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Ugly Cassanova
Sharpen Your Teeth
Sub Pop Records
For those not in the know, Ugly Casanova is the solo/side project of
Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock. And for
those not familiar with Modest Mouse’s body of work, just go buy ‘This
Is A Long Drive for Someone with Nothing
To Think About,’ and welcome to one of your new favorite bands.
Brock is assisted on this album by members of
Califone, Red Red Meat, and Pall Jenkins, of Black Heart Procession
and Three Mile Pilot (as a side note, Three
Mile Pilot are one of the greatest bands you’ve probably never heard –
go buy ‘Another Desert, Another Sea’ and
welcome to another of your favorite bands). The music on ‘Sharpen
Your Teeth’ doesn’t stray too far from Brock’s
usual output, sounding for the most part like Modest Mouse songs with
a dash of alt-country or americana thrown in
for good measure. Current fans of Modest Mouse will not leave disappointed,
or at least I wasn’t. Highlights in-
clude ‘Barnacles’, ‘Hotcha Girls’, and ‘Pacifico’, but honestly, I don’t
think there’s a bad track on here, and the
album holds a great fluidity from one song to the next that makes you
want to listen to the release as a whole rather
than in piecemeal parts. Plus, as a bonus, the album art was done
by none other than Thomas Campbell, who is
known in the skateboarding world as being a terrific photographer and
artist to boot. All in all, a great package.
(SLAP)
The Ukrainians
Istoriaya - The Best of the Ukranians
Omnium Records
I had no idea until this was given to me that this band is the alter-ego
of the Wedding Present; you can just
color me stupid I guess. What apparently started off as a joke band
has seemingly become a pretty regular
thing for them, as they have gone on to produce four albums and three
EPs under the Ukrainian’s name. If
you’re unfamiliar with their sound, it comes across as a blend of eastern-European
folk songs, the eclecticism
of the Pogues, and the straight-forward modern rock sound of their
other band the Wedding Present. If for no
other reason, the album is worth a listen for their Ukrainian covers
of the Smiths “Bigmouth Strikes Again”
and “The Queen is Dead”, Velvet Undergrounds “Venus in Furs”, and the
Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the UK”,
all fantastic. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Uncle Tupelo
89/93: An Anthology
Columbia Records
This is as good a place as any to start listening to one of the most
influential bands from the late eighties and early
nineties, Uncle Tupelo. Even if you’re unaware of this band, you’re surely
familiar with at least one of the bands to
come from the demise of this one – Wilco and Son Volt. Many consider Uncle
Tupelo to be the main influence be-
hind the ‘alternative country’ movement, as well as the source for the
name of the magazine that covers this scene,
‘No Depression’. This record culls tracks from each of their four releases,
with some additional outtakes and un-
released tracks to tempt those of us (like myself) to buy the record even
though we already have all of their other
records. Especially of note in the unreleased tracks on the album is their
cover of The Stooges ‘I Wanna Be Your
Dog’, a fine song no matter who’s playing it. This record has plenty of
both Jay Farrar (Son Volt) and Jeff Tweedy
(Wilco) to soothe the uninitiated into being fans after only a few listens.
Also, be on the look out for the re-released
versions of their four albums with additional outtakes and unreleased
tracks. (SLAP)
The Unicorns
Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?
Alien 8 Recordings
Playing the brand of quirky pop music that The Unicorn’s play can be
tricky business – one small misstep and you
go from playing inventive, original pop compositions to trite and silly
pap. Luckily, this Canadian crew manages to
keep it on the straight and narrow by being extremely odd and catchy.
They even have a theme song for chris-
sakes – “I Was Born (a Unicorn)”. They manage to encompass a number
of different styles throughout their album,
but no matter how many keyboards and tin whistles and skronky bits they
pile on top, there are always great pop
songs lying underneath. If that Elephant 6 crew were still around,
The Unicorns would fit right in – fans of Neutral
Milk Hotel and Of Montreal would be remiss in not checking this band out.
(SLAP)
U.S. Christmas
Bad Heart Bull
No Mass Records
Even though I dislike the term “stoner rock” as much as most of
the bands that get classified in that genre, I’m
not smart enough to think of a better group to lump U.S. Christmas
with. This album, their second full length, is
quite a leap from their first in both the songwriting and recording
departments. The mix sounds much cleaner
this time around, and you can really hear all the little nuances
that have been muddled somewhat in the past.
Texturally, you have to love a band that has a guy playing theramin
nearly full time. If you can imagine the Neil
Young soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch’s “Dead Man”, a little bit of Hawkwind,
some racket that sounds like it
belongs in a 1950’s sci-fi movie, and a smidge of southern rock,
you have the general idea here.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
U.S. Christmas
Prayer Meeting
No Mass Records
This is either beautifully symphonic or a fucking messI’m going with
both, and I think that’s what makes it a partic-
ularly interesting listen. Some folks might consider this ‘stoner rock’,
although I’m not sure what that means exactly.
If you’re thinking along the lines of Sleep, Caustic Resin, High on
Firein other words, bands who really like Black
Sabbath and the wrath that has been brought to this land since their
inception, then you’re on the right track. U.S.
Christmas sound like this, sure; but something about them is a bit off,
probably due to the fact that they were born,
raised, and exist in a tiny town in the mountains of North Carolina.
It’s this extra bit that makes them interesting and
not repetitive. But don’t take my word for it – download a track or
two off of their site, and if you like what you hear
email the band and they’ll send you a CD for pretty cheap. They also
say that ‘every order comes with a sew-on
patch’, and who doesn’t like patches? Well, except for that Patch Adams,
he can go straight to hell because of
that stupid ass movie. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Advanced Calculus
These Bricks Are Mine
Jesus, if this is a sampling of what Pittsburgh is offering the world
in the realm of music, then it must be good to be
living there right now. These two discs are a compilation of tracks
recorded live at WRCT on some live weekly music
show they have there. Lots of math rock here from these great unknowns,
I’m assuming due in large part to the in-
fluence that Don Caballero has had over the town; but there are plenty
of other styles as well ranging from melodic
punk to indie rock to hip hop to just weird. Some of the better
known acts featured include Thee Speaking Canaries
(featuring Damon Che from Don Cab), Modey Lemon, Creta Borzia, The New
Alcindors, and Microwaves. Like any
mix, you take the good with the bad, but I’m really quite shocked at
the quality and amount of good bands coming out
of this area. Additionally, it’s packaged in this beautiful gatefold
case that has random math symbols pressed into
the cardboard – it’s these extra touches that really add to the overall
affect sometimes. Get this and get onto what
Pittsburgh has going on. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Blue
Dreams by Degrees
Compilations, by definition, are very fleeting things (at least
they always have been to me). The chances of
me listening to one more than a couple of times in a row are
slim, and it almost always has to do with the
amount of stuff on the disc that you *don’t” like, not the stuff
you do. I could probably count on one hand the
number of compilations that I’ve listened to a bunch of times
on one hand.
Dreams by Degrees is this very small label out of San Francisco
run by a few folks, most notably Jefre
Cantu-Ledesma of Tarentel fame, and they’ve recently taken on
the task of putting out these themed mixes.
It’s obvious right from the start that they take it very seriously,
from the sequencing to the packaging and
everything else involved. It’s one of the main things
that sets this apart from the rest of the unwashed masses.
Another positive aspect is the use of, for lack of a better
word, soundscapes as performed by Colophon as
buffers between many of the songs. It almost works as
a palate cleanser, not unlike when that fancy restaurant
your parents dragged you to served you sorbet and you were just
stoked to get something you recognized.
But this is all moot if the music on the compilation sucks.
I can say with great conviction that I like more of
this music than I don’t like. It’s nearly worth owning
just to have the Vetiver and Film School songs alone,
and Lazarus and the Stratford 4 also contribute excellent tracks.
There are a couple I had a tendency to
skip after the first few listens, but that’s to be expected
as far as I’m concerned. With the effort and quality
of this mix, I’ll certainly be curious to see what comes about
on their next go around. (MUSIC SPORK)
V/A
Death by Salt: A Slug Magazine Compilation
Slug Magazine
Yes, the information up there is correct: this is a 3 CD compilation
featuring 59 songs…with one song per band
that means that 59 bands were involved in the process. Not only that,
but they are all bands from Salt Lake City;
who knew there was such a big scene there? I certainly didn’t, so
color me impressed, even if I didn’t care for
most of the groups on these discs. I’m not going to bother with the
negatives of this release though, as they are
too numerous to list and I’m not in the business of trying to cut
down up-an-comers no matter how terrible they are;
instead, I’ll list the handful of bands that I thought did a pretty
good job, and who I wouldn’t mind hearing further
material by. So “the good stuff” is as follows: Chinese Stars (not
the Arab on Radar off shoot band, but rather a
punk band), Redd Tape (indie pop), Le Force (decent metal), Books
About UFO’s, Erosion, Coyote Hoods (spacy
alt-country), Tolchock Trio, The Mental Midgets (think Minor Threat-style
hardcore), and Nurse Sherri. I think it
probably goes without saying that there is probably something for
everyone on these 3 discs of music, but good
luck wading through it all, it’s no easy task. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Decade: Ten Years of Fierce Panda
Fierce Panda
Like any comp, this one
has its hits and misses; but given this roster’s line-up of heavy hitters,
it’s obvious that
the good far outweighs the bad. These heavy hitters include Bright
Eyes, Polyphonic Spree, Placebo, Coldplay
(exclusive track), The Clientele (amazing song), KaitO, Six by Seven,
and Death Cab for Cutie. Of special note
are The Bluetones and Hundred Reasons, whom I’d never heard of before
but both brought forth good tracks
(and the Hundred Reasons track is an exclusive one). Much of this stuff
can be found elsewhere, however…
but all in all, a decent mix showcasing a label that has obviously
had a great ear at spotting bands that were
going to blow up one day. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Deep Elm Unreleased No. 2
Deep Elm Records
The title pretty much says it all here – it contains unreleased tracks
from the Deep Elm roster. Like any other comp-
ilation, some is good and some is bad; The White Octave, Cross My Heart
and The Appleseed Cast all deliver
quality songs, which pretty much falls in line with the rest of their
output. Race Car Riot and Slowride have decent
tracks, and pretty much everything else is very ‘whatever’. If you’re
a big fan of any of the bands featured here, it’s
probably worth picking up. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Emo Is Awesome, Emo Is Evil
Deep Elm
This is a label sampler from Deep Elm Records out of North Carolina, and
never have I seen a more fitting title
before. There are 19 bands here, and this is the run down as far as I’m
concerned:
Good – The Appleseed Cast, The White Octave, Pop Unknown, Planes Mistaken
for Stars, Seven Storey, Cross
My Heart
Mediocre – Slowride, Camber, Red Animal War, Desert City Soundtrack, Lewis,
Benton Falls, Logh, Hundred
Hands, Starmarket
Bad – Brandtson, Last Days of April, This Beautiful Mess
Like most labels, you’ve got your good and your bad, and the first three
bands on the ‘good’ list above are especially
good. Most of the bands on Deep Elm aren’t ‘emo’ anyways in the sense
of what gets played in your local Hot Topic
and on Clear Channel radio stations, but more akin to the music of the
mid-nineties – bands who took a lot of influ-
ence from Fugazi and The Cure, such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral,
Vitreous Humor, Cursive, etc. I still throw
on one of these old records now and again and enjoy them thoroughly. I
guess the moral of the story is not to write
off a band just because the label their music has been given – or to use
the tried but true adage, don’t judge a book
by its cover. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Gimme Skelter
Buddyhead
Buddyhead has been stirring the shit pot online for a few years now,
letting everyone know exactly what is and what
isn’t good music as far as they were concerned. Now, you can aurally
witness what was only previously written
about – a mix CD by Buddyhead documenting many of the bands they are
often championing on their website.
Honestly, there isn’t a bad song on the entire disc, but that’s not
wholly unexpected on a disc full of so many already
popular and well-liked bands, such as: Wire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Primal
Scream, Dead Meadow, Le Tigre, Weezer,
Mudhoney, Cave In, and many more. It’s probably worth picking up for
the rare and unreleased Weezer song from
the “Pinkerton” era alone, assuming you like Weezer that is. As much
as you want to hate those little shits behind
Buddyhead sometimes, you can’t accuse them of having bad taste in music.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Here’s to Old England! A Compilation
Cherry Red Records
This isn’t truly a compilation, in the sense that it is made
up of many different bands – instead, it is a compilation
of tracks performed by Edward Ball, best known for his work in
the much-loved Television Personalities. This
work, recorded under the band names of The Times, Teenage Filmstars,
and O Level, sounds right at home with
the Television Personalities catalog – in fact, much of Ball’s
work in other bands got adopted as part of the
Television Personalities’ discography. These tracks span from
the early eighties to the late nineties, and nearly
all of it is great. The tracks with the fuzzy guitars are my
faves, such as “Kiss Me” and “Picture Gallery”, and
sound like they must have been heavy influences on Teenage Fanclub
in their “Catholic Education” years.
Definitely recommended for fans of the Television Personalities,
and really any pop fans who like to discover
their roots. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Home on the Range Vol. 2
Eleven:11
Like most compilations, this has both good and bad music on it, but what
I find particularly intriguing is that it’s from
Montana. Now I’ve been to Montana, and while it’s quite beautiful, I’ve
never been to such a sparsely populated and
desolate place in all my life. I can’t even begin to imagine what it
must take to put a band together, considering your
closest neighbor probably lives 20 miles away (I know there are few cities,
but I’m trying to make a point here, so
get off my back). Nonetheless, they’ve produced a comp that covers a
wide reaching expanse of genres. Some
standouts include 1090 Club (interesting, off-kilter pop), Loopian Zu
(no-wave jazzy stuff), END ever (made me
think of old Pantera), and Spurge (which made me think of Modest Mouse
for some reason). It should also be
noted that there is a band named Weinis, obviously the blending of wiener
and penis, and they perform a song
called ‘chode’ – pure brilliance I dare say. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
How Soon Is Now? The Songs Of The Smiths By…
Sorepoint Records
Compilations are a tricky business, and compilation cover records even
trickier. What’s more, trying to tackle
the Smiths or Morrissey is liable to lose you more fans than gain,
considering the fickle and protective nature of
these fans. You can count me as one of them. I approached this disc
cautiously – skeptical that anyone could
possibly do their songs justice, but interested in what these bands
came up with. For the most part, they didn’t
come up with much good. Nothing on here really stands out as awful,
nor is any one thing outstanding – mostly
it just drifts aimlessly in a sea of pointlessness. There are a couple
of decent tracks here though – Hundred
Reasons do a faithful rendition of “How Soon Is Now?” with a little
shoegaze shimmer thrown in;
Yourcodenameis: Milo rock out “Death of a Disco Dancer”; and probably
the best of the bunch is Cursive per-
forming “Frankly Mr Shankly”, and it sounds like a Cursive song with
Smiths lyrics. Other than that, there’s nothing
much here to really recommend. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Maestro - Music from the Motion Picture
Sanctuary Records
This is the soundtrack accompaniment to the documentary “Maestro”
that covers the dance music/DJ scene
from New York City from the 70s, 80s and how it has shaped the
scene of today. The music -well, it’s what you
would expect it to be: dance music, house music, all that sort
of stuff…they even mix one of my favorite Booker T
& the MGs songs in there, “Melting Pot”. The cool thing
about it all is that the whole soundtrack is put together
like a DJ set itself, with the songs all beat-matched and merged
into one another like you would hear in a night
club. In fact, you could probably throw this disc on if you were
working at a club and no one would know the
difference. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
New York Noise: Dance Music from the New York Underground 1978-1982
Soul Jazz Records
For those unaware, Soul Jazz Records out of the UK is one of
the best labels out there for digging up
all the best unknown and seldom heard classics from around the
globe. Though they primarily focus on
old Studio One Reggae/Dancehall/Ska stuff, this time around they’ve
put their well trained eye at un-
earthing some quality relics from the late 70’s/early 80’s New
York City scene. This mix has a heavy
emphasis towards punk-influenced funk of the area, but includes
plenty of other songs representing
everything from new wave to no wave and plenty in-between.
Particular highlights include Liquid Liquid,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Rahmelzee vs. K.Rob (produced by none
other than Jean Michel Basquiat), The
Contortions, Glenn Branca, Theoretical Girls, ESG, and many more.
Although every song on here isn’t
necessarily amazing, you’ll be amazed at the parallels between
the sounds produced from these groups
mostly unknown to the masses and a lot of the popular ‘indie
rock’ of today. Know the past and know the
future, as they say. (SLAP)
V/A
Now Is the Winter of Our Discount Tents
Twisted Nerve Records
Compiled by Twisted Nerve head honchos Andy Votel and Badly Drawn
Boy, this compilation of quirky pop is
one of the most even label samplers I’ve ever heard. Nothing blew
me away and nothing sucked, but pretty much
everything was at least ok. I sometimes like to fool myself into
believing I actually know something about music,
and then you get a comp like this where you’ve never heard of a
damn band on it. Highlights for me included The
Liftmen with a song called “Meat Raffle”, and it seems pretty obvious
why this was awesome. Also good were
the tracks by Lispector and Samandtheplants, both cute pop songs,
the former employing fine use of the banjo.
More banjo in pop music I’ve always said, glad someone is listening.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Punk Rock Holocaust DVD
Springman Records
Is it wrong to wish that there really was a holocaust on the Vans
Warped Tour? This DVD was filmed during the
2003 version of that tour, and features the bands both performing
and acting in the loose “movie” that the live
footage is contained within. The movie part is obviously dumb,
and will get old even to these band’s biggest fans
after a couple of viewings – “Rude Boy” featuring The Clash is
probably the only film to really pull this off well, but
then again, it was The Clash. You already know the sorts of bands
that go on the Warped Tour, but here’s a list of
film participants anyways: The Dropkick Murphys, Less Than Jake,
The Used, Pennywise, Rancid, Andrew WK,
Simple Plan, yadda yadda yadda…I can’t really recommend anything
here other than the Murphys or AWK, but if
you like this sort of stuff you’ll probably be a happy camper.
Just have your finger on the remote to fast forward
through the nonsense. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Redder Records Presents: Metaphysics for Beginners
Redder Records
As you can see from above, it’s a comp, and like all other comps,
there’s some good and some bad. The
plus is the entire comp is unreleased or rare material. Considering
I’ve heard of a great number of the acts
featured here, I’m surprised I’ve never come across this label before.
Great tracks by From Monument to
Masses, Snowglobe, Zykos, Figurine, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Kind
of Like Spitting, and Summer at
Shatter Creek; decent-but-not-great songs by Sufjan Stevens, Detachment
Kit, and the Gloria Record; and
yet a few others not even worth mention really. A decent comp for the
most part. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
The Rough Trade Field Guide to Music Volume One
Rough Trade
This is a label sampler for Rough Trade America, not to be confused
with those awesome Rough Trade mixes
that come out on occasion. This features their current roster of
bands, or at least 7 of them – two tracks each
by The Fiery Furnaces, Wolfman (feat. Peter Doherty of The Libertines),
Aberfeldy, Bubbley Kaur (which I
believe was recorded with Cornershop), Hal, Art Brut, and Eastern
Lane. Not a bad track here really, and I’d
heard some of it before; but I was particularly impressed with
the tracks by Hal and Wolfman, making me want
to track down more by both of these entertainers. As far as label
samplers go, this a keeper. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
V/A
Sex & Subversion – A Thick Records Document
Thick Records
I can’t say a single good thing about any of the acts on this comp
– pure and simple, this is terrible. I suppose if you’re
interested in any of the labels bands you might check it out because
it contains a lot of unreleased material, but other-
wise, avoid at all costs. You’d think out of this many groups there
would at least be one or two decent bands, but no
such luck. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
V/A
Sunday Nights – The Songs of Junior Kimbraugh
Fat Possum Records
Pretty much any compilation is a tricky affair, and tribute albums
even more so – you’re not only including many
different artists into the mix, but you’re having them cover a
song by an already established and well loved
musician (unless it is a really stupid tribute album celebrating
crappy performers, of which there are a few). I’ve
reviewed a lot of these things, and most of them never got it right;
but this tribute to Junior Kimbraugh has got
to be the closest I’ve ever seen to a perfect tribute album. There
are no bad tracks on here – even the Pete
Yorn song is pretty good! Also contributing to the release is Iggy
and the Stooges, Spiritualized, Mark Lanegan,
The Fiery Furnaces, Entrance feat. Cat Power, The Ponys, Jack Oblivian,
Jim White, The Black Keys, and more.
I highly recommend this release as not only a great tribute album
but a great album altogether. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
V/A
Sunsets and Silhouettes
Plant Seed Records
Pop mixes are a dime a dozen, and unfortunately this one doesn’t
stand out from the crowd. Good tracks by
Mark Gardener, The Sixth Great Lake, The Voyces and Camera Obscura
(an acoustic version of an already
available song), but the rest of it is pretty hum-drum at best.
There’s nothing really crappy on here though; so if
you really like pop music you might discover something new on here
that didn’t catch my ear. Otherwise, it’s
a pass. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
V/A
3x4
Pox
World Empire
Pox World Empire is
a small up-n-coming label out of the Chapel Hill area that has been
doing a fantastic job
over the last few years of releasing some great pop music from
North Carolina. Not since the mid-90s has
there been this many good, young bands coming out of that fertile
crescent of indie rock. This compilation
features three songs by four of these bands – Erie Choir, Schooner,
The Sames, and Summer Set. After having
listened through this a few times now, I can honestly say there
isn’t a bad song on this collection…and the last
time I was able to say that about a various artists compilation
was, well, never. A brief rundown of the groups is
as follows – Erie Choir make me think a little of the Czars,
pop songs with an Americana underpinning to them.
The Sames offer a more urgent, upbeat sound than the other three
bands – more guitar-driven, not dissimilar to
the more recent Superchunk/Portastatic versions of pop songs.
Schooner bounce around different versions of
the laid-back pop sound, with country-tinged moments and the
best song on the compilation with “Birds and
Other Creatures”. Summer Set rounds out the group, providing
an electronica/pop hybrid that leans more
towards Kingsbury Manx with synths or the Alan Parsons Project
than it does Postal Service. Truly all quality
bands that most anyone could enjoy. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
Trojan Ska Box Set
Trojan Records
Wait a sec - just because you see the word ska, don’t automatically
assume it is crap. This is the real-deal-
Holyfield here; 1st generation ska, straight from the island of Jamaica
during the 1960's. For those who don’t
know, Trojan was the powerhouse label for all of reggae music back in
the day, and they’ve released a series of
box sets covering all kinds of sub-genres that fall under the reggae moniker
- ska, rocksteady, roots, dancehall,
calypso, and plenty more. Each box set contains three CDs, 50 songs,
covering the original sounds of the
Caribbean. The ska discs include such legendary artists as Desmond
Dekker, Lee Perry, Jimmy Cliff, The
Ethiopians, Lord Brynner, The Paragons, Tommy McCook & the Skatalites,
and many, many more. If you’ve
ever had any interest in reggae music, but wasn’t sure where to start,
grab one of these Trojan Box Sets. (SLAP)
V/A
Until the Shaking Stops – A Salute to Jawbox
Two Sheds
For one of the greatest post-rock bands of all time, I would expect
a much better tribute CD for Jawbox than
this. If nothing else, it would be nice to hear a few well-known
bands reinterpret their songs as opposed to this
collection of unknowns. Not saying that the bands here are bad,
but it’s just not as much fun hearing a band
you’ve never heard of performing a cover of a song you like as it
is hearing it done by an artist you already
know a lot about. It would especially be great to hear some of the
DC heavyweights interpret one of their
contemporaries. That said, there’s nothing particularly bad on here
or anything; most of the bands are of the
heavier pop/punk variety, and given that style of play it would
be hard to screw up a Jawbox song too badly.
There are decent renditions by Great Lake Wrecks, Colossal (sound
just like Braid), and Ourselves.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
What a Concept: a Salute to Teenage Fanclub
Not Lame Records
I put off reviewing this CD forever; on the one hand, it’s a tribute
to one of my favorite bands of all time. But won’t
that just make me that much more defensive/critical of the output?
Moreover, I have all of these songs memorized
in my brain, so unless a band really fucks it up I’m automatically
going to like the track, right? It’s a real paradox
me thinks. As far as I’m concerned, Teenage Fanclub is the greatest
pop band of the last 30 years, and no one
is going to convince me otherwise; so it’s fitting that the highlight
of this tribute is by Superdrag, arguably my
second favorite pop band for at least the last 10 years, playing possibly
my very favorite TF song “Radio”. Nothing
on this record really stands out as bad or even weird – all are pop
acts, and most kept it pretty true to the originals.
Some of the standouts include Ike (“Sparky’s Dream”), Cloud Eleven
(“Ain’t That Enough”), Cliff Hillis (“Can’t Feel
My Soul”), and Jet Lag (“The Cabbage”). Other than it just not being
that engaging of a listen, my biggest com-
plaint is that they only included one song off of “A Catholic Education”.
Anyways, you could take or leave this
release, but at least it had Superdrag on it. (SHREDDING PAPER)
V/A
You’re Still Young at Heart – A Tribute to Shelflife 50
Shelflife
Considering the nature of most label compilations, any that have more
good songs than bad are usually a
success in my book. If that is the criteria I am to base my review of
Shelflife’s “You’re Still Young at Heart” disc,
then it would have to be a resounding victory on their part. To mark
their 50th release, the label had some of its
bands (19 to be exact) record covers of songs previously released by
other bands among their first 49 releases.
Among some of the highlights were The Maybellines, Brideshead (I particularly
like the horns on this track), Den
Baron, Carnival Park, Sometimes I Wonder, and Majestic. Most everything
else was at least ok, with only a
couple of stinkers in the pot. Definitely worth checking out if you
like good clean pop music and aren’t familiar
with any of the labels bands – most likely you’ll come away with at
least a couple of groups that suit your tastes.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Vells
S/T EP
Luckyhorse Industries
One of the biggest complaints you could lodge against Vells (not ‘The
Vells’ apparently, just ‘Vells) is that their songs
sound relatively the same. But at least it’s a pretty good song. Vells
are an indie rock super group from Seattle, feat-
uring current or former members of Modest Mouse, Red Stars Theory, Blessed
Light, and Stagger Lee. In addition
the, album was produced by Mr. All Star Northwest producer himself, Phil
Ek. For me, all of this adds up to a whole
lot of hype that could potentially end in disaster. Luckily, this EP turns
out to be a decent listen. Not really sounding
anything like the groups with which they are affiliated, Vells instead
turn their attention towards recreating some sort
Kinks-ian pop gems that you could be convinced were from another era if
you didn’t know any better. There are times
when this looking-backwards-rather-than-forwards type of music can be
rather grating, but on this go around it just
comes across as folks who really enjoy a good pop tune and want to play
you their versions of them. This record
marks a decent start for Vells, a start that will hopefully lead into
a great full length in the near future.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Viva Voce
The Heat Can Melt Your Brain
Minty Fresh Records
Looks like husband-and-wife musical pairings are the new brother-and-sister
(perhaps the same thing in some
states, but let’s not go there) - The Arcade Fire, The Rosebuds, The White
Stripes, and now Viva Voce have all
shown us that separating your personal work lives are not necessary to
maintain a healthy relationship. This is
bedroom pop at its finest – and I don’t just mean stylistically, the pair
actually recorded the album in their bedroom
on a four-track. Their music is a spacy, psychedelic rock sound
with the occasional dancy beat – fans of most
Elephant6 groups, Beck, Papas Fritas, and shit, maybe even Air or Stereolab
fans might take a shine to it. There
are a few tracks available on their website at www.vivavoce.com, check
them out for yourself – pop bands are a
dime a dozen, but it’s only a small handful that are worth paying attention
to. This is one of them. (SLAP)
The Von Bondies
Pawn Shoppe Heart
Sire
I was discussing this album online with an internet friend of mine,
lamenting on how boring this album is. And he
said “I've heard the record. Agree that most of the album is a snooze.
That being said, if they put "C'mon, C'mon"
on there seven times in row instead, I'd still listen to it.” That
pretty much sums it up – one great single and a lot
of pap. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
The Wanted
Let Go Afterglow
Ultra Mookie Music
Musically, this one-man band from Portland, Oregon is all over
the map…one track sounds like Modest Mouse,
another could be from a Sparklehorse album, another would fit on
one of Marmoset’s lo-fi outings, etc. It’s not
bad, mind you, just a little schitzo. He wears his influences on
his sleeves, but a catchy song is a catchy song
and I’m not going to complain about that. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Billy Ward & His
Dominoes
The Essential Masters Featuring Clyde McPhatter
Varese
What can I say about this really? Classic doo-wop from the fifties
– not essential, but still pretty damn good.
Ward was a classically trained musician at Julliard, and his music
was known for crossing color lines back
when music was quite segregated (yes, even more so than now). This
collects most of the group’s hits, along
with a few B-sides and whatnot, for an interesting glimpse into the
now sound of the 1950’s.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
M. Ward
Transfiguration of Vincent
Merge Records
Matt Ward has created a lovely little album of his unique blend
of folk pop here. This record screams to me
“summer” - I think it would be a fitting listen riding down highway
1 along the pacific coast in a convertible
on a warm summer day. Or if you’re like me and don’t have a convertible,
a station wagon will have to do.
Ward has a natural ability for crafting songs that feel as if
they could have existed 50 years ago, yet they
don’t sound “retro” or intentionally dated; they just feel like
this is the earnest music that comes from this
man’s mouth and hands without him even putting forth very much
effort. Although it would be hard to pin-
point anything that actually sounds just like Matt Ward, his songs
remind me of some Howe Gelb and Mark
Linkous’s output blended with the guitar playing of someone like
Django Reinhardt. Ward’s sound is so
unique that it took me a few listens to even realize that the
song “Let’s Dance” is a David Bowie cover, a
song I’ve heard at least a million times. If you like mellow,
dreamy pop music with a folky bent, this is your
man. He writes a catchy tune, plays a mean guitar, and even though
I’ve never met him, his music makes
me think he’s probably a pretty nice guy. (MUSIC SPORK)
The Wedding Present
Take Fountain
Manifesto Records
Like so many bands these last few years, David Gedge & company have
decided to make the proverbial “come-
back” with the legendary Wedding Present; but unlike most of the reunions
of late, this one has actually produced
a pretty worthwhile album. “Take Fountain” will probably never make any
hardcore Weddoe’s top album list, but
by all accounts even those purists are really enjoying it. The opening
track alone, “Interstate 5”, is possibly one of
the best songs of the year – it takes the typical swirly indie-rock sounds
you’ve come to expect from these cats
for the last 20 years, and slowly merges it into a Calexico/spaghetti
western song a smoothly as a baby’s rumpus.
It doesn’t take a strong musical ear to realize that the legacy of The
Weddoes is an integral part of the sound of
bands such as The Wrens and Earlimart. You can write these guys off as
“has-beens” if you’d like, but it would
make you a damn fool because they are still producing great music. (SLAP)
Weezer
Blue Album - Deluxe Edition
Geffen
I suppose a review of this is sorta silly, really; I figure pretty
much everyone has heard this record at this point,
and you’ve already made up your mind about whether you like Weezer
or not. This deluxe edition release is
a 2 disc affair, the first being a re-mastered version of the Blue
Album, their debut. It sounds great, but if this
is all there was to it, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the purchase.
The hook is in the second disc, which
compiles hard to find early tracks, demos, and live material; if nothing
else, having easy access to “Suzanne”
and “Mykel and Carli” make this purchase a must for any Weezer fan.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Whirlwind Heat
Do Rabbits Wonder?
Third Man/V2 Records
Thank Jack White of the White Stripes for bringing these gents to the
collective attention of music fans every-
where. Not that they wouldn’t have made it there on their own, but it
sure doesn’t hurt to have someone like White
producing the record, putting out the record, and taking them on tour
as the opener for the White Stripes. While
this sort of treatment is usually reserved for groups that are so shitty
they need all the help they can get, Whirlwind
Heat breaks that mold in that they are actually a damn good band, and
entertaining to boot. Made up of moog,
drums, and bass, they sound like equal parts Brainiac, The Seconds, and
even a little John Spencer Blues Ex-
plosion thrown in there on occasion, but pretty unique all the same. Live,
they have the extra added element of a
singer who flops around in every which direction like a man infested with
a case of the crabs. And if that wasn’t
enough to entice you, they even have a song about a ‘trashbag helmet’
that gets stuck in my head all the time (that
isn’t the name of the song though, it’s called ‘pink’ – all of the song
titles are named after colors). Put on your
dancing shoes and check these fools out, you won’t regret it. (SLAP)
Whiskey Daredevils
Greatest Hits
Drink and Drive Records
This is pretty straight-forward rockabilly with a country shooter
out of Ohio. Mostly made up of members of the
Cowslingers, the band continues in a very similar style and tradition,
and like all other bands of this genre it
always makes me think of the band from the Johnny Depp film “Crybaby”
- hopefully for the sake of everyone
involved, no one in the band is as ugly as the Hatchetface character
from that flick. The album opener “AMC
Hornet” is the standout track, and “Waylon Jennings Shower” is
pretty good as well. All told, a pretty good outing
worth looking into if you appreciate the rockabilly genre. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Whitey on the Moon UK
Noam Chomsky Spring Break EP (7")
Isota Records
I always assumed this band was some sort of terrible electronica outfit
– boy was I mistaken. Sure, there are some
electronica bits in there, along with hip-hop turntablist type of stuff,
indie rock, ambienta whole mixed bag that
sounds really great together. And not only is the music terrific, but
the record is this lovely white vinyl with great
hand pressed (at least it looks to be) packaging, and according to the
little number on the back it is a limited
edition release. So if you come across one of these little devils, be
sure and pick it up – they are one of the few
acts out there who can blend together a number of different genres and
actually make it sound like something other
than trash. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Why?
Elephant Eyelash
Anticon
This is one of the more confounding, genre-bending, and intriguing
albums I’ve head in quite some time. I have
this natural tendency to compartmentalize things – this is “classic
rock”, that is “hip-hop”, etc. But no matter what
group you might have Why? pegged to belong in, chances are there
are just as many valid arguments for why
they shouldn’t be stuck with that group. They’re on the Anticon
label, the stalwart of non-commercial hip-hop, and
frontman for the group Yoni can often deliver his lyrics in a
staccato fashion – but this is not rap music as most
of us know it (Yoni was also a member of cLOUDEAD, yet another
group that was hip-hop but maybe not really).
The music is almost all electro-indie rock, not sounding like
but possibly from the same family as some of that
great german work from the Notwist, Barbara Morgenstern, Ms.
John Soda, etc. Regardless of how you try to
wrap your brain around this album, Elephant Eyelash is one of
the catchiest releases I’ve had the pleasure to
enjoy recently. But don’t take my word for it – the Anticon site,
http://www.anticon.com/, has some music and
video samples under the “media” tab of my favorite song on the
album “Rubber Traits”, as well as some older
material and a wealth of good music from their nearly perfect
roster of artists. (SLAP)
Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Nonesuch
There’s not a lot to be said about this release that hasn’t already been
said before, but I just wanted to throw my
hat in the ring in favor of how amazing this album is. Much of the
story of this album is all of the obstacles leading
up to it’s release. The gist of it is that the people at Reprise,
which is owned by AOL-Time Warner, thought the
album was so awful that they refused to release it, gave it back to the
band for next to nothing, and dropped them
from the label entirely. The band then released the album on their
website so that the fans could hear it, and then
went on tour. During this time, they shop the album out to different
labels, and about a year later, the rights to
release the album were picked up by Nonesuch. Which, incidentally,
is also owned by AOL-Time Warner; thus
they paid for the album twice because the crackpots there running things
don’t know what’s going on. So what’s
the moral of the story? AOL-Time Warner are idiots? Well,
everyone already knew that. It’s just nice to have
some proof.
But all of this is neither here nor there when it comes down to the music
– and the music is a country-tinged pop
masterpiece. Notably, it was produced by Jim O’Rourke, who is well
known for his experimental nature through his
various solo albums as well as his work in Gastr del Sol. His handiwork
is all over the album – little bleeps and
bloops here, some knob-twiddling and static there, done so in a way as
to accentuate and not detract from the
songs themselves. And the songs are beautiful, moving, genius, masterpieces...take
your pick, any of these mod-
ifiers will do. For those of you familiar with the sound of Wilco,
the songs will sound familiar, but the sound will
envelop you from all sides. Their experimental side has been likened
to the more recent Radiohead works, while
remaining genuinely Wilco at heart. But like I said, you need not
listen to me – the general consensus across the
boards seem to agree, and I think you would be missing out if you let
this one slip by.= without picking it up. (SLAP)
Wilderness
S/T
Jagjaguwar Records
I pretty much always enjoy Jagjaguwar releases and get excited
when I get their stuff to review, so it is with
much sadness in my heart that I report that this album by Wilderness
is just not very good. It’s got kinda a post-
rock PiL vibe, the sort of thing I normally love, but it just doesn’t
work here for me. I think this is mostly because
of the singer’s voice, which makes me want to pull a Chopper and
cut my ears off. Not surprisingly, Pitchfork
loved it in their review, further reminding me of how different
my tastes are from theirs. (SHREDDING PAPER)
The Willis
Bathtub. Lightbulb. Heartattack.
Doubleplusgood Records
Yet another CD that isn’t terrible or great, but rather just
“meh”, which seems to be a common theme lately. Now
whether this means the music is getting more mediocre or I’m
just getting harder to please is up for debate, but
either way this band from Oshkosh is not doing much for me. At
their best they remind me of the Weakerthans
and Sunday’s Best, but that isn’t nearly often enough. Plus I
just cannot get behind a band that has a song about
Jimmy Fallon, be it pro or con, it only draws more attention
to that douchenozzle. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Gary Wilson
You Think You Really Know Me (Reissue)
Motel Records
Gary Wilson is probably the weirdest and most influential person
to come out of the seventies that you’ve never
heard of. This album, recorded in his parent’s basement and
originally self-released by Gary in 1977, was
probably the first new-wave album before such a genre even existed.
From what I’ve read, it is considered by
some to be an inadvertent catalyst in the formation of K and Subpop
records, as well as a major influence on
Beck and other performers both past and present. Gary Wilson’s
sound was so ahead of the time that it is
nearly impossible to describe it in the typical ‘sounds like such
and such’ without using bands that have come
after him. Imagine a combination of cheesy synths, odd sound
effects and samples, strange vocals singing
even stranger lyrics, all done in a low-fi fashion that would make
Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices proud.
Some of the song titles include ‘6.4 = Make Out,’ ‘Groovy Girls
Make Love at the Beach,’ and ‘Chromium Bitch,’
which gives you a glimpse into the warped mind at work here.
This was the only album Wilson released, and
has been one of those legendary finds among collectors over the
years. Now with this reissue, even regular
folks can see what all of the hubbub about the guy is about.
Make sure to grab a copy before it goes out of
print again. (SLAP)
Windsor for the Derby
We Fight Til Death
Secretly Canadian
I wanted to like this, and I’ve like Windsor for the Derby’s
past efforts, and this even sounded good when it was
coming through my earphones (probably the best way to listen
to this band), but the second you turn the music
off you’ve totally forgotten about what you were just listening
to. All in all a very mellow affair, mixing Chicago
post-rock with some slow rock like Tram or maybe even Yo La
Tengo. I’m certain there are folks out there who
will really dig this but if you’re not one of them you might
get bored easily. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Winter in Alaska
Innocence We’ve Lost
Viking Funeral Records
I think you could safely file this under the “New Emo” category
– they sound like one of those bands from those
Deep Elm comps that are all angsty and have long names. Actually,
they were one of those bands on those
Deep Elm comps now that I think about it…my first instinct
was that these guys sound like they really want to be
Rainer Maria but with an electro-rock backbone ala National
Skyline or the ever trendy Postal Service. I have
no doubt that somewhere out there in the landscape of college
campuses these cats will be a big hit, but not in
my house. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
The Wrens
The Meadowlands
Absolutely Kosher
This is a fantastic record, there are no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ about it. Through
all the label turmoil and bullshit, The Wrens
finally emerged from the mess with this gem of a release; sounding like
a blend of all sorts of bands and styles,
from Sparklehorse to Coldplay to orchestral pop to alt-country to ambient
soundscapes, The Wrens have come
back from their 7 year hiatus firing on all cylinders. Nearly gone is
the Pixies-ish intensity heard on their previous
record ‘Secaucus’, but there are still elements of it here and there
– not that you would really miss it, the beauty
crafted in place of this missing aggression more than makes up the difference.
This record has already been
named on the top ten lists of numerous music mags and reviewers, and
there is a good chance it will end up on
mine as well. You can check out some tracks at the bands website, but
have your wallet handy because these
songs will lure you into parting with your cash before you even know
it. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Tammy Wynette
The Essential Tammy Wynette
Sony Records
“The First Lady of Country Music” is what they called her, and this
compendium of her career is here to prove they
were right. And although there are many female country singers I enjoy
a bit more, it’s hard to argue with her ability
to wrangle some of the best country anthems of all time – “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”,
“Stand by Your Man”, “I Don’t Wanna
Play House”, all classics. This is a great starter disc for anyone
wanting to be introduced to Wynette’s music, or
as a great mix for the already informed. Yet another great disc from
Sony’s “The Essential Collection”.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Xiu Xiu
La Foret
5rc
Every time I try to listen to Xiu Xiu, and oh how I’ve tried, I
never seem to “get it”. It’s like everyone else is in
on the joke, and it’s very frustrating. I’ll give Jamie Stewart
one thing for sure – he’s a very original singer
and songwriter with his own distinct voice, something not many can
claim these days. And while that is
certainly admirable, it doesn’t necessarily make me want to listen
to his music. I don’t even know how to
describe the band’s sound – sometimes it’s hauntingly folky and
mellow, then the next track will be a glitchy
electronica-rock song, and then he kinda rocks out…there are even
a couple of numbers on here that
remind me of Joy Division, and not in that Interpol “gets compared
to them but doesn’t actually sound like
it” way, but the songs honest-to-god sound like Joy Division. That,
or my ears are broken, which is certainly
possible. Anyways, I can’t really say to buy or not to buy this,
but Xiu Xiu is a band worth checking out just to
see how you react to it. You may hate it, but at least you’ll know
you haven’t missed out on anything.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
XYZR_KX
Falls Off the Curb, Chump Style
Actually Records
This album is a tale of two musical entities – one that fancies
itself an electronic pop artist with songs that
approach the level of accessibility that has made the Postal
Service so popular; and a softer side, one fas-
cinated with Trembling Blue Stars/Field Mice-style whistful
folk pop. Neither identity is anything amazing, but
it’s probably worth checking out if the descriptors match up
with your tastes - I’ve certainly heard much, much
worse. Oh yeah, and the name apparently translates to “scissor
kicks”, but I’m not exactly sure how.
(SHREDDING PAPER)
Yellow Second
Altitude
Floodgate Records
This is that modern feel-good emo like you expect to be played
in the back ground of the latest Real World
season…like Jimmy Eat World but less catchy. I’ve certainly heard
worse in this genre though, so if you dig this
stuff you could make worse picks out there. (SHREDDING PAPER)
Gary Young's Hospital
The Grey Album
Omnibus Records
Many of you are probably having the same reaction to this that I did,
which went something like this: “Gary
Young? The Gary Young from Pavement? Plantman? Holy shit!” That
said, this is a decent enough release
by someone I had assumed was long gone from the music scene (although
it appears, unknown to me, that
he released an album in 200 as well). Those familiar with his post-Pavement
work of the mid-90’s, this is
roughly in that same vein of sound. For everyone else, the closest
touchstone I could come up with is Syd
Barrett-era Pink Floyd, with a bit of mellow psychedelia ala The Radar
Brothers or some such similar outfit,
with a bit of silliness thrown in. nothing groundbreaking, but worth
checking out if you happen upon it;
additionally, he seems to be playing out a lot lately, and I can only
imagine the live shows are worth a
viewing. (SHREDDING
PAPER)
Young People
Young People EP
Self-Released
Every once in a while, a band comes along that you just can’t classify.
I know that De La Soul are hip hop, that
Charlie Parker is jazz, and that The Ramones are punk. The only
thing I know about Young People are that they
are…good. Really, really good. Here’s what I have been able
to discern from my many listens so far:
- The music reminds me of The Dirty Three. Somewhat discordant,
but not meant in a bad way; more in a free
form jazz way. They also employ a very sparse sound at times, working
off of the idea that sometimes ‘less is
more’.
- The vocals, which are mostly female, remind me of Chan Marshall/Cat
Power. While I’m not the biggest Cat
Power fan in the world, there is something about the dark and emotive
quality of the singer’s voice that brings
Chan to mind.
- The overall quality of the sound reminds me of the Appalachian murder
ballads that I heard a lot growing up in
the mountains of North Carolina. This might seem like a bit of a
stretch to a lot of people, but there is a morose
and haunting sound to these songs that plays well to these backwoods ears.
The music is beautiful and moving
to say the least. And, as a bonus – my favorite song on the album,
‘going’, contains lots of handclaps. And
everyone loves handclaps in songs.
I realize this may not sound like the prototypical music for most skateboarder’s
ears, but have no fear – this is a
risk free opportunity. If any of this sounds interesting at all,
you can check out some mp3s from this e.p. at
www.as220.org/~rosey/youngpeople/, as well as sign up to their mailing
list and all that other stuff you do at a
bands personal website. (SLAP)
Zykos
Comedy Horn
Post Parlo Records
Sure, Texas isn’t seen in such a positive light these days due to the
actions of their former Guv and current Prez
Georgie Boy Bush; but despite all of that, Post Parlo Records continues
to put out good local music from the state
capital of Austin. This time around it comes in the form of a young
five piece named Zykos; sure, the name sounds
like the name of your favorite dish down at the local Greek restaurant,
but they still rock. ‘Comedy Horn’ is a good
first release by this young band, regardless of the idiocy of their
state’s former resident. They remind me in many
ways of one of my favorite bands of all time, Capsize 7 (a great, great
band from North Carolina that used to play
with the Archers of Loaf all of the time and had a couple of releases
on Caroline – grab them if you ever happen
across them). There is a slight emo/post-punk vibe to the recording
that reminds me of Cursive, another favorite
band of mine over the last few years. Much of the time the vocals land
just shy of angry, reminding me of Eric
Bachman, but with a voice that isn’t quite as deep and gruff as his.
Another hallmark of Zykos’s sound is heavy
driving piano, not unlike what you might hear listening to The Potomac
Accord. The whole thing was put together
by Spoon drummer Jim Eno, and he did a fine job. With a debut record
like this under their collective belts, don’t
be surprised to be seeing a lot more of these folks in the future. (MUSIC
SPORK)
ZZZZ
Palm Reader
Polyvinyl Records
Somehow this sounds like the missing link between the Nuggets box set
and prog-rock – wait, don’t run away – it’s
actually pretty damn good. This group was formed from former members
of Sweep the Leg Johnny(vocalist/sax-
ophonist Steve Sostak and bassist John Brady), but anyone who was ever
into that band could have figured that
out from the first note. The album retains some of Sweep’s math rock nature,
but in a much darker form – as if their
whole songbook were run through some sort of Pleasure Forever filter.
Lots of droning keyboards, female vocals
that pair with Sostak on occasion, and overall a bit more accessible and
“pop” than you might expect. I liked this
from the get-go, and the more I listen the more it grows on me. (SLAP)