Lapse and Les Savy
Fav mixed in. In fact, Chris Wilson is a part
of the first two bands, who seems to be better known as Chris Leo, a
key member of the Van Pelt and The Lapse,
as well as helping his brother out in Ted Leo & the Pharmacists.
This record basically culls all of the historical
recording of these various incarnations onto one disc, as well as one
track from the Firebird Band so you can
hear how they’ve grown over the years. I highly doubt any former Braid
fans will be anything other than joyous upon
hearing this album, I know it made me quite happy. (SLAP)
Five Six Six Five
America’s Idle
This album should be titled “music to go to sleep to”. Mellow, mostly
instrumental jazzy-electronica hybrid that
sounds like it should have been released by Hefty Records.
The production is great and the group seems
talented enough, but there is just nothing whatsoever memorable about
the songs. This material would probably
work well as the score to a film than as a stand-alone album.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
The Flaming Stars
Named and Shamed
Alternative Tentacles
Max Decharne, singer for The Flaming Stars, could probably fool about
anyone into thinking he is Lou Reed
over the phone, as his voice is a spot on replica. This album as a
whole is reminiscent of some of Reed’s
better latter-day stuff, combining lounge music aesthetics and
Decharne’s deep voice into an interesting stew.
I’m also reminded of Howe Gelb/Giant Sand and even a little Nick Cave,
and fans of most of these outfits might
do themselves a favor in checking this out. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Form
& Fate
The
Form and Fate of Lakes
Three
Ring Records
- 6.5 out of 10 -
At this point in
time you could probably say that everything
that is gonna be done within the realm of “post-rock”
has been done (this may
or may not be true, but it sure does feel that way to me at
least). So it becomes more
important than ever to
look at quality over substance, and Form and Fate have quality bursting
out all
over. I’ll
drop the easy comparisons
here: Explosions in the Sky, From Monument to Masses, Mogwai, otherwise
known
as the usual suspects. Now they don’t
really sound like any of those bands exactly – not quite as cinematic
as
EITS,
not full of political vitriol like FMTM, not as “depressingly sounds
like a
rainy day in Gasgow” as Mogwai –
but fans of those heavyweights should
certainly give these new kids a listen. They
may not have the name rec-
ognition of these godfathers of the sound but they
aren’t lacking a thing musically – a high-quality debut from
start to finish. (SLAP)
Four Tet
Pause
Domino Records
This is great music to go to sleep to. If that’s taken as an
insult, then I apologize, because I mean it as a
compliment. What can I say about the music? As cheesy as it
sounds, the overwhelming word that comes
to my mind is ‘pretty’ – and yes, I know that makes me sound
stupid. Four Tet is made up of one lad, Kieran
Hebden, and probably a bunch of computer programs, samplers, and the
like. This would most likely be
classified as electronic music (or to even sub-categorize for the sake
of the kids – IDM – intelligent dance
music – but not the crazy kind like Squarepusher or that ilk),
but I have a hard time putting it into that group.
But if not there where? If you don’t like the current state of
things, make a change – so I’m starting a new
genre of music, and I’m calling it ‘Mellow-Pretty Music to Sleep
To’. Joining Four Tet in this category will
be Low, Sam Prekop, a sub selection of Radiohead’s last two albums, Yo
La Tengo’s ‘And Then Nothing
Turned Itself Inside Out’, various Reggae/Dub heads, and a small
selection of some of my favorite movie
scores. Not that all of these groups and types sound alike,
but to me, they all give off the same vibe – why
don’t you relax...lay your head on the soft pillow...goodnight. (SLAP)
Frausdots
Couture, Couture, Couture
SubPop Records
There may be a lot of charges you can leverage against Brett Rademaker,
but failing to be a prolific musician
is not one of them. From Spacemen 3-influenced Further, to
Byrds-influenced Beachwood Sparks, to the
Beach Boys-influenced The Tyde, and now the all-things-80’s-inspired
Frausdots, Rademaker isn’t afraid to
wear his influences on his sleeves. While the band only seems to
officially consist of Rademaker and Michelle
Loiselle, this record is packed full of guest stars from such bands as
the Cure, the Tyde, Rooney, Brian
Jonestown Massacre, and the Warlocks. The entire record feels
like it could be from 1985, but without
coming across as being a bunch of doofuses trying to cash in on the
current backward-thinking music scene
that has been embraced by the mainstream. For a more accurate
description, try and imagine the long lost
tapes of a recording session where Echo & the Bunnymen and
the Cure decided to collaborate together, and
that will give you a general idea of what to expect upon hearing
“Couture, Couture, Couture”. There are also
a couple of tracks that sound as if they could be outtakes from his
other band the Tyde; and most notably of
all, the second song on the album, “Fashion Death Trends”, is easily
one of the very best songs I’ve heard all
year. So immediately catchy, you’ll find it gets stuck in your
head after only one listen. This is a solid record
from start to finish, and one that gets better with each successive
listen. (SLAP)
The Fruitbats
Mouthfuls
Subpop Records
I’ve really been enjoying the softer, gentler side of Subpop lately.
After a tumultuous childhood filled with some of
the best and worst rock music of the nineties, they seemed to have
settled down and started focusing on mellower
pop and folk inspired music – the type of tunes that my mellow ass has
really been enjoying lately, but not so good
for those out there eagerly anticipating that new Tad record to drop
(note: I have no idea if there is or is not actually
a Tad record coming out – this was just my bad attempt at a joke).
The Shins, Iron & Wine, Trembling Blue Stars, Holopaw, Ugly
Cassanova, Pernice Brothers, etc – The Fruitbats fit
right into this stable of artists, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of
these records (especially the Iron & Wine one –
not to be a cheeseball, but this album just gets better and better with
age, just like a fine wine). While not sounding
exactly like any of these bands, The Fruitbats do share a similar sound
– a Kinks/Beach Boys pop influence like
The Shins or the Pernice Brothers, a more mellow, folky pop approach
like The Trembling Blue Stars, and a slight
tinge of the spooky alt-country stylings that flavor Iron & Wine,
Holopaw, and Ugly Cassanova. What was once the
work of only one Fruitbat by the name of Eric Johnson (no, not the one
who played guitar for the Archers of Loaf or
the one that plays that wankery new age type stuff – this one is
apparently associated with Califone), the group
now consists of an additional member by the name of Gillian Lisee, who
fills in on additional vocals, keyboards,
and probably whatever else needs to be done.
This is a fine record that I enjoy more with each passing listen – and
if the company it keeps is any indication, this
won’t be one of those ‘listen to it a hundred times in two weeks and
then forget about it’ type of bands, but more
like one of those’ Jesus Christ it’s been nearly two years you’d think
I’d be sick of The Shins by now but I’m not’
types. Go to the Subpop website and check it out for yourself, and
check out all the other bands I mentioned as
well if you haven’t heard them yet.
http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/multimedia.php (MUSIC SPORK)
The Fully Down
Don’t Get Lost in a Movement
Fearless Records
A bunch of Canadian kids making some prog/MTV-punk/emo hybrid music
that is massively overproduced…
I think I’d rather be punched in the face repeatedly than listen to
this anymore. To the band’s credit, they seem
like very talented musicians, but so is Yngwie Malmsteen and I don’t
want to listen to him either. It’s like the new
generation of Rush, only they also want to be Fallout Boy or some such
pile of unlistenable hooey. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Galaxie 500
Uncollected
Rykodisc
The Galaxie 500 the name of one of my favorite cars of all time, and I
will own one someday even if my old lady
won’t let me fly out to Montana to purchase one off of the internet and
then drive it back here to SF…but that is
neither here nor there. Not unlike the car, though, the band
Galaxie 500 are one of the most underappreciated
bands of the late eighties, and one of the best bands to come out of
Boston outside of the Pixies. Their mellow,
minimalist, wistful-pop sound proved to be a great influence on any
number of bands, from Codeine to Low to
Yo La Tengo and beyond.
This release, Uncollected, is a group of random b-sides, covers and
rarities otherwise only available if you
bought the box set the band released a while back; apparently demand
was so great that the label saw fit to
just release this portion for those folks who already had all of their
other material and only needed these songs
to round out their collection. Although lacking in the continuity
you get from a proper album, the material here is
just as strong as anything else they have put out; particularly good is
their cover of the Young Marble Giant’s
“Final Day” (yet another group that has never received their due).
There are also Beatles and Jonathan Richman
tracks on there to go with many great tracks that most bands would be
happy to have as their A-sides. This disc
is obviously a welcome addition for fans who haven’t already bought the
box set, but it also works as a great
starting point for this great band, who finally seems to be getting the
respect they deserve. (SLAP)
Giardini di Miro
The Academic Rise of Falling Drifters
Homesleep
This release is made up entirely of remixes of songs by the Italian
band Giardini di Miro. Since I’ve never heard the
original band, I cannot comment as to how this release sounds in
relation to the original compositions. As far as a
stand alone record, it’s not bad. I’m not normally an electronic/remix
kind of person, but this CD is a nice, smooth
listen – if I were still in school it would be a great record to put
on if I were studying. Artist doing the remixing here
include Dntel, Styrofoam, Opiate, isan, and more. The entire thing
sorta blends together in a seamless fashion that
accentuates the album as a whole. Not a bad release to check out if you
happen across it and want something
mellow to kick back to. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Giddy Motors
Make It Pop?
Fatcat Records
Dammit, I’ve been waiting for a new band to come along whose influences
are firmly entrenched in the early
and mid-nineties. Enough of this electro-clash and 80’s revival
bullshit, and more rock! this threesome from
London, England have listened to some Jesus Lizard, they’ve listened to
the collective works of Steve Albini
(Big Black/Shellac), they’ve listened to some Tar, and just like the
rest of the bands mentioned, they’ve def-
initely listened to some Black Sabbath. From all of this hodge-podge
comes something new and exciting
instead of regurgitation. Sometimes they tow the party line with
straight-forward rock numbers, while other
times will have them infusing Minutemen-style funk or the occasional
onslaught of horns into their music. If
you’re looking for some quality rock music and not just the next flavor
of the month, Giddy Motors may just
be the band for you. (SLAP)
The Girls
S/T
Dirtnap Records
Anyone who hasn’t been paying attention yet, needs to do so quick
–Dirtnap Records out of the Pacific Northwest
has stealthily moved in and become one of the best labels in the US
that most folks have never heard of. The
Exploding Hearts (RIP), The Briefs, The Spits, The Epoxies, The Popular
Shapes, The Minds and many other
“The” bands all call this label home, and are fuckin’ great as well.
Now you can add to that list The Girls, out of
Seattle, a quintet of pop music-making young lads hiding out on a punk
enclave. Although they undoubtedly be-
long to the punk scene, they owe the most benefit of their sound to
The Cars – catchy, simple hooks; tons of synths;
and Ric Okasek (OK, there’s no Ric Okasek, I lied about that).
Additional influence is paid to the New York Dolls
and Richard Hell & the Voidoids. You can check them out online for
yourselves at http://www.thegirlsseattle.com/.
And as rad as their record music is, word on the street is that their
live show gets much, much crazier, drawing
comparisons to the Stooges, with all band members in make-up and crazy
outfits (I heard leopard-print thongs
and fishnet stockings – unsure if this is the uniform de facto or just
what they were wearing that night). (SLAP)
The Gladiators
Live in Paris (DVD)
Bis
This DVD is a live concert of The Gladiators, recorded in Paris at
L’Elsyee Montmartre in 2000. Not unlike
many great musicians from that tiny island, Albert Griffiths and his
Gladiators are barely known in this country
but receive quite a bit of recognition elsewhere (and are legendary in
Jamaica, though not surprisingly). There
is well over an hour of good reggae here – not amazing, but certainly
worth a listen. Decent quality all around
of the filming and the sound, any fan of reggae will want to check this
out. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The Glass
Concorde
Makeshift Music
Holy crapturd, I love it when a band seemingly appears from out of
nowhere and blows my ass out of the water
with their beautiful songs! Well, count Tennessee’s The Glass as
one of the few who have done that. They play
what I like to call “cosmic country” – a stupid name, sure, but meant
to indicate those who play that odd mix of
spacey, psychedelic sounds with traditional slide guitar and
country-style vocals. Other than The Glass, groups
who fall under this moniker are Canyon, Holopaw, My Morning Jacket, and
even some of Jay Farrar’s more
recent output. I can’t recommend this release any more highly. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The God Star Social
Decidedly Lo-Fi/Revolution and Static Sky
Self Released
When they named this record “Decidedly Lo-Fi” they weren’t joking.
There’s an obvious Sonic Youth and Lou Reed
influence running throughout this record, but not enough so to save
it from the doldrums. There are a few decent
songs, or sometimes just parts of songs, but for the most part it’s
the kind of forgettable where I couldn’t tell you what
I just listened to five minutes from now. Songs drag on for way too
long most of the time, and even when on the
decent tracks you have to inevitably wade through some less than
stellar parts. They might be an interesting live
band, but they’re just not cutting it for me on record. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The Go! Team
Thunder, Lightning, Strike
Memphis Industries
Remember that DJ/mash-up/pastiche group from Australia called The
Avalanches? Well, The Go! Team sounds
pretty much like a live-band version of those guys - every
possible style of music all mushed together, creating a
sound that on paper shouldn’t work but somehow does. And not only is
the album as a whole as eclectic as my
grandmother’s curio cabinet, even within the songs the music jumps from
place to place. I quite enjoy this,
although I’m not so sure that the album will have much long-term
staying power. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Grandaddy
Sumday
V2 Records
This is my album of the summer, and possibly even the year. Grandaddy’s
triumphant return from their amazing
second full length ‘The Sophtware Slump’, we find the boys in fine form
– picking up right where they left off sound-
wise but a little more cheerful and optimistic this go around.
They’re still pretty concerned and obsessed with the
impending encroachment of machinery and automation and all that jazz,
only they’ve now either resided them-
selves to their fate or see a silver lining to the dark clouds. Not
much has changed with their sound (I still say
they’re the Electric Light Orchestra for the 21st century, and
if you think that’s an insult you clearly need to go
back and listen to more ELO, Jeff Lynne was a genius), but why
mess with it if it ain’t broken? Once these
beautifully harmonious and catchy tunes catch your ear there will be no
turning back – like a virus, you’ll be
infected with the need to listen to the album over and over and over,
and there is no cure, but if you’re like me
you won’t mind. (SLAP)
A Grape Dope
Missing Dragons
Galaxia
John Herndon sure does keep himself a busy man. Between working with
Tortoise, Isotope 217, The Eternals,
and producing and performing on studio albums for many other bands and
performers, he finds time to record
his own solo music under the guise A Grape Dope. Although similar in
sound to his other work with Isotope and
Tortoise, AGD is much more electronic and eclectic in nature, and
instead of focusing on his talent of machine-like
drumming skills it instead investigates a more avant-garde side of
percussion. In addition, the album includes some
guest vocalist turns from Dose One, Kathryn Frazier and Sally Timms, as
well as an unnamed source (possible John
himself?) on my favorite track of the album ‘I’ll Spread It’ – a song
that sounds part Post-Tortoise and part vocoder-
era Peter Frampton; a mix I’m wishing more people investigated after
hearing this particular song. Fans of Herndon’s
other output will not be disappointed, and those of you who fancy
yourselves more fans of Dntel/Boards of Canada
electronica stuff should do yourselves a favor and check it out as
well. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Grimble Grumble
Leaves Leader
Pehr Label
According to their accompanying press release, Grimble Grumble named
their band after a gnome in a Pink
Floyd song. I can get behind that, more bands should be named after
imaginary gnomes, elves, gremlins, what
have you. Not unlike their namesakes, this quartet practice in the art
of “space rock” or whatever you want to call
it. This album is sometimes inspired and sometimes repetitive, but the
good stuff outweighs the bad I’d have to
say. At their softer moments they recall Yo La Tengo, and
this is probably my favorite parts of the album.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Grover
Tiny Blue Sparks
Bearos Records
This sounds like two of my favorite wrestlers, Senor Shoegaze and Mr.
Postrock, clashing in the ring for the title of Head
Musical Influence over the Midlands, UK band Grover. This group has
been around in one form or another for around 10
years, and they currently feature the former bassist of Godflesh Steve
Hough. Fans of Mogwai and Billy Mahonie will
probably like this release, and possibly even some folks crossing over
from the shoegazer side of things might find
something worth listening to. I quite enjoy this record more and more
each time I listen to it, and hopefully you’ll feel the
same way. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Guided By Voices
Human Amusements at Hourly Rates: The Best of Guided By Voices
Matador Records
This disc is a great release for both newcomers and long time
fans of GBV – it is a greatest hits disc, spanning the
entire Guided by Voices catalog, both compiled and sequenced by the man
himself, Robert Pollard. For those not
in the know, this man is one of the most prolific songwriters of the
last 15 years, and I’ve heard he’s written at least
5000 songs at this point in his career. Or as he said in one interview
I read, and I paraphrase – “I can write 5 songs
while just sitting on the toiletand three of them will be good.’
Anyone who has never heard this great band would
do themselves a favor of just buying this release – it hits on
nearly all of their highlights (although you could never
fit ALL of their best songs on just one disc). And most likely, after
hearing this you’ll want to go out and get the rest
of the albums anyways ( I highly suggest ‘Bee Thousand’ and ‘Alien
Lanes’, and if you can find them the ‘Fast
Japanese Spin Cycle’ and ‘Sunfish Holy Breakfast’ EPs). (SLAP)