Distance. Music. Almost There

Mind Eraser - Glacial Reign

2011-12-20T20:29:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to see Boston's Mind Eraser play here in Cleveland along with Japanese hardcore band, Slang about a year or so ago. The show was intense, and having Mind Eraser wrap it up with their brand of power-violence/hardcore did the trick. They released a split 7" with Slang for that tour, which I highly recommend if you can get your hands on it. Glacial Reign (2006) finds Mind Eraser on top of their game. It's a brutal thrash/speed mixed with crushing and (insert adjective of choice) breakdowns. The album seems to fit in a little closer to the hardcore side of things when considering the power-violence genre, but fret not the speed is still there, and the songs remain short and sweet. The album is twelve songs in just over 22 minutes, so you get the idea. The recording is surprising pretty well done for this style of music. No real complaints here. They're only a few standout songs, though enough catchy riffs and intense chord progressions exist to keep things interesting.

Mind Eraser - "Wrote Off"

The 1:37 song starts off with a full on total rush of guitar, drums, and vocals, and almost as quickly settles into a groove that is moved along slowly by the guitar. The drummer slashing away on a crash. Following a transition through another blitz, a breakdown into one of the catchier riffs on the album, with screamed and called out vocals accenting the shifts.

Mind Eraser - Equation

The shortest song on the album coming in at 45 seconds, demonstrates the band's sound a succinctly as possible. Really about four parts of pure thrash then a busting breakdown with hoarse vocal calls. I like the job done by the drummer, hitting every syllable uttered with an accompanying snare/high-hat/bass drum hit. As with any good hardcore song, the faster you can crank up that early part of the song the harder the chugging tail end feels when it comes.

I highly recommend checking out the song that follows "Equation" on the album, "Full Spectrum Dominance", as it side steps into a pure chugging hardcore reminiscent of something off of a Holy Terror/Integrity album; vehemently dark. I believe that one of the band members runs the label this album was released on, Painkiller Records.
You can find the mp3s of this album here. So no excuses.

June of '44 - Engine Takes to the Water

2011-11-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

The debut album from June of '44, released in 1995 on Quarterstick Records. I previously wrote about one of their later releases, Tropics and Meridians also released on Quarterstick. I'll refer you to that posting for more background on the group and its evolution. The two albums are similar in style, both fitting somewhere within the post-hardcore and math-rock genres particularly of that mid-90's era, though I don't feel the music to be all that dated. Furthering the similarity between both albums, Engine Takes to the Water is generally short on the number of songs (only 8) but carries a mix of extended cuts that last past six minutes long, and a few that remain less than four. In general I'm quite picky about bands who create songs longer than four to five minutes, often because there isn't enough succinctness. With June of '44, I rarely find this to be a problem though, as creativity and experimentation within the songwriting keeps things fresh and some of the hooks created are just too infectious, I find myself wanting more instead of looking to push the next button. It's Slint worship, and who could go wrong with that?

The fairly common nautical themes exist here as in other June of '44 releases to be sure. The strength of the music is within the guitar play, and play off of each other in particular of the two guitarists, while the bass and drums find their own spaces in each song. Vocals are a mix of spoken words and calls out, sung over the chorus section. The drumming, particularly on a song like "Mindel" is just as up-front and creative as the guitar, in fact I would say the coordination between the instruments is precise and distinct. Subtle use of horn in "I Get My Kicks For You" allows Fred Erksine to really shine in what is one of the more downbeat songs on any of the earlier albums.

June of '44 - Sink Is Busted

A slow thumping beat with scraping skin of my teeth guitar and brief keyboard notes. Then steady rhythmic guitar with soft vocals and the second guitar adding a beautiful hook that is accented by the high-hat play in its second set and more of those soft keyboard notes fluttering around in the mix. The vocals are almost strained towards softness at times. The opening guitar tone returns briefly, followed by a stripped down few bars of simple guitar and cymbal only play. Then when the full accompaniment of instruments and vocals return it feels like a warm wave sweeping in. Another more distinct break leads back into the first part of the song with a jangling key sound, then the song ends.

June of '44 - Mindel

Typical math rock type guitar chords start this song out, the drums once entered do a great job building on the discordant rhythm created by the guitar. This continues through the song, as the percussion is really tested in keeping in line, not getting in the way, but still accenting chord shifts that often are out of whack from the norm. The shifts and changes are certainly married to the band's influences, and "Mindel" is a song you wouldn't expect to find on any of the later June of '44 albums, but it's a perfect representation of where this band started from.

This album sits well out of print but this zipped file of the album in mp3 format for free popped up at this link. Also the record label has the album or individual songs for sale at a very reasonable price at Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records. And if interested in more of the background of this style of music, I fully suggest looking into more of the Louisville, KY bands from the mid '90s on through turn of the century.

Cliff Martinez - Drive Soundtrack

2011-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

First time reviewing a soundtrack for a movie. I've been a big Cliff Martinez fan since seeing the Steven Soderbergh rendition of Solaris (2002), which also featured Cliff Martinez (former drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) formulating the soundtrack. Drive came out earlier this year without much buzz, but the storyline caught my attention as it was about a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as the driver for get-away cars in heist jobs. The movie stars Ryan Gosling, who's been making quite the name for himself as of late with a number of "big time" movies coming out. The film is shot with plenty of care and consideration in each scene, and the pacing of the film called for a soundtrack that matched and accentuated this feel.

Most of the songs or arrangements are by Cliff Martinez, there are a couple of songs by others (College (feat. Electric Youth) , Riz Ortolani (feat. Katyna Ranieri) , and Chromatics) but the majority of the tracks are Martinez's work. They are almost exclusively synth based, lots of long drawn out waves with a mix of blips and keyboards. Some guitar is present as well as drum machine sparingly. Production is excellent as you would expect on a film soundtrack and none of the songs are too long or overly boring. It's good background music to have on, and a few of the tracks can stand on their own.

Cliff Martinez - Bride of Deluxe

The final song on the album. After an eerie lead-in, some guitar starts and then with blips in the background and builds up to a crescendo and a moment of pause before a percussion joins in. Blips and some keyboards are able to ride out through this section giving the song character.

Cliff Martinez - "Rubber Head"

Conversely, this is the first Cliff Martinez song on the soundtrack. The buildup is slower and with softer blips, coming in alternating almost reverberated waves. These waves don't stick around too long, they sweep on through and things settle down and softly soaring chords ring out until the end of the piece.

Unlike the Solaris soundtrack, which is extremely difficult to find now at a reasonable price, Amazon has the Drive soundtrack for under $13 for the cd, and only $5 for the mp3 album, can't beat that price.

Rob Crow - He Thinks He's People

2011-11-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

Just picked this up in LP form recently from Temporary Residence Limited. The label is doing the very cool "buy this LP and get a code to download the mp3 version of this album" thing, which I jumped on. Rob Crow is one half of the band Pinback and also a member of a number of side project bands (as they may be categorized): Thingy, Heavy Vegetable, and of course his own solo albums. I reviewed one of his previous albums, My Room is a Mess about a year ago, and have to say that that album released in 2003, and his following album Living Well released in 2007 get regular play in my listening rotation. He Thinks He's People follows well from Living Well, but furthers his indie pop sound. It's amazing in a away how so many others who seriously attempt to pull off this genre lose focus of the simple yet key elements of a well written, catchy song. With Crow, it's album after album of wonderfully quirky yet catchy and effortlessly delivered music gold, masqueraded within indie pop simpleness. It's beyond needing to be noted how easily he makes it look, yet it's like he's got a patent on this stuff, as I struggle to think of someone who's been as consistently solid.

Surprising as it may be after I just spattered out this praise for the man, I actually didn't enjoy this album as much in the first listen. It was good, but I missed the hooks from the previous albums. Then it struck me as I was giving it a second listen....this happened to me before, with Living Well. And sure enough, after giving this album a second and then a third listen, and on and on, I'm here absorbed in the music thinking forward to the next time I'll get to listen to it in my car on the way to work, or my ipod while taking a walk outside trying to enjoy the last decently warm days in Cleveland this time of year. I think my initial difficulty with this album was caused by only providing it a cursory first listen. It dawns on me now, how the little details within Crow's songs on this album aren't accidental elements or afterthoughts added for flare in post-production. Whether it's the woodblock claps (closest way to explain the sound I can think of) in "Prepare To Be Mined" or the quirky lyrics of "So Way", they go on to provide definition and individuality to each song. The songs are concise with no song reaching the four minute mark. The instruments chosen on this album seem to mostly be of the guitar, keyboard/synth, and drums variety, and of course Crow's voice, which is as much of the enjoyment as any other part of the album. Production is solid, without much in the way of mixing issues, maybe a lack of low end, but it's not really that noticeable.

Rob Crow - "Prepare To Be Mined"

Somewhere in the middle as far as tempo goes on this album, "Prepare To Be Mined" starts off innocent enough right up to the quirky guitar chord transition around the 00:25 mark. Then things shoot off on one of the many catchy chorus sections within this album, as the pace of the guitar picks up (and those woodblock sounding claps accentuate effectively) I find myself toe-tapping along. The layered vocals are perfectly used here, just the right depth and added at the right times to further accentuate and increase the warmth of the chorus' delivery.

Rob Crow - "I'd Like To Be There"

The absolute "poppiest" song on the album. A gem of juxtaposition, really. The lyrics are the real gold mine here, as amongst this sunny guitar driven jaunt, Crow has paired the following lyrics:

Some people talk on the phone at the movie theatre.
That's right!
On the phone!
I can't believe it either!

When you're choking on your blood,
When they've stapled shut your tongue,
realized you couldn't trust no one,
When your body bag gets zipped shut,
I'd like to be there.

His musing on the how he'd like to be there when these people who talk on phones in movie theaters get what's coming to them (well maybe to an extreme for some people) is certainly something I can relate too.

Go to Temporary Residence to find the CD or LP w/ mp3s download code. Also just announced, Pinback will be touring Europe, though I couldn't find any details just yet, I'm sure they'll have something on their website about it.

The Plugz - Better Luck

2011-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

I recently went and saw a re-showing of the 1984 cult classic film, Repo Man, starring a young Emilo Estevez as a punk named Otto. I remembered liking the soundtrack a lot when I was younger, but I had forgotten what was all that good about it until I was sitting in the theater a few weeks. I immediately went and grabbed it online the next day. In addition to good songs from Iggy Pop, The Circle Jerks, and Suicidal Tendencies, there were a three songs by The Plugz. Outside of the movie I hadn't heard any of their material previously, but the song "El Clavo Y La Cruz" particularly caught my attention. The hook was just so catchy, I couldn't keep it out of replaying in my mind. I went searching and found that the band had released two albums, Electrify Me (1979) and Better Luck (1981). Both horribly out of print and way expensive if you find yourself a copy (I think you can find both at Amazon or eBay for around $100 each). Luckily, I was able to find both albums free for download, and I'll link it down below as well since the albums are out of print as I mentioned.

The Plugz were a Chicano punk band from the Los Angeles area that existed primarily from 1977 through 1984 where the band then formed The Cruzados. The band was a three-piece with initially Tito Larriva (of Tito and Tarantula fame) on lead vocals and guitar, Charlie Quintana on drums, and Barry McBride on bass/backing vocals.
McBride would leave the band following the creation of the first album, Electrify Me, and was replaced by Gustavo Santaolalla on Better Luck along with a few other musicians providing keyboards and a horn section. On Better Luck, the band had progressed in their sound, moving away slightly from the simpler punk arrangements of the first album, and adding a bit more variety, with various levels of success. The Latin sound is present, along with more of a focus on the clean vocals and harmony. There are some excellent stand out songs, some decent ones, and then a few that don't seem to work as well. The ones that are on the mark are worth a listen for sure. I'd consider the first album a better album in general through and through, but my favorite Plugz songs are on Better Luck.

The Plugz - "Better Luck"

The title track and opening song on the album immediately demonstrates the shift in writing away from the fast paced punk of the first album. The riff is strong, yet simple, and the high-hat play is surprisingly not annoying, but rather perfect for this song. There's an interesting plucking from what I assume is acoustic guitar that is almost inaudible at first but rises just a touch from the right side and adds a nice warm element to the initial build-up prior to the vocals starting. The vocals and lyrics are beautifully matched with the songwriting. Little accents like the acoustic guitar, and quick breaths in before delivering a line add color and character to the song. The lyrics "Then we get lost, then we find each other again" illicit comfort amongst uncertainty for me. My favorite lyrics on the album.

The Plugz - "El Clavo Y La Cruz"

Sung in Spanish and with a bouncy almost ska beat, it's the funnest song within the album. The tempo of the song is upbeat and decently quick, but also features a few changes where it slows down then abruptly shifts back to the initial fast pace. Once again here, the accents (by the whole band; guitar, bass, and drums) throughout the song are perfect in grabbing the listeners attention and powering the chord changes. The keyboard and horn play toward the end of the song works well to reinforce the Latin sound and the overall catchiness of the song.

You can download this album and the first album by clicking on the links. The band has a myspace music page available, and there is more information on the background of the band here and here.

returning

2011-10-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's getting cold and wet here in Cleveland, like record setting rain already this year, so I'll be back writing very soon.

Kilowatthours - The Bright Side

2011-05-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Out of Louisville, KY originally, The Bright Side was Kilowatthours' second album. The band has since changed their name or at least evolved to Up The Empire. I believe what is left of the band is now in New York. In any case, this album was released by Temporary Residence in 2002, and at the time were a five piece. The sound is within the indie-pop genre with leanings toward heavy reliance on guitar hooks and in general is guitar driven. There's elements of shoegaze without the distortion and a touch more emotion in the vocals, but a numbing or transcendental feel to it all. The tempo is mid-paced predominantly, with a quietness at times but also some charging full-sounding parts as well. There is certainly musicianship in the writing and the recording is strong. The album is relatively concise, only nine songs and under 36 minutes long. This brevity works well in that there is little excess, little to become board with.

Kilowatthours - "Almost Airtight"

A repeating couple of guitar chords starts this one off, followed by quite vocals somewhere in the middle of the mix. The chorus section explodes out with keyboards/synth really accenting and heightening the moment. These two sections repeat themselves through the next portion of the song, right up to a keyboard (I think) solo, and then shifting the guitar riff and followed by a short drum interlude, and then combination of crashing percussion, raising keyboards, and driving guitar. A false ending is presented with subtle guitars then carrying out the rest of the song.

Kilowatthours - "Dancers and Acrobats"

Keyboards exclusively in the beginning, until a voice is heard uttering the title of the song that signals the perfectly recorded percussion to come in. The cymbals are crashing and cluttered, creating a reverberated effect. The remainder of the song is an assortment of percussion parts over the keyboards and finally a return to the "keyboards only" to wrap up the song.

Temporary Residence still has the cd of this album available at their website along with three other Kilowatthours releases, so be sure to check out the label website for more of the band. As mentioned above, Kilowatthours has morphed into Up The Empire and is still actively creating and playing music under the new moniker.

Abilene - s/t

2011-03-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Abilene released two albums in their existence, the second Two Guns, Twin Arrows I had reviewed previously, and this self-titled album released in 2000. I'll refer to the previous review for more of the background on the band (which was in the Hoover, Regulator Watts, Radio Flyer lineage). When considering that this album's lineup did not feature Fred Erskine (June of '44) as the second album did, it would make sense to lower expectations. But, that shouldn't be the case here. There is such a difference between these two albums that it isn't really fair to compare them and forcibly choose a winner. Considering guitarist/vocalist Alex Dunham's general theme of starting up bands that end up producing only one release, it starts to come together why such a difference exists. This album is much darker and moodier than any of Dunham's other releases. The music is striped down, plenty of bass and drums/percussions that simply repeat a primary theme with brief offshoots (i.e. cymbal hits, drum fills, bass lines or breaks, etc.) while the guitar also maintains a less chaotic feel (compared to other Dunham bands such as Regulator Watts), and the vocals are often mumbled or expressed with little effort, kind of a cross between something you'd expect from a shoegazing sound and Quaalude ingesting Nick Cave. I'd lump it in the giant "post-punk" arena, but would limit any further reading into the sound from that. The songs are incredibly isolating, I really can't picture listening to this album with another person, maybe if hours or days into a cross-country drive where you've ran out of things to say to each other and the surroundings are pulling your attention into your recesses of your mind, but apart from that I'd this album is perfectly paired with times of isolation.

Abilene - "October"

"October" is the longest song on the six song album, coming at 8:33 minutes long. It's partly because of its length that it presents so well within this album. It completely sums up the strongest elements of the album, pretty much everything mentioned above describing the album on a whole appears in this song. It's a steady pace of guitar over the bass and drum lines. A break at the three minute mark enters in solo reverberated guitar, followed by bass, and percussive play on a clearly recorded ride cymbal, snare, and bass drum. There's a playful bit of interaction between these instruments from here forth, with the bass being the steadiest of the group, while both the guitar and drums balance each other's additions. Guitar building in loudness, is later followed by the percussion and finally vocals returning to provide singing (not all that common on this album) that after reaching it's pinnacle and plateauing out, finally all disappears except the bellowing guitar.

I recommend the following links (Hardcore for Nerds, Fake Jazz) for other reviews and particularly this site (Egg City Radio) for a free download of the album since it is out-of-print and not easily available. I think there is a link at the bottom of the Hardcore for Nerds review to the Egg City Radio zip file of the album as well, so it's there either way.

New Idea Society - Somehow Disappearing

2011-02-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

Somehow Disappearing (2010) was released on Shiny Shoes Records towards the end of last Summer and represents New Idea Society's third full length and fourth overall release (including one EP also released last year called Quiet Prism). I chose the debut release You Are Awake Or Asleep (2005) as one of my first albums to write about last year. New Idea Society is primarily Mike Law's creative avenue as he is responsible for vocals, guitar, and writing. Juxtaposing the debut release (or even the follow up album, The World Is Bright And Lonely) and this album really demonstrates the progress and growth Law and the group have taken, reaching their current state. The sound is indie rock, with an incorporation but not over-reliance on varying the instrumentation through keyboards/electronics. The core guitar, bass, drums, and vocals are still the bread 'n butter here, but finally here on this album the mix is just right. I find the songwriting more creative and willing to take more risks than on previous works. I think this has been made possible in part due to the excellent recording quality and production. There's a feel that things were just hitting right in the recording space, resulting in a tight and full sound.

New Idea Society - "Thorns"

What can you say about that low end, it makes its presence known at the onset in an almost thundering fashion and remains there throughout the duration of the song, providing a backbone. The keyboards, percussion, and vocals all kick in, for the first few versus, and the subsequent part features harmonized singing with guitar that sounds just perfect in relation to the keyboards within the song. This song is bass, bass, and more bass, freeing up the other instruments to pop in and out without disrupting the flow and progress of the song. The lyrics of the chorus are peculiarly powerful sounding to me, not sure why, but it is good.

New Idea Society - "Desolation Tongues"

I love how the song begins, a little more menacing than anything else on the album. The piano and percussion/drum combination keeping the breathtaking tempo is very well done. An almost suspense movie feel, while the chorus sections have a very serious and decisive tone. The percussive play on the ride cymbal is perhaps my favorite part, and in general I get the feeling that this was one of the "funner" songs to play as far as percussion goes. Echoing the vocals as opposed to layering was a nice touch, particularly with the word "echo" showing up in the lyrics. The closing is an instrumental part of the song, highlighted by the piano accenting. I felt a few songs didn't seem to end quite as well, but this one was right on the mark.

As I write this New Idea Society is touring Europe in support of this album. You can check out there tour progress at their facebook page. You can also find more information on the band at their webpage, newideasociety.com. The mp3 album is available through Amazon, and in cd format as well. Truly an album that is growing and growing on me, and I feel is likely the group's best produced when considering all aspects of the within.

Florence And The Machine - Lungs

2011-02-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

Lungs was a 2008 release that in my little corner of the world I had not come into any contact with until very recently. I was surprised (but then not really) to find that this album has spurned seven singles of which multiple songs have blanketed American and British television and even a few movies. The group released a song not included in this album for the third Twilight movie (hey I just know this cause I read it on wikipedia) and judging by some of the television shows also fancying their work I can see the niche audience that the album's record company, Island Records, is marketing too. I am not in this audience, but here I am writing a little on this album because within this vocal-centric pop music, I find occasions of great writing and musical talent. It's not there everywhere, and there are certainly some "misses" within for me, but this is also because of one of the album's strengths, its variety. The songs span all sorts of genres, sometimes it clicks really well, sometimes it doesn't, but it keeps things lively and fresh to see lead singer Florence Welch tackle the different vocal fields. What makes it work so well is that she doesn't just dip her toe in, she goes all out, throwing herself at all the various vocal angles she could find. You get the sense that she is truly having fun singing these heartbroken (at times angry) songs. The music is a mix of instruments fashioned to meet the needs of each song, heavy on percussion, but also harp and piano playing a major role. The production is, as expected for a big market record company, extremely professional without any discernible detractions to the music. The following quote from the group's website describing the lyrics, "The songs are full of Gothic imagery, of fairytale flights of fantasy, and although much has been read into her lyrics, Florence says it’s usually simple. “Everything is about boys!” she laughs. “The whole album is about love – and pain."

Florence And The Machine - "Dog Days Are Over"

The opening track on the album was actually the second "single" release from the album. Infectiously catchy chorus with a bouncy beat. The percussion was what drew me to this song (I believe the first I had heard from Florence And The Machine), I like the way it builds up and uses a number of percussive instruments to essentially keep the same beat, just at different intervals through the song. Of course the hand claps were a great choice, as was the pause used just after three minutes in (the pseudo ending) prior to a return of the chorus with almost chanting vocals.

Florence And The Machine - "Between Two Lungs"

Not to be confused with Between Two Ferns, "Between Two Lungs" somehow stands out from the other songs on this album because of the vocal ground covered by Welch. Its here more than anywhere else that you hear get the feeling that she was giving all of herself to the music. Welch notes on their website that this song was where she had found her voice, “I’d found my voice, and I just felt euphoric,” she recalls. “It’s been a real process of me learning that the way I wanted to do it was actually the right way. This whole album has been about having faith in myself.” The song has an odd start/stop beginning. After the vocals move towards expansion the simple piano and percussion fills in nicely. The subtle backing vocal tracks are also tastefully placed. The chorus is full and strong and the long drawn out sung words towards the end of the song are real emotional triggers. A four minute song that seems shorter, perhaps because it avoids simple structure and doesn't uselessly repeat parts, succinct yet creative.

The band's website florenceandthemachine.net is very well done I have to say, not too overwhelming, provides a decent amount of information, and has assorted media. This album is available on the site, but it just links it to a number of outlets (HMV, Amazon, etc.). There are two CD releases, a "standard" and a "deluxe" release which includes a second CD that features a few more songs and a couple demo versions songs ("Dog Days Are Over" is one of these songs, with a little different take on the percussion). There's an element of masturbatory love of affluence and "how wonderful life is (when you get to trounce around L.A. and all sorts of destinations which most people will never experience or better put can afford to experience)" from this film short linked from the band's website, it sort of rubs me the wrong way honestly and I have a creeping suspicion that I would do better to simply enjoy the album release without prying too deep into the artist and/or record label background.

White Williams - Smoke

2011-01-31T20:52:00.000-08:00

I found it surprisingly difficult to find much of any current information on White Williams as he hasn't done anything musically since the release of Smoke in 2007. White Williams is the creation of Cleveland born musician Joe Williams who, along with an assortment of instruments and a few fellow musicians, was able to create a fairly minimalistic yet intently groovy album. The group's sound is more indie electronic than noise or anything of that ilk. The songs are traditionally structured and essentially pop interlaced. I was lucky enough to see White Williams play in Cleveland a couple years ago, and was impressed by the energy (not in any sort of spastic sense) that the music carried despite being as minimal as noted. It appears that Joe Williams had done most of the writing for this album during the time while traveling and subsequently finishing college in Cincinnati, OH. Perhaps having finished college and moving on into his career path, White Williams may have been a brief sort of "one-and-done" sort of thing. It would be unfortunate if that was the case, as the music is quite enjoyable for me still to this day. Expect medium-short length songs leaning heavily on the percussion and bass to provide the aforementioned groove while electronics and keyboards have plenty of room to roam, and vocals are essentially regressed to neutral or controlled tone. Relaxing and moving at the same time (comfortably groovy?).

White Williams - "New Violence"

The thing that jumps out to me is how not overproduced the drum and bass lines are in this song (and in general). It's a subtle pressing beat holding serve through the song. While electronic keyboards are able to fill in and add unique runs up above. The vocals are sung in Williams' deadpan 80's electronica fashion, stretching the words through the chorus or hook. The sped up keyboard/electronic runs really stand out as my favorite part of the song apart from the solid riff that picks up intensity rhythmically introducing the chorus.

Smoke was released on Tigerbeat6 Records but I wasn't able to find this album listed. They however say that you can contact them directly and they will search within their vault of material and perhaps track it down. There are currently about 30 (new and used) copies through Amazon available from what I can tell. Smoke runs about 40 minutes long, split amongst eleven tracks (including a cover of The Strangeloves' "I Want Candy"). Move it or lose it sister.

G.I.S.M. - SoniCRIME TheRapy

2011-01-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

Mostly for fun, I chose to listen to this album today randomly, and well write on it as well. Running by the moniker "Guerrilla Incendiary Sabotage Mutineer" for this album or perhaps "Gnostic Idiosyncracy Sonic Militant" which appears in the liner notes (though I think my favorite was the "God In the Schizoid Mind" which may have been around the M.A.N. album era, maybe earlier), G.I.S.M spewed out a collection of songs that fall somewhere between their earlier Detestation material and the Military Affairs Neurotic or M.A.N. stuff. The band is composed of Sakevi Yokoyama on vocals, Randy Uchida on guitar, Kiichi on bass, and Ironfist Tatsushima on drums. The songs on his album span a ten year period and sounds like the type of work that would have laid the bridgework between the aforementioned two albums. It's a much better produced than Detestation but keeps the same hardcore and violent sound of the band that had been somewhat abandoned for a pure metal sound on the M.A.N. album. If you are not familiar with the band or their cult-like rise since the years have passed, I will first refer you to the G.I.S.M. Punks is Hippies/Global Darkness site that does an excellent job of providing info while maintaining the proper mystique or feel for a concept that is always just out of reach.

G.I.S.M. was a Japanese hardcore-punk-metal band that existed as early as 1980, forming in Tokyo. The band broke up in 2001 following the death of guitarist Randy Uchida to cancer, not long after the release of SoniCRIME TheRapy. So this album represents the last works of the band. The music on this album as mentioned above, falls somewhere between their two earlier releases. There is definitely metal within the guitar writing, and the drumming carriers a heavy hardcore style with it. Lead singer, and possibly the most important member to the band in regard to creating their unique sound, Sakevi Yokoyama's vocals are at their best sounding, in part due to the better overall record production, but also in part to just shear intensity. The songs on this album mirror the M.A.N. album material in length and structure, not overly long, but four minutes is a minimum predominantly with a few songs going over five minutes in length. But apart from the length, it's also the repeated riffs, the variations, etc, that remind me of the M.A.N. album songwriting the most. I don't think this album is necessarily as solid from start to finish as either of the other two albums, but the "hits" are well worth the few "misses" that present themselves. And the Sakevi's collage artwork is perfect as usual.

G.I.S.M. - "KI-1"

With the exception of the first and last songs on the album, the remaining songs are named through a shorthand of who wrote the song (either guitarist RU for Randy Uchida, KI for bass player Kiichi, etc.). The guitars are loud, dry, and crunchy as hell. The vocals as always, are great, and sickly dark. The main riff in this song is repeated over and over, with Saveki's vocals moving within its own pace, slithering over the top and through the music. The guitar solo at 1:57 is reminiscent of the work on the M.A.N. album, but with the surrounding hardcore riffs, stands out in contrast and really adds variety. Upon first listen, it's kind of amazing how often Uchida runs away and then returns to that main riff, finally finishing up the song with a dart and some Saveki cackles. Above all, a good example of the violent sound that makes up G.I.S.M.

The album artwork as mentioned above is excellent. The cd comes with a fold-out booklet that opens up to a Sakevi collage work, while under the cd tray lies the picture that appears to the right here. The cd comes in a small box that also contains a band sticker (the anarchy "A" and machine gun picture) and is overall presented very well. Good luck finding this thing. I happened to catch it on ebay for a "decent" sum, and purchased it from one "dwid hellion" who happened to be selling it and I'm pretty sure is the dwid hellion of Integrity since he was selling it from Belgium at the time (where dwid was rumored to be living at the time). I haven't seen too many pop up on their since. Of course bootlegs are out there and many people would be lucky to have found any of those to grasp band's music (though I'm guessing nowadays you can probably find someone posting a torrent of this stuff). In any case, the search for any information on the band, the stories surrounding the violence that would happen at their shows, and god willing a piece of merchandise or original recording is part of the fun of appreciating this band.

Times New Viking - Present the Paisley Reich

2011-01-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Times New Viking's second official release, Present the Paisley Reich came out in 2007 on Siltbreeze Records before the band made the jump to Matador Records in the follow up release Rip It Off (2008). Times New Viking get's some attention form for the fact that they are from Columbus, Ohio, and happen to be pretty decent. The three piece band features dual male and female vocals and their recorded material is generally filled with hyper-fuzzed out and reverberated noise wrapped around exceptionally catchy (when they are at their best) and sometimes introspective (less often) songwriting that is driven by the guitar chords and vocal harmonies.

Times New Viking - "Devo & Wire"

The pace and tempo of this song gives a pretty accurate idea of what to expect from the majority of their material. Considering the brevity of their individual songs, which should be pointed out is a good thing, I've always had a negative reaction to bands who don't know how to be concise when it comes to writing a typical rock song, not everybody needs to be Deep Purple or Rush here...but, I digress back to my original point, it's as if the songs themselves evolve out of the catchy hook and simply run through a few versions of the riff or harmony and wrap itself up without becoming stale or dull.

CD, LP, mp3, and flac digital files can be purchased through the Matador Records Store if you are looking for their more recent material. This album is available through the Slitbreeze website. The band has their own website at Times New Viking, but the "store" section is still under construction as of now, you can always check their site out for touring details, as I actually prefer their live performance to their recorded material (the lo-fi is toned down when they are live, and honestly, they don't have to hide behind all that fuzz).

Violator - Annihilation Process

2011-01-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell by the cover art already, Violator play a retro-80's trash metal, and they play it damn well. Picked up on them after reading this excellent review over at aversionline. Annihilation Process was released in 2010 on Kill Again Records. Expect fast guitars and bass and drumming that is equal to the task. Vocals have a more hardcore sound to them (not the burly kind, but rather the higher end type) a little different than I would have expected, but not by that much. It's also worth pointing out that the vocals don't come across as overdone or standing in the way of the general awesomeness of the music. The band is from Brazil, and because of this reason, probably don't get the same kind of a play that similar bands such as Municipal Waste have garnered. They nail the speed of the genre and more importantly, the precision. The music is tightly played and well produced on this album. The occasional guitar solo is welcomed and usually done in the short "one-off" sort of way as opposed to anything overly self-absorbed. The band has developed a mastery of tempo shifts, though they aren't chucking them all over the place or anything like that. I think it's the execution of the the style that may very well set them above others who do this type of music well, definitely digging it in any case.

Violator - "Poisoned by Ignorance"

Had a pretty hard time picking a single song to use here since they're isn't really a bad one in the whole bunch, so I finally gave up and went with the first track, "Poisoned by Ignorance". The song starts with a short intro of metallic sounds, not quite as menacing as I think they wanted, but whatever, it's short and once the guitars kick in it's auditory excellence (well if you love thrash anyways). The guitar and bass shred through the initial part of the song, all instrumental through the first minute. Drumming is tight with a general focus on running that beat out there and not throwing in too many fills or excess cymbal play. Perfectly content with hitting the accents. The song hits a driving groove at about the 2:20 mark, but none of the departures from the central theme last all that long. I think because of the unselfish play (really by all of the musicians) you have a fine song that with the exception of a short lived guitar solo near the end, stands on its songwriting alone and stands very well.

The band's myspace page has more songs you can check out for free and record label, Kill Again Records, is selling this CD through their site, but it seems that you can only get it if you live in Brazil through them. In the U.S., Hell's Headbangers has it thankfully through their site.

Weeping in Fits and Starts - "Blue Funnel World"

2010-12-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

I wrote a review on this band's first album, This Wreck is Goin' Down (1996) about a year ago. Blue Funnel World (1998) was the band's only other full length release. The release came out on Rhubarb Records, which was the band's founder, Greg Jacobs' own start-up record label in classic DIY fashion. The music again centers around Jacobs' vocals, guitar, and songwriting, but the writing is more diverse and the production is better than on the first album. I find more indie pop going on here, particularly in the album's best song "You Do Everything But Heal Me", even a label such as "shoegazing" wouldn't be far off the mark at times, but the acoustic guitar still makes its presence felt predominantly within the music. About half the album is instrumentals and I would say that in general the album's better songs reside in this half, but no exclusively. The general feeling tends to be up-beat although the lyrics run counter to this in general. The result is beautiful melancholy that benefits from the solid recording production.

Weeping in Fits and Starts - "You Do Everything But Heal Me"

My Bloody Valentine pops in my head as I listen to the reverbed and heavily distorted guitar running underneath the vocals on this song. Percussion is almost unchanged throughout the song and the guitar doesn't do too much, but when it does it is done well. The layered guitar that appears briefly around the 2:21 mark is a nice piece of production and a nice tweak to the song. The vocals feature male and female voices appearing together and perhaps the best vocals sung on the whole album. It's a very simple song with just a few added quirks, overall very well produced, and still emotionally evocative.

Weeping in Fits and Starts - "Rhedd"

Weeping in Fits and Starts - "Liliacs"

One of the many instrumentals on Blue Funnel World, "Rhedd" totals 3:25 in length and is heavily guitar driven with minor percussion in the background. The song builds up with added percussion and stronger guitar play until about the 2:14 mark when cymbals kick for a part and are carried off and into the next song, "Lilacs" a more somber keyboard (organ sounding to be exact) instrumental song.

After searching around online for a while, I could not find a copy available used or otherwise of Blue Funnel World, though I did find Weeping in Fits and Starts Facebook page that has some more information about a few shows they may be playing as a reformed group. Since the album is out of print, you can find and download the whole album freely available by clicking on this link: Weeping in Fits and Starts - Blue Funnel World.

Abilene - Two Guns, Twin Arrows

2010-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Two Guns, Twin Arrows came out in 2002 on a small label 54º 40' or Fight! based out of Michigan. There is a great in-depth review of this album over at Hardcore for Nerds, which I highly recommend. I'll go ahead and throw my two pennies in here anyways, mostly because I find myself listening to Two Guns, Twin Arrows tonight and really digging it. Abilene was one of guitarist/vocalist Alex Dunham's many bands (Hoover, Regulator Watts, Radio Flyer). Like most (well probably all) of his bands, Abilene's sound is distinctly driven by his guitar sound and play. What set's Abilene's sound on this album apart from Dunham's other bands is Frederick Erskine's presence. Erskine played in other post-hardcore bands such as the mighty June of '44 and Crownhate Ruin. Erskine did not appear on Abilene's first album (s/t) and his role in this album, though not changing the underlying mood of Abilene songs, added a new wrinkle that must have been surprising even to the band themselves. Erskine's influence on the band's music, on the whole, resulted in one of Dunham's most experimental sounding (not unlike some of the June of '44 material Erskine was a part of) creations. So it is with these two creative figureheads in one band, coexisting and allowing each other's creativity and improvisation to flourish, at times complementing, at other times simply getting out of the way of each other, we all end up benefiting. Even if only for this one album's worth of material. I've only hinted at Abilene's sound on this album thus far, as there isn't really any need to try and compartmentalize their sound with any other label than say post-hardcore, which in itself gives little of what to expect.

Abilene - "Twisting the Trinity"

All of the songs on this album, there are eight in total, sit around the five minute mark in length. "Twisting the Trinity" was a solid choice for the first song on the album because it allows for the introduction of each instrument distinctly. Additionally it presents a seperation between the instruments and vocals, as if you can picture each piece sitting in different corners of your bedroom, living room, car, wherever the hell you are listening to this song at the moment. After the initial loud entrance into the song, things are calmed down and the mood takes a darker, cooler feel to it. The song features trumpet and guitar parts that alternate leads. Here we see, maybe more than anywhere else on the album, how these two instruments (and to an almost equal degree the drums) support each other. The secondary instrument, whether guitar or trumpet at the moment, progresses in a way to provide a steady rhythm and basis pulling or grounding the listener. It's not jazz, but you get a similar feeling, just rolled into a rock song.

Abilene - "Fellini"

The trumpet here is used to accent more than anything else in the beginning of this song. When things breakdown a bit about a minute into the song, I find the simple open chord guitar strums as perfectly placed amid Dunham's calls out. About two and quarter through the song, the chords change and a steady pounding pace takes over, which once the vocals subside, the trumpet runs away with the rest of the song. Controlled while still unique.

This album looks to be out of print. You can find a few hard copies of the cd at Amazon. I also came across the whole album available for digital download through a media fire account if you feel so inclined.

Burn - Last Great Sea

2010-11-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

Last Great Sea (2002) is a three song release of previously recorded (well shottily that is) demo material from circa 1992. Burn formed in NY in 1988 and held together through '94. They have since come together in various forms and on occasion to re-record this material and release it through Revelation Records, and in 2001 recording and releasing the EP album Cleanse on Equal Vision Records. Burn is one of those special bands from my late adolescent and young adulthood days of gobbling up any sort of hardcore music I could find that has transcended my obsession at the time and remains equally rewarding to listen to today. My only contention with the band is that they released far to little material. Three EPs over the span of their existence. I believe I just tracked down their original EP formatted as an MP3 (the album was only released in vinyl) so that I can write about it in the future and put the material out there as well since it is long out of print. For the meantime I'll turn our attention to Last Great Sea, which is substantive record on its own, though not quite to the level of self-titled original EP. Chaka Malik's unique vocals are well recorded and his voice remains as strong as ever, carrying well over the music, but without being overbearing. The band stood apart from the typical NY hardcore band of the late 80s early 90s era in that it incorporated vast creativity within its songwriting. I've always thought of their sound to be of a heavier version of Quicksand. Of course drummer Alan Cage went on to play in Quicksand after Burn, so it's certainly not that far of a stretch.

Burn - Tales of Shatou

"Tales of Shatou" runs at a quicker pace than the other two songs on this EP. Probably the most similar to the typical chord progressions seen within the greater genre, particularly if you consider the year the song was written, of any of the Burn songs on this or the earlier album. Each Burn song stands out on its own, whether through some distinct set of lyrics delivered by Malik's powerful voice or some guitar hook. The tempo changes are all Burn. The break at about 1:40 is my favorite part with drum rolls and some sort of almost inverse guitar chord (whatever that means) progression, that then leads into a short guitar soloing and finally a breakdown and away of everything but minor percussion and bass. The end of the song builds back up to and closes strong.

It looks like Revelation has this album out of print as well as the first EP. So I'm going to post all three songs here for download if you want the whole thing. Amazon has a few copies for sale as well.

Rob Crow - My Room is a Mess

2010-08-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

My Room is a Mess arrived in 2003. Crow had a few previous releases, but this one stands out the most to me and I have been giving it continuous play of late. Crow is one part of the duo that is known as Pinback. I reviewed one of their EPs a few months ago, Arrive Having Eaten. In comparing Crow's solo work to that of his partner in Pinback, Armistead Burwell Smith IV whose own solo project, System's Officer, is worth a good listen, Crow's work stands out as being more varied, looser, and less formulaic. Crow's voice and strong song writing carriers this album to much more than what would normally be expected from a solo release. There is a lightheartedness in the lyrics and even within the songs themselves (sound effects from this old Casio Rap Master keyboard that I remember having when I was a kid show up out of nowhere during "Iocane"). Pay specific attention to the layering of vocals and guitar, as the mixing is another strong suit of the album. Songs are fairly short and straightforward, with wonderfully written guitar parts and progressions.

Rob Crow - "Beyond Him"

Crow's smooth vocals blanket this song from beginning to end. The cleanness of the guitar is the other thing that stands out. Initial lyrics are drawn out over clean picking on guitar. Then the next shift is keyed by a little guitar hook that is used often in the song when shifting parts and used excellently towards the end of the song, appearing in layers and sharp quick changes. The vocals change briefly in the middle of the song, and layered as well. The guitar hook mentioned just before appears here, and is followed by a return to the chorus part from the beginning of the song that closes it out.

Rob Crow - "Over the Summer"

The longest song on the album at 3:39. Possibly the catchiest songwriting on the album as well. The guitar progressions on each section are attention grabbers. The vocals, as usual, are sung beautifully over the music. The basic drum track in the background is steady and fits in simple support. There is a break near the middle of the song, where guitar is slowly built while vocals become a little harsher and direct. This changes back into the chorus, which washes over in warm smooth waves.

This album is fairly easy to find online for purchase at Amazon.com in CD form or mp3. He has also released another solo album since this release. Living Well came out 2007 and is available on Temporary Resistance Records on CD and LP. It is also chock full of Rob's eccentric yet endearingly warm songwriting style.

Heron - Upon Reflection: The Dawn Anthology

2010-07-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this late '60s band through the FHF Internet Music Show that was mentioned over at Aversionline (hat tip). The guy at FHF has an amazing knowledge of music and each individual past show is available for download streaming, so I recommend checking it out. From the little information available online about this band, I have gathered that Heron had come into existence in Maidenhead, England in 1967. These recordings represent everything that they had recorded between 1970-72 on the record label. There are 43 songs included on the 2 cd set, and rounds out at about 2 1/2 hours of listening in total. There is certainly a development in songwriting from the first cd (earlier material) to the second. It seems that after going into the studio to record an initial single, the band was unhappy with the whole studio experience. The band got a decent mobile recording set-up and went out into a field away from society to record in a setting fitting their music, complete with the sounds of birds chirping away in the distance. As you may have guessed, their sound is definitely folk, progressive at times, but influences from Bob Dylan to the Incredible String Band have been noted. I can picture some Bert Janech at time's as well. It's really an incredible experience when taking in the setting of the recording and considering the time period and cohesion of the band-mates. The band's obscurity adds to the mystique and sense of detachment from society when listening, with much of the popularity of folk in the last ten years, and particularly folk-ish musicians from this era (Nick Drake, Dylan, Janech, etc.) it is surprising to find this band buried away as they have been.

Heron - "Car Crash"

Even on cd you immediatly here the soft hum of the outdoor recording, the mics taking in everything of the surrounding. Softly strummed guitar, and dual vocals, panned one the right one to the left. The dual guitars split off at times. The vocals are seperated just barely at times and this creates a wonderful echo-like effect. The lyrics paint a wonderful picture matching the natural setting, particularly I love the following passage:

the running damp of raindrops is as water
paint to wash away
thoughts of you

Toward's the end of the song, one of the guitars frees itself and wonders off on its own momentarily. There is about twenty seconds at the end of the song where one of the band-members can be heard remarking about the "little black insects crawling all over" in the field.

Heron - "Madman"

"Madman" is the first track from the second cd, and was originally part of the band's final release Twice As Nice & Half The Price. The album was also recorded outdoors, but with a few more instruments including a cleanly played electric guitar. "Madman" carriers an infectious bouncy rhythm, a Sunday afternoon feel to it. Also the percussion is simple but much more pronounced than anything from their earlier outputs. The wonderfully done dual vocals remain a staple, but we see even more guitar lines flowing here and there. Nothing overly original per se, but layered very well and creating quite a bit of warmth. The fact you can hear laughter at times and discourse between the band-mates towards the end of the song only adds to the fun and looseness of the album. Hell, its not rocket science if you think about, having a relaxed recording environment helps to translate to the creation of a very relaxing sound.

These recordings as mentioned above were released on Dawn Records, which existed from 1970-75 and was notable for releasing a couple Donovan albums amongst a few other releases. I've seen a couple Upon Reflection... cd's over at amazon.com. I found a link to a rapidshare posting of both album's for download. Currently, I'm enjoying the earlier works (the first cd) a bit more, its simple and really relays the tone of the music and feel of the band a little better. But, there are some strong songs on the second cd as well ("John Brown" and "Winter Harlequin" as examples) and the songs are more diverse here. Heron has done a great job of creating a truly varied and honest set of recordings combined here on this double cd release.

Guyana Punch Line - Direkt Aktion

2010-06-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

This one definitely stands the test of time for me. Direkt Aktion was released through the very solid Prank Records in 2003 and I'll continue to go back to it again and again and find it sounds just as good as the first time. Guyana Punch Line were a hardcore-punk band formed from members of In/Humanity, Antischism, and .fuckingcom, and were based out of South Carolina. Part of what keeps this album so well is its brevity (13 songs in about 20 minutes) and its diversity around the fast-paced music. The vocals settle in the screamed/yelled department, chords are progressed through fairly quickly, but the rhythm is tight and well developed. Drums are tight with the rest of the music as well and sound pretty decent in regards to the recording. Vocals are biting and witty political criticisms, a large part of the feel of this band comes from it. The band didn't last all that long after this release, calling it quits before the year was out.

Guyana Punch Line - "Direkt Aktionists Daily Affirmination"

This song follows a short (30 second) noise track entitled "The Electric Cha Cha Macarena Boogie Slide", so the return to the open guitar chords and subsequent bass line is more pronounced when the songs are listened to in succession (as on the album). I like that they allowed the bass to have the lead here in the beginning, it changes things up a bit. When the vocals kick in, we get the more typical Guyana Punch Line sound. Terrorizing up and down the spectrum as the simple chords are ran for longer stretches before both vocals and music intensifies, the chord changes sticking with each word screamed. They bring back the bass leadwork towards the end of the song, before returning to the main part of the song again to close things out.

Guyana Punch Line - "Security"

I think my favorite song on the album. "Security" starts out with an eerie guitar riff that builds when the band comes in and then changes and speeds up, getting a head start on the vocals. The music and vocals are as tightly played here as anywhere else on the album. The drumming stands out on the song as well. The pounding beats of the snare accelerates the pace near the midpoint of the song and variety is seen in rolls and cymbal play.

This is truly an album where if I go to it, I listen to the whole thing. The songs flow into each other with little to no breaking, and the whole thing is right to the point. The closing song, "Terror in Toyland" carriers some of the better vocal moments on the album and I would say is the band catching a "second wind" if they ever showed signs of slowing down in the first place. After the band split up, the non-vocals portion of the group went on to form Thank God, while the band's singer, Chris Bickel went on to focus on his noise project Anakrid. You can find Direkt Aktion through the Prank Mailorder page for about $10 with shipping included (Media Mail).

Young Widows - Old Wounds

2010-06-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

I have been an Evan Patterson fan for some years now, going back to his work in The National Acrobat and Black Cross (originally called Black Widows), and more recently Coliseum, (though for some reason I haven’t given Breather Resist all that much of a try). I was interested to hear that he was involved in a new band that, though likely carried some similarity with his other works (they all have his distinct imprint even though the bands span across different genres), was another avenue for his creative guitar sound and songwriting. Young Widows, like the previously mentioned bands, are based out of Louisville, KY. The three piece group featuring Jeremy McMonigle, Evan Patterson, Nick Thieneman, released Old Wounds a couple years ago (2008). You can expect a heavy dose of discordant guitar and math-rock like song structures (though not too overwhelming) mixed with equal parts melody and a rough Midwestern feel to the whole package. Vocals are sung, but are bit rough. The recording is done very well, with attention to the sounds produced from the low end and guitars. The whole album runs through 11 songs in just over 32 minutes, never getting overly burdened with repetitiveness. I would say the song writing is better here than on some previous works (Black Cross for example) resulting in more memorable songs, which aren’t overly complicated for the sake of complexity.

Young Widows - "Took A Turn"

Opening things up on the album is "Took A Turn". We are treated to grinding bass panned hard right while spoken/sung vocals begin hard left in the mix. This groove sums up the feel of the whole album pretty well. Dark, dusty country road, middle of nowhere and not exactly innocent. When the drums kick in alongside the bass, still panned hard right, we get a buildup to what was surprising a slower beat than I had expected and really worked well to keep the mood created by the bass going instead of copping out into something quicker. Then the guitar enters and everything pans out equally from the middle and a few seconds later the song starts to drive foward, drums and bass throbbing, guitar edgy and disjointed at times. The song shoots straight into the next song "Old Skin", which serves as an fine transition to a more traditional strong structure, but not losing the mood built up by "Took A Turn".

Young Widows - "Let Him Be"

Nearing the end of the album, "Let Him Be", a short (2:22 minute) song is composed of and features straightforward vocals over pounding guitar and drums, and a bass line that noodles its way around within the mix. The instruments are played together tightly and the pace is faster than what you normally find within the the album. This pace only lasts for about half the song, as after a short break where only the background sound of a crowd is heard, vocals usher back a percussive driven ending portion of the song that is accompanied by more of that grinding bass.

Young Widows are aided by being on a strong indie label in Temporary Residence (Coliseum, Pinback, Three Mile Pilot, The Books) and you can find this release there in both CD and LP versions for $10.

Simone White - I Am The Man

2010-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I Am The Man (2007) and Simone White's more recent release, Yakiimo (2009) kind of came out of nowhere for me. I only came upon White through seeing Hideyuki Katsumata's interesting music video for the title track from Yakiimo. White was actually born in Hawaii, but has resided in London and New York before reaching the heights of these two releases. I really enjoy the layout and packaging for both albums, both including lyric books on matte paper. White plays guitar and sings throughout I Am The Man, and mostly solo.

Simone White - "I Am The Man"

White's vocals set her apart. Her guitar play comes secondary for her. Here we have a simply open strumming opening things off with vocals quickly appearing as well. White works in a fair amount of politics into some of her songs, but with her soft and clean vocals, it comes across as gripping as opposed to divisive. The lyrics also point toward a progression of personal/political views and self-understanding. The recording is very clear and soft sounds that do appear (pronunciation of words, etc.) bring warmth to the song.

Simone White - "I Didn't Have Any Summer Romance"

The first song on the album. Lyrics song from a personal perspective and more along the line of a traditional pop lovelorn song. We hear a subtle use of trumpet in the background and minor percussion, enough to promote a slight toe tapping as I sit here listening. The song is fuller and one of the more musically strong songs on the album. Even a nice little guitar interlude presents itself within the second minute. White's vocals match the tone of the lyrics extremely well and once again are the driving force behind the song.

Simone White's website carries a few more songs that you can listen to and check out, and both this album and Yakiimo can be purchased in cd, lp, and mp3 forms through the record label, Honest Jon's Records.

Javelin - No Más

2010-06-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is Javelin's (Brooklyn, NY) first official release, though their demo Jamz n Jemz (2009) had already gained notoriety. George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk the two principal members used and reworked about a third or so of the material from Jamz n Jemz here on No Más (2010). They chose to do so through the creation of more traditional song structures versus the chopped up free flowing pattern of the demo. The songs are generally short, anywhere from just over a minute to just over three minutes in length, so things avoid getting too stale. Generally there is enough going on in the songs to keep things fresh, the changes are smooth and the samples used nostalgic. The vocals work within the music and are also varied to such a degree as to avoid detracting. The editing of parts and pieces is the real gold here, creating a fully groovy and enjoyable album's worth of music.

Javelin - "On It On It"

I like how this songs lives in the high end of the spectrum, including the samples used, keyboards, and vocals. A very dance-able beat, but with the vocals as high as they are, we get more of a groovier sound out of. The percussion creates many electronic open high-hat and taps that help to keep an up-tempo going. Reverbing things helps to separate the percussion from the vocals and keyboard/synth blips, also forming chorus sections. The song closes following a repeated vocal part, possibly could have shaved a bit off of this but not necessarily a big deal.

Javelin - "Shadow Heart"

A change of pace within the album starts things off here. The hand claps, used so well on the opening track "Vibrationz", return here and when the drums kick in we get the calling out of the title of this song that quickly gives way to a robust horn section with a waltz like feel to it. Keyboards are spot on throughout the song, running over a variety of sounds and forms. Things are taken up to the higher end here as well, particularly towards the end of the song as the percussion lives on the high-hat and steady snare/bass drum beats.

I have read some criticism that the attempts at song structures and reworking older material signify a lack of creativity on the duo's part. I really don't see it. I can to a degree understand those that prefer the style of Jamz n Jems, and in some situations I would prefer it as well (say while driving around town), but I don't dock Javelin for going the formal song structure route for their first release. I think there is room for growth in song writing, but their talent at selecting nostalgically driven samples and sounds along with editing them within the songs is undeniable. Oh, and "Goal/Wide" is an excellent last song for an album.

The album is available in mp3, cd, and lp forms through the label's site, Luaka Bop.

Gillian Welch - Soul Journey

2010-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Had a tough time choosing this Gillian Welch album to write about because its not exactly my favorite of hers, that being Time (The Revelator), but this one has been slowly growing on me this past year. Soul Journey was released in 2003, and its a shame that she has not released anything since then, though she remains active touring. Welch is joined by guitarist Dave Rawlings who also produced the album, which features a few added instruments not present on Welch's previous releases (drums, electric guitar, etc.). Gillian Welch and Rawlings musically sprawl out from bluegrass, but the added instrumentation on a few songs brings with it a bit more variety. Soul Journey at times, lacks momentum, and instead chooses the laid back route. Its an album that is more likely to be enjoyed on a hot summer porch or perhaps driving cross state or country, than her previous albums.

Gillian Welch - "Look At Miss Ohio"

"Look At Miss Ohio" is the first song on the album. The instrumentation sits softly in the back while Welch's vocals are strongly sung, forming the driving force within the song. She is a beautiful painter, not so much with the words she chooses, but the tone and overall delivery. When the drums start in we still have the rest of the instruments plucking in and out from the background. The vocal break is allowed to exist for just the right length. When Welch's voice returns we really feel settled into the song, this lasts for another few verses, before she slips away again and the song plays out.

Gillian Welch - "No One Knows My Name"

Banjo and violin introduce this catchy song and sets up the melody. The lyrics speak from a more personal take, touching on family and the self. The banjo plucking and violin really stand out here (there's guitar in there as well), and fill in the gaps between the vocal parts masterfully. For an album entitled Soul Journey, this is a perfect song, with its introspective tone and mournful sound, all the way to its classic melody and structure.

Rawlings and Welch have collaborated again recently, but this time it is in support of Rawlings first solo release. The Dave Rawlings Machine is touring currently and worth looking into if they happen to be touring where you live (I'm not so lucky). It is becoming increasingly concerning that there has not been another Gillian Welch release following this album, we can only hope that this will come to pass and there will be a fifth album released in the near future. In the mean time I certainly recommend checking out her previous releases along with Soul Journey. You can find them all through her website, gillianwelch.com. This link is directly to her online store.

Regulator Watts - The Aesthetics of No-Drag

2010-05-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

Regulator Watts existed as a band for roughly two years, '96-'98, and called Washington D.C. their home. The Aesthetics of No-Drag (1997) was their first release by the three-piece group. Alex Dunham providing vocals and his unique guitar sound. Cret Wilson also provided vocals and handled the bass duties, while Areif Dasha Sless-Kitain was on drums. Dunham had appeared previously in Hoover, and later appeared in Abilene and Radio Flyer. Hoover has bared the brunt of comparisons with fellow D.C. band Fugazi, while Regulator Watts is decidedly the most stripped down straight up post-hardcore/post-punk sounding of the bands Dunham had fronted. I only came upon knowledge of this band in the past year or so through this solid post over at Hardcore for Nerds,
which i recommend for even more indepth review of the band's work.

Regulator Watts' sound has its share of discordant moments, but also enjoys heavy doses of steady riffs and repeated parts that allow the songs to develop enough character to individuate. You can still find places where things are broken down and the guitar is allowed to explore and dance between different volume levels and different riffs. The vocals are mixed a bit too far into the rest of the music, but this may have been purposely to attend more to the guitar and instrumentation itself. The drums sound good, the bass can get lost in the mix at times though.

Regulator Watts - "Mercurochrome"

Soaring feedback gives way to soaring guitar chords, creating Dunham's unique sound on guitar, there may be no better song he has written that exemplifies this. The vocals are called out under the soaring guitar, lyrics are audible but the vocals act as a director for the guitar, often initiating chord changes and overall direction. The bass stands out early on as well providing the steady undertones when the guitar runs up the ladder. The drums are consistent yet choppy, but roll into a more straightforward play at times along with the guitar and bass. You can feel the guitar ratcheting up and down at times. About two thirds through the song Dunham scales up to even higher levels, which is even more rewarding when he returns to the main guitar part. Things pick up towards the end of the song with a greater rush to the finish, particularly from the drums.

Regulator Watts - "The Ballad of St. Tinnitus"

Tinnitus being that ringing in your ear after seeing Motorhead without ear plugs in. You can see where this song goes after a few seconds of quite play from the guitar and drums. I love the way the guitar returns following a moment of silence. More forceful and louder. The vocals enter in as calls out in the distance. Here the guitar leads the changes and is followed by the bass and vocals. Chords are held on for what seems like forever and provide a warm and beautiful sound. Half-way through the drums move to muted high-hat hits and the guitar explores things at a more moderate level. A couple double snare hits signal a return to the predominant guitar parts. With forty odd seconds left things get forceful and turns to crashing play right up to the end note that is held and carried.

This album is unfortunately out of print and though you can occasionally find a few copies available through Amazon, they tend to be on the expensive side (think $35). Fortunately kissmysoundsystem has the whole album available for free mp3 download through mediafire.

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II

2010-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

The second Crystal Castles formal release, both releases simply going the self-titled route, so I'll make sure to denote that this is a review of the most recent version released this year (2010). The duo that forms Crystal Castles are founder Ethan Kahn (all instrumentation and production) and Alice Glass (vocals). Both from Ontario, Canada. They've toured quite extensively since there inception, and have quite a following growing. A polarizing band to say the least, but I think it has been played up a bit too much (but everything gets played up too much).They play a sort of caustic dance music roughened up by both Alice Glass' vocals and Kahns choice of sounds/samples. Though this album sees them exploring Glass' vocals quite a bit more and to the point softening it up at times giving it an almost Euro-dance quality. I'm still getting a good feel for this album but I definitely like a few standout songs alot and see some of the other songs growing on me.

Crystal Castles - "Celestica"

"Celestica" is a good example of the changes appearing on this album compared to the previous. I really liked the little blips appearing early on panned hard left in the mix. Next we are greeted by softer sung vocals from Glass, while the music builds toward an expansive dance beat and aural experience. Thankfully the beat is broken up a bit and allowing for a chorus that brings this back to being more song like in structure as opposed to dance anthem (which isn't my sort of thing per se and really good for dance clubs but not so much for live shows and regular listening). The song length (3:47) is another key to making it work within the album, nice and short without being too full of itself. The abrupt transition by the next song on the album which happens to be my second choice of songs presented here is spot on as well.

Crystal Castles - "Doe Deer"

The almost "horn section" sound that is chopped up to fit the drum beat blasts right off the top of this song. This is the stuff that really catches me. Its a short song (1:38) that revs things up. Glass' screeching vocals run through the post-production gambit and come out in position to powerfully carry the high-end over Kahn's ultra-fuzzed out low-end creations. Nuanced sounds creep in and out as the song progresses, both in regards to the instrumentation/sounds and in the vocals.

Crystal Castles II contains 14 songs within with only one reaching beyond the five minute mark so it avoids becoming too bogged down. Addmittingly my least favorite song is "Year of Silence" which samples a Sigur Rós song and I just find annoying (to be clear I generally like Sigur Rós). I think the fact that I can find songs like Doe Deer so enjoyable on the same album plays to band's polarization at times, but I think the ultimate end result is better for it even though it means a few clunkers.

Here's a link to their website, Crystal Castles Official Site. You can find a link to purchase the album in both cd and mp3 formats. The 'ole myspace page has a few more songs for listening pleasure as well.

Kaki King - Junior

2010-05-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've written about Kaki's previous album Dreaming of Revenge not that long ago. Junior was just released last month and Kaki has been on a supporting tour that I was lucky enough to catch at her stop here in Cleveland at the Beachland Ballroom last week. This was my first time seeing her live, and I came away impressed. After giving Junior a few listens through and considering its role in her live show I had just witnessed I have come to think of it as a nice complimentary piece in her portfolio of music, something that was definitely a pleasant part of her overall performance. She continues to move towards more of the pop-indie genre, adding more songs with vocal parts as opposed to her earlier works witch focused almost solely on guitar. Her live shows, I can imagine, have improved because of this. The ability to mix in a few of her newer and catchier songs with some of the those demonstrating her dazzling guitar mastery from her earlier albums (and still occasionally appear on the newer ones), have gone a long ways to broaden the experience of those in attendance at one of her shows. Having Jordan Perlson (drums) and Dan Brantigan (multiple instruments) on stage helped as well as their play was solid in support of her lead.

So now on to Junior, it follows the direction set by Dreaming of Revenge towards increasing the number of indie songs with vocals and reducing the number of guitar focused instrumentals. In the live format, this is a welcome exchange as I mention above it allows her to draw from a wider variety in picking songs to tour on. On this album it works well, but I have to say, you begin to miss the instrumentals to a degree. Now don't be mistaken in thinking that she went off writing stripped down simple songs, that is not the case, and even within the catchier of songs there are still elements of guitar play that peak into the immense-level of talent within her hands. What I see from this album is a potentially the stepping stone towards a break-out successful combination of her talent at playing the guitar and a developing songwriting skill that may espouse itself in her next album.

Kaki King - "Spit It Back in My Mouth"

I chose this song because the beautiful guitar in the beginning coupled with Kaki's soft voice is an example of what I hope to see develop as she continues her writing development in future albums. I encourage extra attention to these struck notes as the dexterity involved is quite impressive when seen in person, and can sometimes be taken for granted when only listening to a cd or LP. I also enjoyed the simplicity of the song structure, its parts aren't overly complicated, and allows the play to enrich the sound. The drumming here is basic, but does a wonderful job working mostly off of the high-hat, snare, and kick drum, with a focus on the high-hat playing speeding the beat up. Dan Brantigan's contributions on whatever that weird instrument he plays help to form the chorus parts and bring a dance element (along with some of the lyrics) to the song as well.

Junior is available through the record label Rounder Records for about $12 in cd form and $10 for the MP3s. She is also still currently touring in support of this album and those dates can be found here at her website's tour page.

Pinback - Arrive Having Eaten EP

2010-04-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

San Diego, California's Pinback have been known to offer special tour released EPs over their career. Arrive Having Eaten was one of these EPs and it happened to be released during a 2003 tour. Pinback started out back in 1998 as a collaborative effort Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow. I've mentioned Smith before in a previous post on another of his bands, Three Mile Pilot. Pinback had released their second full length album, Blue Screen Life in 2001 and one of the songs, "Seville", appears on this album in a slightly different version. "Anti-Hu" (a fan favorite over the years) appears here as well in a variation from the original which appeared as a B-side on the 2001 CD single, Penelope. There are only four songs on Arrive Having Eaten, but I would support all four being good and certainly something Pinback fans should check out. Those not familiar can expect indie rock with a unique bass sound and very smooth vocals, the duo simply play well off of each both instrumentally and vocally.

Pinback - "Hohum"

Sometimes it can be a little difficult picking out the guitar from bass on certain songs as Smith's playing although unique in regards to the sound he pulls from his bass guitar, is all over the fret board map at times. "Hohum" starts out with what sounds like both guitar and bass playing through each other as both Crow and Smith do wonderfully, and some simple drums setting a moderate beat. High-hat is opened during the vocal parts adding emphasis initially. Catch that little piano/keyboard break at about 0:43 in the song? Its a nice little preview for a return around the 1:37 mark were it acts to bring some charisma on top of a rolling guitar and drum part. The song is increasingly catchy at this point as the following lyrics are sung:

you forget I'm awake
I forget I'm awake
you forget I'm awake
I forget I'm awake

There is a break away from the drums that occurs before the final portion of the song. My favorite moment on the whole EP (though the intro to "Seville" is close second) is this little ending piece, both for the lyrics, "I want to breathe in blue", and the songwriting. It emotes elements of a rough seriousness yet also a softened exasperation.

You can find all of Pinback's available releases at their website and website store. I was lucky enough to catch them playing here in Cleveland about a year and half ago and I have to say their shows do not disappoint. They have a west coast tour planned for July, you can see the dates listed here at their myspace page.

Infest - No Man's Slave

2010-04-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

No Man's Slave's recording spanned roughly five years before completion in 2000. This was because the instrument parts (drums and guitar) were completed in the Summer of '95, while the lead and back-up vocals weren't done until 2000 as the band had disbanded in '96. So this release was done posthumousness (like Tu-Pac!) and actually not fully available until 2002. Infest is, or at least should be, one of the most well known American hardcore bands. Their sound fits into the power-violence grand scheme of things (faster than fast music and hoarse vocals). Their lyrics are fairly straight forward, socio-politcal though often through a personal viewpoint. The recording on this album can be perceived as their cleanest though it is rough enough and fitting of the band's sound. Song lengths average under one minute per song, so you can get an idea of the pure thrash fury in short bursts. One of my favorite hardcore bands.

Infest - "Behind This Tongue"

Hey a Infest song that starts out relatively slow!. "Push me, test me, Bring out the best in me". These lyrics still have meaning to me to this day, even in their simplicity. Reframing opposition as simply a building block for the self through converting it into motivation.

Infest - "Terminal Nation"

And here's a relatively long Infest song (1:31). The principal thrash onslaught gives way to a rare instance of a slower, groovier riff, and of course the song swings back and closes at full speed.

Infest - "Contact"

I love the drum roll - vocal paring here, which flies in between open guitar chords and lots of high-hat and crash playing on the percussive end.

This 19 song album is only released on vinyl (12") as far as I know. You can purchase it over at Deep Six Records, for $10 in the U.S., a bit more for outside of the U.S. The "link within" widget down below should have a fun time pairing this up. I'd say check out my posts on Born Against, Man Afraid,, and to a lesser extent Assault, if you are into this stuff.

My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything

2010-04-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was in Bela Dubby, which is a coffee shop type place here in Lakewood, the other day and this album was playing on their small stereo and found myself really honing in on each song. Between this album and their second album Loveless (1991), I had always leaned toward Loveless as my favorite. It took the shoegazing super distorted guitar sound up ten notches and really just stood out in my music collection because of it. But something really kicked in that day in Bela Dubby, as I heard these songs again for the first time in a long time. I'm finally giving this album a second thorough exploration these past few days.

My Bloody Valentine formed in Dublin, Ireland in the early 1980s, but during their long career only released two full length studio albums, amongst a number of EPs and singles. The band was composed of founding members Kevin Shields (guitar/vocals) and Colin Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums), along with Bilinda Butcher (guitar/vocals) and Debbie Googe (bass). Their sound on Isn't Anything (1988) was, as I mentioned above, less about distorted guitar and more traditional alternative/indie in sound, though a fair level of distortion and sound experimentation existed. The song structures tend to be simple, though variety exists thanks in part to the experimentation in sounds and occasional lead vocal switches between songs.

My Bloody Valentine - "Lose My Breath"

"Lose My Breath" gives example of a Bilinda Butcher led song. The pace is a wonderfully methodically slow plod during the sung lyrics. The breaks formed during the softly sung chorus part act as beautiful clearings amongst the darker portions surrounding. The percussion moves to a tom roll that though lost somewhat in the mix is really the difference maker in the pacing/tempo of the song. This is also an example of the simplicity of song structures that fit into the more introverted dazed feel of the shoegazing genre.

My Bloody Valentine - "[When You Wake] You're Still in A Dream"

Kevin Shields takes the lead on this catchy guitar and vocal driven song. The backing vocals soothe as they are sung behind Shields' smooth lead vocal delivery. They act similarly to the softly sung breaks in "Lose My Breath" as a juxtapose to the rough guitar driven instrumental parts of the song. Once again song structure is simple yet effective as the song length is relatively short.

The fifth song on the album, "No More Sorry", is a departure in structure and make-up from the remainder of the album's songs and appears to omit any percussive beat choosing to be more string instrument based. "All I Need" provides a peak into the type of guitar distortion and sound that would evolve into Loveless. "Sueisfine" is one of the more straight up catchier songs within, while "Nothing Much To Lose" stands out with it's extended drum rolls appearing around the song's mainline parts and could be judged as good as anything else on the album.

My Bloody Valentine myspace page, album available in the U.K., and in the U.S..

Polvo - In Prism

2010-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Friends Dave Brylawski (vocalist/guitarist) and Steve Popson (bassist) worked during the late 1980s in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to form what would later become of the more important 90's indie rock band's, Polvo. The band released four full length albums between '92 and '97 along with numerous singles and EPs, before disbanding in '98. It was a pleasant surprise that they reformed in the past year and released this album, In Prism, along with an upcoming European tour, which you can read more about at their myspace page.The music is influenced with Eastern and Middle-Eastern musical tints which appear at times in the percussion and guitar. The vocals are sung, while lyrically it can be out there at times. The recording is clean yet the low end packs a punch (see the third song, Beggar's Bowl, for an example). Musically, they fall into the post-punk/progressive rock arena, with a stronger leaning toward the prog-rock end of things on this album, but mostly avoiding the self-indulgence that sometimes plagues the genre. Though the song lengths aren't overly too long, they typically rest around the five and half mark with a couple songs reaching into the eight minute territory.

Polvo - "Right The Relation"

Single guitar layer is followed by second guitar, drums, and bass. Math-rock elements are evident in the writing here, but not overly disjointed or harsh. In fact the guitar parts, broken when they are, work extremely well to accent and add perfect little hooks over the rhythm. The vocals took me a little time to warm up to, but now I think they fit extremely well with the music, sung toward the higher end of things, clear yet powerful. There's a guitar led solo about half-way through the song that doesn't last all that long, before the main instrumental line returns with vocals. The second half of the song mirrors the first mostly, though it ends in a bit of a big finish fashion.

Polvo - "Lucia"

"Lucia" starts off softly, with reverbed guitars, light cymbal taps, and calming vocals. This lasts almost two minutes, before snare hits signal a crashing of drums and guitar, which briefly recedes only to return with the main line and chorus and wonderfully catchy guitar parts that play off of each other and end in cymbal accented crashing closure each time. The Eastern sounding hand played drums lead into an interesting middle portion of the song, that includes multiple instruments (sounds like violin/viola, maybe a sitar as well). Because of this interlude, the return of the chorus is even stronger, and those catchy guitar parts pack even more of a punch this time. The last forty seconds of the song returns to the softness of the beginning, trading in reverb for a clean guitar sound.

When Polvo decided to reunite for this album they also decided to do it on their first label (well in regards to LP releases), Merge Records. They are selling the cd and the flac and mp3 files for download through the Polvo site there. Its always interesting to see how well a band does after years of being apart, and away from each other. Its good to see that Polvo still has a knack for songwriting and avoiding staleness in their sound.

Young Adults - 2010 Demo

2010-03-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Just heard of this band through Aversionline. You can click on the link to read the review that sparked my interest in the band. The band is a three piece from Allston, Massachusetts. They are currently unsigned per their myspace page, but I'm not sure how long that will last. The recording is what you would expect from a demo, but there are elements of this sound that works well with the music. The instruments tend to blend, and reverb flows throughout, but particularly with the guitar the sound is just right. The drums are flat, as you can imagine, but other bands have been driven to maintain this type of lo-fi sound (hello Times New Viking), so it works in that regard. I would imagine they bring more depth to the drums on future recordings once the money starts flowing in. I like the vocals, distant as they sound, almost as a separate instrument complimenting the groovy guitar and solid writing. Reminds me of an old H2O 7" I had back in the day for some reason.

Young Adults - "Annulation"

A few open notes leads into the core rhythm of the song. Catchy right off the bat. The guitar takes the lead on this song, partly a result of the recording, but (hopefully) partly by design, as it creates the aural experience that is immediately satisfying. This is not to discount the vocals, but they rather serve the purpose of supporting and filling in well juxtapose to the guitar.

Young Adults - "Impression"

The oddest guitar intro on the demo, but when the next guitar part takes it up a notch (on the scale that is) it works. The pace is slower than on any other song, allowing for a more "rocked out" feel and clearer vocals due to less reverbed sound created by open guitar play. This also allows the drums to make their way into the feel a bit, as the beat is more pronounced, whereas the previous song was built more on the rhythm of the guitar.

You can check out more of their songs on their myspace page linked above, and they are also posting all of their demo songs for free download as well. If you want a cd I believe you can contact them through their myspace page and they will send you a copy for $4. The demo is 5 songs in total.

Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence

2010-03-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

I somehow missed that the third Kings of Convenience album (excluding the remix album Versus) had been released last October (2009). I am a very big fan of their first two albums, Quite Is the New Loud (2001) and Riot on an Empty Street (2004). As you can see, its been quite some time for this third album to be released. The Bergen, Norwegian group is made up of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe. Øye, has been quite active in a number of other projects (a solo album entitled Unrest, part of The Whitest Boy Alive). Eirik Glambek Bøe, I believe, had been focusing on school at one time which also accounted for some of time off. In any case it has been long overdue, so I was quite elated when I discovered this release.

Both Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe sing and play guitar in the group. At times they have included other musicians often bringing in other stringed instruments, rarely any percussive instruments, though it is noted on this album that Eirik will often tap at his guitar creating a percussive beat in certain songs. After my initial listening, I came away thinking that they had moved their focus toward the vocal end of things. I still think this as I have re-listened to the cd, though some of the guitar and viola nuances have shown through. I think this album will serve to compliment their previous two quite well. My personal bias is towards the more instrumental end of things. The part of their music that really captured me was their interwoven guitar playing that had been a hallmark of their first two albums (particularly the first). But, to ignore the beautiful harmonization of their voices would be criminal as well. While I sit here listening to the music on this album and writing this review, I hesitate to draw further conclusions about this album. I can tell it is already revealing much more than I first grasped. What can be taken away from this, is perhaps this album in its ever so Kings of Convenience softness and subtlety, is layered and holds its greatest offering underneath its surface.

Kings of Convenience - "Mrs. Cold"

Erland on nylon strings and Eirik on steel strings. Eirik's picking style provides a percussive feel that helps build a beat for the song. While Erland is free to come in and out with some very beautiful playing that brings alot of character to the song. This song also features Davide Bertolini on upright bass and Tobias Helt on viola. The vocals are often composed of Eirik singing lead and Erland joining in on chorus and occasional trade offs. There is a little bit more liveliness at times in the vocals in this song than is typical for duo, which fits in well with the lyrical concept of the song.

Kings of Convenience - "Riot On An Empty Street"

Here we see a change in the vocal pattern. Eirik, often the lower sounding of the two, switches with Erland and takes the high end. This is simply a beautifully written song, I think my favorite on the album because of the emotion evoked by the mainline guitar hook. It feels like a sad song, but of a kinetic sort, without conclusion, which can be a bit haunting if not for the fact that it is so warming at the same time. The lyrics do a wonderful job of painting imagery, and are sung in doses, two lines at a time, broken by guitar interludes. The piano and vocalized humming accompanying the closing portion of the song is wonderfully done and the seconds of silence that separate this song and next (whether intentional or not) are perfectly placed.

You can find this album available for mp3 download through iTunes and on cd at Amazon.com for relatively good prices (~$11.00). The group is venturing out on a tour of Eastern North America beginning in June, 2010. Details and cities that they will hit on this tour can be found at their website.

Weeping In Fits And Starts - This Wreck Is Goin' Down

2010-03-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

I recently read about Weeping in Fits and Starts for the first time at Tiny Idols, a very well written and interesting blog about obscure and out of print material from roughly the past fifteen years. This has really been growing on me after a few listens. I wasn't able to find an image of the cover of this album, so this fuzzy band photo to the left will have to do. The band is a little difficult to pigeon hole in regards to their sound. Certainly within the broad label of indie rock, but to their credit it gets more difficult beyond that. Built on rich vocals, acoustic guitar, clean electric guitar and bass, varied percussion, banjo, and more. The band leader was Greg Jacobs, who wrote all of the music expect for "Riding Green Riding Bike". The songs were written in the early 90s and the recorded around '93-'94 in Boston, MA. The songs on this album, the band's first (they released a second before calling it quits), benefit from good writing, an inherent skill at harmonizing voice and guitar, and a good use of backing/layering of vocals. There's an "Irish folk" element that can be found here and there, as well as general swaying and warm fullness felt, particularly towards the end of the album.

Weeping In Fits And Starts - "How Can I Get Half"

Following the title track instrumental "This Wreck Is Goin' Down", "How Can I Get Half" starts out with two sets of vocals, one up front in the mix, the other set in the back. The songs demonstrates some of the better use of layering the vocals to emphasize the chorus at times, and separating them to provide background and foreground. The drumming also plays strongly in this song, changing up the beat and tempo often. Added guitar about half-way through helps to build and accent the acoustic guitar. The tempo is slowed at times, led by the vocals, which really drive the song.

Weeping In Starts And Fits - "Greater Sorrows Will Prevail"

The recording on this song is mixed a little more evenly, the guitar stands more prominently here than in "How Can I Get Half", a fuller warmer sound. A mid-paced beginning turns it up a tick briefly before layers of guitar and other instruments fill the middle portion of the song thickly and almost evoking sadness. The real winning part of the song is the final chorus "I got my feet wet and it's something I can't control..." sung over up-tempo drumming and great feeling and emotion created by the open play on guitar and later the vocals as it trails off.

I found a few copies of this album (and where I purchased it) at Amazon, reasonably priced (~$3.00). As I mentioned above, at first listen, I wasn't really caught all that much by the songs. It took a couple listens and now I'm listening it consistently, and am going to look to pick up their other album Blue Funnel World (1998). The music can be sad, introspective, upbeat, and especially warm.

Rites Of Spring - End on End

2010-03-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Rites of Spring remain one of my favorite mid-80's punk bands. The band's only full length release, End on End, was released on LP in 1985 and two years later on CD. They have since been both remastered in 2001 (CD) and 2009 (LP), all on Dischord Records. For those unfamiliar with the band, Rites of Spring were an emotionally charged band that stood in response the negative "macho" attitude current that was prevalent within the punk scene and genre. They carved their niche, and should be applauded for this, as the underlying life blood of punk or hardcore punk is the defiance and challenging of accepted rule, whether that be societal or within the genre itself. I have long felt that Guy Picciotto's singing on this album was as an impassioned voice as I have ever heard. Never having a chance to see them live, I can only imagine how a stage performance must have felt for those lucky enough to be in attendance. Picciotto and fellow band-mate Brendan Canty (drums) went on to form Fugazi, and are probably more well known for there efforts there. Its guitarist Eddy Janney that nears Picciotto in standing out on this album, as his writing and playing on the guitar brings character to the songs on the instrumental side. Canty handles the pace and fills well, while Micheal Fellows supports on bass, though he sometimes is lost in the album's mix. The recording at times is a bit thin (see bass and guitar), and the drums could use a better recording specifically, but none of this takes away from the auditory experience that much.

Rites Of Spring - "For Want Of"

Feedback flows into the full band, led by Guy's vocal "I...". Active guitar chords run over the steady drum beat. With every "I" sung by Guy he seems to exhale more and more, building steam into the chorus. The instrumental parts of the song are pretty straightforward. They roll into a guitar led interlude (my favorite moment of the song) that pulls away momentarily as the vocals return, then together returns to the main guitar part. This cycle is repeated again through the rest song, but the emotion in the final vocal parts is almost overflowing, intensified by the guitar and drumming.

Rites Of Spring - "Nudes"

Towards the end of the album the songs are a bit more diversified musically. "Nudes" opens right up with powerful vocals. In fact, the vocals are possibly stronger and more forcefully sung on this song than any other on the album. The music is tightly played with the vocals, and accents the lyrics well. Its as if the music is pounding the words into your ears, well in a good way that is. Everything just works together in a collective effort to emphasize. Emphasize the sung word, the played chord, the emotion felt by the listener, emphasizing it all.

Other stand out songs on this album include "Persistent Vision", "Spring", "Deeper Than Inside", "End on End" and pretty much every song towards the end of the album. There's alot of strong material here that not only brings me back to listen repeatedly, but basically for the whole album. You can check out samples of each song at the Dischord website for Rites Of Spring. You can purchase the LP, CD, or mp3 there as well. The 12" LP comes with free mp3 downloads which is very cool thing that labels are doing more and more.

I can't really put into words the emotions resonated by some of these songs, and I wonder if sometimes if it's just something about me (or the me from years ago) that finds their music so evoking and holding. I often think appraisal of artistic mediums has as much to do about the appraiser as the appraised. I find myself identifying with certain characters or roles in some of my favorite movies, finding out that this is what really draws me to falling in love with a certain film or song, its perceiving these emotions that are familiar or, maybe in a way more applicable to this album, "strike a familiar chord" within me. I think there's a rush when we believe someone else "feels" the same way as we do. Our language caps our ability to communicate, we are limited by our words. We can't describe emotional experiences accurately through words, so when that feeling that someone else is experiencing a similar emotion (sometimes we believe it to be the same) occurs we perk up as if we just successfully remembered that tip-of-the-tongue word that escaped us momentarily, and connection and understanding is made between us. So I don't know if this album will evoke you the way it does me, I am not sure I can objectively review or critique it, though I am also not sure how one does that anyways.

José González - In Our Nature

2010-03-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

Four years following his debut full-length album, Veneer (2003), José González's second full-length recording In Our Nature (2007) came out. The Swedish guitar and vocalist of Argentinian decent performs with Erik Bodin on percussion and Yukimi Nagamo providing backing vocals. Mostly you are getting pretty straight forward guitar and vocal music, with some layering of vocals, minimal percussion, and some synth work as well. González is still an active member of the band Junip, and reportedly a new album by the band will be out soon. His solo work might be his best output though, as it allows for his amazing guitar writing to shine through, mostly because it carriers the burden of being the primary instrument played on most of his work. One of the best songs on this album happens to be a cover. Massive Attack's "Teardrop", as done by González, carriers more outward emotion than any other song on a moody, introverted album, and is beautifully done. It is the only cover on the album, which is good, as González's own songwriting is strong enough that he does not need to rely on using covers to fill out his solo works, but it is a tastefully done cover nonetheless.

José González - "How Low"

The first song on the album. One of the best songs with regard to his guitar playing. The guitar picking/plucking is used to create an offbeat rhythm that I don't find typical of solo work or folk or what have you, almost math rock-like in a way. González's singing comes across as quite unique for me, maybe its his Latin American roots, it seems to give a distinct ring to his voice. The level and inflection of his voice is perfectly matched with the guitar tone. About two minutes into the song, the vocals cease and an enjoyable guitar led solo steers its way over the guitar rhythm quietly closing the song.

José González - "In Our Nature"

This title track, "In Our Nature", starts out with a bouncy guitar and percussion beat. Another defining characteristic in this album, and Gonzalez's work in general, is the lyrical content. Easily he could have written two albums worth of love longing or relationship based material. That would have been more typical of similarly sounding musicians in this genre, but instead his focus is often more toward social aim, and social change more specifically.

Put down your sword.
Send home your dogs.
Open up your doors.
Let down your guard.

It's in our nature.
It's in our nature.
It's in our nature.
It's in our nature.

Put down your gun.
Ignore the alarm.
Open up your heart.
Let down your guard.

Once again the tone of the music fits the lyrics and vocals perfectly, and vice-versa. The song builds up briefly towards the end, following the spoken "Its in our nature" line mixed in the back of the track, which moves on to the final chorus, and as quickly as the song rises it turns quietly to an end.

The artwork for this album and his previous release Veneer, is done by Elias Araya. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find much out there about Araya, or his works, though a Google image search turns up a few interesting works. Back in regards to González, it looks like it may be another four years between albums, which is too bad, but a new Junip album would do much to help pass the time. I read an interview of González, where it was noted that he played in a hardcore band when he was younger, and he identified Sick of it All as one of his favorite bands at that time, musically there isn't much influence here, but one wonders if the political/social aspect of that type of music had an influence on him. Here's a link to his U.S./North America online store, and there are links to other online stores through his website, if you are interested in that merch stuff and cds.

Reagan Youth - A Collection of Pop Classics

2010-03-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here's an oldie that has been playing regularly on my iTunes as of late. I'll come right out and make sure anyone not familiar with Reagan Youth recognize that the cover art is an ironic representation of the band as they were a vehemently anti-racist punk band circa 1980s. In fact, the band's lead singer Dave Rubinstein's parents were Holocaust survivors. This is a combination of the band's only two albums and was released in 1994. The first ten songs are from the first album, while the remaining twelve songs are from the second. There is a clear distinction between the two album musical styles and the combination of the two on this one album is interesting to say the least (not unlike comparing the last few songs on the Minor Threat discography to the earlier tracks). The rocked out, heavily guitar layered second half of this release is what I think brings me back repeatedly. This is not to say that the band's earlier and likely more popular songs from the first half are lacking, they are strong early east-coast hardcore punk songs, that lyrically delve straight into the political and particularly anti-rascism anthems, but I find the depth of the latter songs providing a greater listening mosaic.

Reagan Youth - "I Hate Hate"

An example of the band's earlier songwriting and one of their tighter played songs. The drumming is on a constant tear to the finish, filled with snare rolls, a bit sloppily played if only to fit the style of the music. The guitar that pours in toward the end of the song is nice added layer, giving a typical straightforward punk song a little something extra to help it stand out. For those following along, the next song on the album, "Degenerated", was the song that Chaz Darvey (Brendan Fraser) and his band play at the end of the movie Airheads.

Reagan Youth - "A Brave New World"

This track appears toward the end of the album and represents the later recordings of the band. Right from the start you can hear the difference in songwriting between the first album release "I Hate Hate" and this song. Heck its over a minute before the vocals kick in. The drumming here is still strong, but slowed down a bit while doing a fine job of accenting and rolling. The guitar layers add to the theme of the song, kind of a desolate wasteland.

I see a perfect alpha-plus
I see an epsilon-minus
Everybody in their place
I take a soma holiday
To be born without face
Problems conveniently erased
And the matter of sex and erotic play
I take a soma holiday
Is this utopia, the dream of mankind?
Livin' your life on a factory line
Is this utopia, dream of mankind?
Livin' your life from nine to five

The written lyrics have developed since the earlier work too, taking a darker view of society degenerating. The vocals, similarly to the guitar, seem to fit the mood and theme of this song perfectly, all the way through the last few lines decrying that it is better to end then to mend.

I found some information about the band at the New Red Archives (record label that released this album) website, and the bands releases, including this one at the labels online catalog here.

Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus

2010-02-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

With Pavement reformed and touring this year, I thought of posting on my favorite Stephen Malkmus solo release (well working with The Jicks that is). This is the 2001 self-titled debut with The Jicks as his backing band, released on Matador Records in both LP and CD form. Pure indie rock in presentation, the group created enough variety within its songwriting avoiding any boredom that might typically arise from trying to write an album's worth of rock songs. There's also an edge to the music, not readily apparent from initial exposure perhaps, but its there. I mean the music is generally on the lighter, catchy, side of things, both in sound and in lyrical approach. But, most notably in some of the guitar parts and segments, you get that dirty, groovy, feel that keeps the band from falling to far toward the "popy" end of things. I find myself content after re-listening to this album. Each song has enough personality giving it character, they don't blend together, rather stand out individually well. For this type of music, being able to do that, I would say is a songwriting strength .

Stephen Malkmus - "JoJo's Jacket"

Okay, this one gets points in the book of point totals that I keep right off the bat because it opens with a clip featuring the actor Yul Brynner and goes on to reference Brynner, the movie The King and I (1956) and particularly his role in Westworld (1973), which is pretty obscure, considering it was a movie where Brynner played a robotic cowboy in a future amusement park, where he ends up killing the vacationing patrons after his programming goes haywire. So anyways, back to the song. The piano intro exemplifies the band's use of different instruments in limited manner to spice up and compliment each song, which also adds to that ability to personalize the songs. Malkmus' vocals carry the load initially, supported by the guitar and drums. Singing through the chorus accents the guitar rhythm, while the drumming does a fine job of accenting at all the expected spots as well. Malkmus covers some ground vocally throughout the song, and creates plenty of good vibes in doing so. The guitar playing is a hidden little gem in this song, be sure to pay attention to it upon repeated listening. The build-up at the end of the song steers toward a big finish, that presents as the perfect juxtapose to the slower more somber intro of the next song "Church On White".

Stephen Malkmus - "Deado"

Straight into it off the top. Its not long before the soft chorus is being sung, one of the most comforting and pulling moments on the the whole album. The lyrics for the chorus are as follow:

Jen, you took me far into a long line.
Divine divine divine divine
Jen, you took me far into a long line.

Acoustic guitar, keyboard/synth and and vocals compose the bulk of the mainline of the song. Electric guitar and additional quirky sounds and vocal parts are added in as well. The electric guitar and keyboard/synth support the soft chorus and add an almost dark driving through the middle of nowhere feel. The song is short, only two versus, a guitar driven bridge/part, and a final return to the chorus. After a brief silence, an organ sound and acoustic guitar play off the rest of the record.

You can find information about Malkmus and The Jicks at there website stephenmalkmus.com. There's alot of information and updated news about the band at the Matador Records, and you can purchase this album from their online store.

Three Mile Pilot - Chief Assassin To The Sinister

2010-02-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

Three Mile Pilot is an indie rock band from San Deigo, California with the principal members being Armistead Burwell Smith IV (aka Zach Smith from Pinback) and Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession), with Tom Zinser on drums. Because of the success of their other bands, Three Mile Pilot has rarely played out much, much less recorded much since 1999, although they have released a couple songs on a 7" this past year and have supposedly finished a new album to be released sometime this year. Chief Assassin To The Sinister was originally released on Cargo/Headhunter Records in 2004, then re-released in Three Mile Pilot's short major label stint on Geffen in 2005 with the inclusion of one more song entitled "Inner Bishop" (which I have not heard yet, but have read is very good). This review is of the 2004 release on Cargo/Headhunter Records.

Three Mile Pilot - "Shang Vs. Hanger"

Three Mile Pilot have been known to incorporate diverse instrumentation in support of the primary instruments of the band (guitar, drums, bass). Here we hear bagpipes along with a beat consisting of bass plucks and soft guitar. Drums start building with vocals and bagpipes...untill Smith's distinct bass play leads into the chorus. It's Smith's bass work and Jenkins' strained vocals that really attracts me to Three Mile Pilot's sound. I also believe the songwriting is fairly strong and though exploratory in regards to sounds, does not stray from good builds, chorus, and overall composition. "Shang Vs. Hanger" breaks down into two almost symmetrical halves, with a lull in the middle, not uncommon within other songs they have written. This is as good of a song Three Mile Pilot has ever written. Here's a video of a live performance of this song at Touch & Go Records 25th Anniversary Festival.

Three Mile Pilot - "97-Mt"

Here we hear Smith on bass again, building up with the vocals right into one of the faster and more energetic songs on the album. Smith's constant slapping/playing heads straight into the eire soaring guitar solo by Jenkins, and distant vocal calls are heard out over a steady drum quarter-beats. There is calm before a returning to the soaring guitar and bass building again, back into cohesive playing, together like a gathering storm, before relenting into spoken word over bass and drums.

Chief Assassin Of The Sinister, being the band's second release and containing numerous good songs, remains my favorite of their albums. There's something very distinct and belonging to Three Mile Pilot that although I can listen to, enjoy and understand how one would choose either of the the band member's other bands (Pinback, The Black Heart Procession) as better bands or by personal taste, simply like either band more, I find myself returning to this band over and over again. The styles of all three of these bands are quite different, each with their own enthralling characteristics. I think there's an urgency within their sound that doesn't particularly show through regularly in either of the other bands. I'll point "Shang Vs. Hanger" as an example of this, both in the vocals and in the instrumental sound. Also, I just simply enjoy the sound Smith creates on bass.

Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge

2010-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

I'm jumping into reviewing this album a bit prematurely as I just heard of Kaki King recently, from my father actually, who had seen her play at the House of Blues (eh) in Cleveland this past year. Did some reading up on her and saw that this album is a moderate departure for her in that she branched out toward more electric guitar, less solo based songs, and perhaps a indie/pop leaning. The Atlanta born singer/guitarist has been releasing material since at least 2003, and has appeared with the Foo Fighters and Tegan and Sarah in the past. Dreaming of Revenge was released in 2008 on Velour. She has put out a five song EP entitled Mexican Teenagers since then and has a full length due to be ready in April of this year called Junior. Her guitar picking immediately stands out in the first song on the album, "Bone Chaos In The Castle", along with her use of the guitar as percussion through occasional slap beats. Her play on on the frets is also intriguing as it includes similar tapping and slapping at times. Here's a video for "Playing with Pink Noise" , from the album Legs To Make Us Longer (2004) that demonstrates her musicianship on the guitar fairly well. On Dreaming of Revenge she uses both acoustic and electric guitar. There are a good number of instrumentals tucked within, but a fair balance of songs with vocals too.

Kaki King - "Pull Me Out Alive"

Probably the most indie/pop song on the album, also features less intricate guitar playing, but with a close listen there's still some interesting guitar picking going on there, and the song is simply well written for what it's going for. The intro seems a little forced, but once the snare drum starts up and the vocals are blended I think it starts working. The chorus features King's soft voice stretched out over the rest of the music. A return to the vocals and drum beat before the second and more powerful chorus, then turning to guitar leading rhythm that switches from one part to the next. You can check out the music video for the song here.

Kaki King - "Air and Kilometers"

I'd be amiss if I didn't include a song that showcases some of her wonderful guitar playing. "Air and Kilometers" showcases the range her abilities extend like stars stretched out across an evening sky. Starting off with some picking and chords that jump out and back, only moderately played, then following a short trail off, returns with more intensity and layers are built with stringed instruments and numerous guitar tracks. The second half of the song includes some echoed/reverb chords surrounding soft steady guitar picks. There many facets to this song that I find myself enjoying upon multiple listens, all the way up to the single guitar play at the end of the song.

There are some emotionally evocative instrumental songs towards the end of the album such as "Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person?", and its a compliment to Kaki King for being able to elicit these types of emotional responses without the use of vocals in this particular song. There's a few moments of "sing-song" in the final track 2 O'Clock that is more endearing than I would have expected, it also helps that it is followed by some more fine guitar playing, this time at a faster pace.

Devo - Hardcore Devo Vol.2

2010-02-08T22:08:00.000-08:00

Following my previous post on Devo's Hardcore Devo Vol.1, a collection of Devo demos released in compilation form, this is the second volume. It contains more songs than the first and runs longer overall. Vol. 2 came out in 1991 and is currently out of print. In my review of the first volume I noted that Devo fans of their first few albums wouldn't have trouble digesting the demos because although stripped down and weirder sounding, they were still quintessentially Devo at the roots. The second volume takes the band's early musical experimentation much further. Unlike the first volume, I don't think any of the demos on this album ever develop and reappear on later albums. Amongst the experimental exploits found within, are some truly straight up Devo rock songs, with relatively normal song structures and writing. "A Plan For U" is a good example of this.

Devo - "A Plan For U"

The guitar flies around a bit looser than you'd typically expect from a Devo song, and you can hear the rock influence while the bass and percussion keep one tempo and beat through the entirety of the song. Vocals singing short lyrical lines, nothing earth-shattering. This is an example of how well the band can yam up the rock sound when they feel like it despite their penchant for pushing and experimenting with sounds.

There's songs like "Fountain of Filth" that with a few touch ups, would fit right in on their third album the 1980 released Freedom of Choice, and considering that most of these songs were written around '74-76, its easy to see why the stuff on these albums is so good, its all right around the band's peak years. "U Got Me Bugged" appeared on old video (dvd?) I saw awhile back, its got to be one of the weirdest, yet awesome songs within.

Devo - "Be Stiff"

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better/harder beat in any Devo song. Another lyrically sexualized song with a steady rhythm and percussive beat. Vocals and synth accent the bass kick drum beat. Guitar is mixed way in the back unfortunately, but isn't really the lead instrument on the song anyways.

There's even a cover of Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coalmine". The instrumental songs within range from atmospheric synth creations to warped up robotic voices with little melody. These types of songs tend to be fewer in number with the majority of songs feeling like true song in the traditional sense, just stripped down. The last song "Let's Go" is a goofy triumphant cheer that in its mocking of anthems closes this collection of oddities nicely. As I mentioned previously, this and the first volume of Hardcore Devo are out of print. At the time of writing this I was able to find a few copies here at Amazon and this site claims to have both albums for download (free?).

Devo - Hardcore Devo Vol. 1

2010-02-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

Hardcore Devo Vol.1 and Hardcore Devo Vol.2, are a collection of the early demo's and basically about everything the group had developed prior to their first official release, the Brian Eno produced Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo (1978). Obviously a fairly well known band, Devo's first few albums being primarily considered their best works. These two volumes of their earlier work should be well received by most of these fans. Though "weirder" and even more stripped down than their first couple full length albums, but lets face it, it's Devo. Weird and stripped down isn't going to chase away most that find Q:Are We Not Men?... and Duty Now for the Future a good listen. Vol. 1 contains some early versions of songs that turned up on the aforementioned albums. Songs such as "Jocko Homo", "Soo Bawls", and "Mongoloid" to name a few. The lineup at this time saw the Akron, OH band-members at their most numerous, with Mothersbaughs all over the place to say the least.

Devo - "Mechanical Man"

First song on the album, starts off with a minute of zooming sounds fading in and then out, not unlike one of those police cruisers doing a fly by from the movie Blade Runner. Robotic "mechanical man" voicing over simple guitar and keyboard/synths, but very catchy. Use of hard stereo panning, guitar to the left and keyboard/synth to the right.

Devo - "Auto Modown/Space Girl Blues"

"Auto Modown" begins with solid guitar, high-hat and bass drum, bass guitar rolls in and is given the freedom in the song to play around a bit, including some nice playing off each other between it and the guitar. Also throwing out some love to good ole' Youngstown, OH. "Space Girl Blues" kicks in about halfway through, and Mothersbaugh's distinct voice waxes on about those hard to get and rejecting space girls. Always slightly sexual, the Devo lyrics in these early works certainly reflect the same.

These early songs have really grown on me to the point that they're my first choice when going to listen to some Devo at this point. I found a few copies still available at Amazon.com. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as anyone's first exposure to Devo, but these 4-track recorded demos are nice little diamonds in the rough for Devo fans.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum

2010-02-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

Fitting cover art for what can be described as trippy folk electonrica. Dandelion Gum was released in 2007, Black Moth Super Rainbow's third full album at the time with a couple of EPs as well. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania band combine drums, bass/guitar, analog electric instruments, vocoder vocals to create their niche sound. Their music is full of beautiful melodies, both soft and exploratory. The songs are relatively short in length, usually under three minutes, but number 17 total on the album. I've seen them perform once here in Cleveland last year, and their live show is pretty good, due in part to the use of video and creation of a fitting aural atmosphere through the lighting. In fact, Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric, did this funny little intro video before the band came on (well following the Juggalo intro that is), so apparently he's a fan. As an album Dandelion Gum packs plenty of good songs within, though maybe a few too many songs in total. The run length is about 46 minutes, so nothing above what an average recording length tends to be.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Melt Me"

This is the song that introduced me to Black Moth Super Rainbow, as I first heard it on last.fm, and had it really catch my attention. The bass and percussion set a perfect groove, with vocoder riding above it. Eerie electronic screeches lead into synth/keyboards that build on the main rhythm of the bass and drums. The band's song structures remain fairly simple throughout the album, as this song attests. Each song is typically built of a few parts, some repetition, and thats about it. This helps keep song length manageable, and avoids becoming too bored or lost in what is already a distinct sound.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - "They Live in the Meadow"

More of a drum 'n bass feel at first, with some manipulation reversing the percussion track. Simple vocals are repeated. The keyboard/synth produce a running melody that carriers the song. Added synth/electronics appear in replace of a chorus (a trend in their songwriting) and provides a nice break between the vocal passages.

The band appears to be really catching on in the past few years, playing SXSW, and touring with The Flaming Lips a couple years ago. The songs on this album are very much within the realm of these two songs presented here, so you get an idea of what to expect, but to be sure, there is enough good riff writing to keep things interesting and as I said above there are more than a few solid gems within the bunch. You can find this album and their other releases here at their website store.

June of 44 - Tropics and Meridians

2010-01-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

There's a good review of this album at Time Isn't on My Side, where I first learned about the band. Tropics and Meridians (1996) is my favorite of their albums, and is their second release over all (Engine Takes to the Water was released a year earlier). The group consisted of Fred Erskine, Sean Meadows, Jeff Mueller, Doug Scharin, all of which appeared in numerous other bands mostly around the Louisville, KY area, including Lungfish, Codeine, Rex, Hoover. "Post-hardcore", "math-rock" appear to be thrown around in describing June of 44, but math-rock seems to have evolved into being synonymous with "chaotic" music, which June of 44 and particularly Tropics and Meridians is not. Creativity exists in the song structures, writing, and in the ways they explore the reaches of their instrumentation. Only six songs appear on this release, though the length of songs can be quite long with only one song under five minutes. The recording is solid enough, not spectacular, but does the job.

June of 44 - "Anisette"

"Anisette", the first song on the album also happens to be its longest. Its a groovy song, that builds from the drums outward. Interplay from both muted guitars, flows into open strumming setting the tone. Vocals cease the guitars and stand out as calls in the distance. Spoken lyrics begin while both guitars reappear, one panned hard right, the other hard left, playing beautifully off each other,while cymbal accents highlight their unified dance.

The fret slides, going back and forth between the guitars, define the song in my mind. I literally, haven't heard anything like that used like that in a song before. The middle of the song becomes another back and forth, this time between the vocals and the instruments. A return to the fret slides that break into single chord plucks. Then a breakaway and change in direction occurs, slowing the beat down. This rhythm becomes softer while previous lyrics are very subtly spoken in background, almost too quite to be audible to the ear, I didn't pick them up until after a few listens. The song closes by a return to its beginnings.

June of 44 - "Sanctioned in a Birdcage"

The final song on the album is one that is built on a base structure, steady pummeling drums and bass drive this song. One guitar keeps simple time through muted notes spaced over the measure. The other guitar branches out, sometimes adding lush distortion filled chords playing along with the others, than at other times creatively exploring other ways to build the feel and flow of the song. The vocals and lyrics are a perfect fit within the music, mirroring the music, providing an intensity and social-political tint.

Tropics and Meridians can still be found at Touch and Go Records. There's a wonderful instrumental song, "Lawn Bowler" that I didn't mention, be sure to check that out for further evidence of the outstanding guitar interplay by both guitarists. Also, "June Leaf" for an example of the band's understanding of solid songwriting.

Eulcid - The Wind Blew All The Fires Out

2010-01-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Continuing from my previous post on New Idea Society, and Mike Law in specific, I figured I'd post on his previous band Eulcid. The Wind Blew All The Fires Out (2000) sits pretty well in the post-hardcore genre, lots of discordant guitar and abrupt shifts, though not enough to weaken the song structures and continuity. The Boston group was composed of Law on guitar and vocals, Matt Redmond on drums, and Chris Rache on bass. As a band they existed between 1988 and 2002, when the members splintered off. There's definitely an element of Fugazi in here, and the band did open for them in Boston, and some of that Boston metal/hardcore sound (Converge/Kid Kilowatt) in the instrumental portion.

Eulcid - "Reaction Impulse Theory"

This is the first track on the album and is a pretty good introduction into the band's sound. Drums lead right into jagged vocals and steady guitar and bass, that finally relent, though the drumming keeps active all the time. A wall of guitar briefly allows the bass to take prominence for a short interlude than back into the jagged vocals and guitar, until Law's line, "...I move too slow" indicates a change in both instrumentation and vocals, a calming little bit of the song, before the final minute of the song which goes in many directions (and can be quite rewarding if followed).

The flow from one song to another is a strength within this album, and
unfortunately not something I'm able to really demonstrate here as the next song I'm posting occurs later in the album. But on the album this first song "Reaction Impulse Theory" runs right into, "To The Death Of Intellectualism", which slides right into "Single Sender". Its very well done and obviously a conscious effort to linking the album as a whole was made.

Eulcid - "The Ocean Vs. The Sand"

Here's a bit of a departure, a song that moves a bit slower than the others, similar to the title track on the album in its pacing and structure. The guitar sores over the bass and drums, leading the way and adventuring off on its own. The drum beat remains a creative little play on the snare throughout the background. The instruments come together for a few lines then fall back into the pattern already described. The vocals are sung with a bit softer edge relative to the rest of the album. I enjoy how the song just seems to end and has a moment of silence before the final song of the album starts.

Most of the songs are complex in that they pack many individual yet cogent parts. Certainly something that is best listened to intently to fully enjoy. Following this release was Hope: And Songs To Sing there last release and in some ways a bridge from Eulcid to New Idea Society in regards to Mike Law's musical development.

New Idea Society - You Are Awake or Asleep

2010-01-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

New Idea Society was a collaboration between Mike Law and Steve Brodsky when You Are Awake or Asleep was being recorded (released in 2005). Though its Law who remains and New Idea Society is really his project at this point, releasing another album The World is Bright and Lonely in 2007 without Brodsky (who has fronted Cave In and his own solo project). Law, was part of Eulcid, prior to beginning New Idea Society, which was a pretty good band in its own right. New Idea Society progresses through the post-punk/indie sound, but doesn't immediately resemble anything I've heard exactly. This album is interesting to me in how it comes across as a collection of songs with little cohesion in their sound, less fluid than the following album, but is enjoyable in its variety.

New Idea Society - "Create Your Own Emergency"

Simple yet catchy guitar is followed by electronic blip and vocals, harmonizing well. The keyboard elements are also fairly simple, but really brings life to the song. I really like the lyrics and whole premise of the song.

This tank that I am in.
How I am feeling. I am feeling.
Put a piranha in with me.
Emergency.

Hang a picture on the wall.
On a hook that is too small.
Sit on a chair underneath until it falls.
Create your own emergency.

Sometimes going away from what's safe and comforting leads a person to growth that would otherwise not happen. Facing one's own anxieties and throwing themselves into it, overcoming it, and truly experiencing different elements of life. This song stands out in its lightness, more upbeat than most of the songs on this album.

New Idea Society - "The Aching Bells"

Rare use of the harmonica starts things off. Acoustic guitar and a few different percussion sounds along with supporting keyboards. First instrumental part is covered by a little harmonica, then electric guitar comes in along with the harmonica during the second instrumental part, bridging right along. The backing/supporting vocals are powerful, not in loudness or anything of that nature, but rather accenting the lyrical passages, adding an almost church choirish element.

There really isn't a bad song on here, and the recording is solid enough, I'm sure the band may have liked to do a more formal job on it, but it doesn't detract. There's very little flash in this release, and they don't come off as trying too hard to be "poppy", which is good. One of my favorite moments within this album is the perfect pairing of "Storm In My Eyes" being followed by "Create Your Own Emergency". The former song is just so wonderfully slow paced, somber, and introspective, having it be followed by "Create Your Own Emergency" was an excellent choice as I noted above, the song really sticks out in its upbeat and catchy writing. I'm looking forward to reviewing the second album here, and also heard that Law and the other members that form the band now are prepping the third full length release in the coming months.

Assault - (2nd s/t)

2010-01-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

Its a little confusing, as this album is sometimes listed as Assault 2nd, Breakthrough, or Assault (i.e. s/t). The reason being that there was already a self titled cd released on HG fact records that featured a different vocalist. In any case, this album released in 2004 in the U.S., is the second one released by the record label, there also exists a 7" entitled Martyrdom, and I believe another Japanese only released EP, that I do not own and no little about. Assault is a Tokyo, Japan hardcore band, that appear to no longer exist (as the broken translation over at HG fact seems to indicate that the band disbanded in '05/'06 and unfortunately because the bass player had died in an accident). I was lucky enough, many years back, to see Assault on their U.S. tour with From Ashes Rise.

Their music is fast, but not chaotic, hardcore punk, with strong bass lines running under thrashy (the punk variety) sounding drums and sometimes discordant guitar. The vocals are fairly consistent throughout, hoarse yells, with some harmony during choruses, and occasional backing vocal supports. The vocals sit a bit back in the mix, but not bad enough to be hidden by the rest of the music. Lyrics are mostly Japanese with some English mixed in the choruses of songs. This record sits at about 22:30 minutes wrapped up in six songs, typically under three and half minutes each, with the exception of, "The end of silence" which ends up at 7:36 and is one of the strongest songs within the record, as a pounding bass and drum beat continues almost endlessly while guitar soloing builds throughout the second half of the song.

Assault - "Stay Away"

"Stay Away" starts out paced by driving drumming and vocals, its only seconds before the chorus and some limited vocal harmonizing takes place. The guitar leads into a shift, slowing down a bit while finding a nice groove. The bass guitar really becomes pronounced at this point accenting the beat along with the drumming. Not too long and the pace picks up again, a strong guitar solo takes us into returning vocals and finally chorus closing out the song.

It looks as though Hardcore Holocaust Records still has this and the first cd available through their distro. HG Fact records also appears to carry the cd in Japan.

Man Afraid - Discography

2009-12-31T13:38:00.000-08:00

Man Afraid were a Minnesota based hardcore band that existed in the mid-90s. They put out two EPs and a couple songs appearing on compilations around that time. I came across both 7" EPs, Uphill Struggle (1995) and Those Disenchanted (1996), while living in Columbus, OH around 2003 at Used Kids Records store. Really liked what I heard both lyrically and musically, and decided to do a little research into the band. I was a bit taken aback to find that the lead singer, Mike Griffin, had taken his own life in the Autumn of 1996, battling major depression. The band ended its existence at that time, but did release this discography in 2000. The band played the majority of their shows in Minnesota, with a few minor tours/ventures to nearby cities and the east coast.

The music was often straightforward, but distinct to me was the pace of the songs. It's pretty much non-stop, a force driving through each song. This is created by both the typical chord progressions one would expect in this style of music, but also a consistent and solid rhythm from the bass and drums. Most of all it was the lyrics and themes presented within. Mike Griffin brought a biting political edge to the band, and because the target of his words was consistent throughout the majority of songs written, the points made and depth of the argument made that much more of an impression. Griffin drawing from his experience and disenchanted feelings about the U.S. military, promotes a critical stance toward how military force and coercion impact the human being, both within the military and upon those subject to the military force. His impassioned voice discerns this from mere punk rock anti-establishment lip service, and helps to provoke an element of urgency.

Man Afraid - "Dedication"

Beginning with an audio clip of governmental propaganda imploring to give up "personal ambitions" and sacrifice for the country. As the music comes in, we see another distinct element of the band, that being use of supporting vocals and lead vocals in play with each other and layered at times. Sometimes these layers work in unison, adding emphasis to the words, other times they run different parallel lines of lyrics adding complexity where it appears. The music on "Dedication" drives hard through the song, until about a minute and twenty seconds in, where the beat is hardened, a guitar and vocal only part builds with backing vocals added and drums and bass joining in to close out the song. Harkening back to the disenchantment mentioned above, Griffin's lyrics point directly to his realization of the motives behind military action and his questioning of the propaganda on the surface.

I was such an eager little kid, bred on excess raised to win, somehow I never wondered if, I'd rather not die blindly, inspired by the ethos or the myth, of a state that has to win, and there could be no question if, I'd rather not die blindly, I'm getting out from under all the years, that you bought me off with nostalgia, and boy scout badges that never gave me anything back, I gave up everything at 17 that I had to give, to defend property in the name of something else,...

Man Afraid - "Cemetery Ridge"

"Cemetery Ridge" sits as likely Griffin's most personal written song lyrically, and also my favorite Man Afraid song. Interestingly slow at the beginning, leading into a minor build up. The music flows from a faster pace to a slower groove allowing some drum fills and rolls accenting biting lyrics. A strong build up of guitar and drums leads back into the driving part of and conclusion of the song with Griffin voicing the following lyrics:

you said you'd never sell yourself.
were we really young and stupid?
am I really crazy?
how could all those empty victories
amount to so much more?
watching friends go by.
losing another battle deep inside.
some things are better left unsaid.

It was by luck that I had happend upon those two 7" records, and took a chance (I think I had confused them with Man is the Bastard or something, in my search at the record store that day) on them. I'm certainly grateful that I did, as I still find an appreciation of it today. An unfortunately short-lived band, but an important one none the less, and worthy of more exposure. Some more information about the band can be found at this link here and of course the band's website through Half-Mast Records linked above and here.

Asobi Seksu - Hush

2009-12-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

The New York based Asobi Seksu have been around in one form or another (originally calling themselves "Sportfuck") since about 2001. The band is composed of two members, Yuki Chikudate (vocals, keyboards) and James Hanna (guitar, vocals). Hush (2009) is the band's third full length since going by the name Asobi Seksu. Some of the instrumental and vocal elements of this release remind me of My Bloody Valentine, though without the heavy distortion and layers, and overall I wouldn't say this is a strong comparison. Yuki Chikudate's vocals are unique and do alot to set the band's sound apart from other similar sounding groups. The instrumental portion of the music provides a soft, full backdrop, with the appropriate mood to match the vocals and allow the vocals to take the lead.

Asobi Seksu - "Familiar Light"

Yuki Chikudate's wonderful high end vocal range is on show in this song. The percussion does a good job of supporting the builds, plateaus, and waves of vocals. The beat is steady and accented by the snare drum hits and rolls. A very clear and crisp sounding recording assists in allowing each of the instruments (including the vocals here) to sound individually through on the song. It gets a bit more lush as the music soars over the vocals (a rarity on the record) momentarily before returning followed by feedback and noise closing out the song.

Asobi Seksu - "Blind Little Rain"

"Blind Little Rain" is the closing track on this album and is relatively short; there is a break of silence before a hidden portion of the song. The duel vocals sung with a tinge of reverb sound good over the slow drumming and freely expand and stretch through the song. The song sits as a bit sad sounding but not difficult, a good song to close the record out. Following the silent break, theres about forty seconds of soft instrumental music.

If I had to find a detraction from this album it would be that it seems to lose steam about halfway through. I took a second to double check the number of songs on this album (12) and concluded that it may have been better to shorten things up a bit as there are a few "filler" songs on the second half. There are a few really good "pop" songs in there, but I find this type of music doesn't necessarily translate to a full albums worth of gripping material. The good songs within are really good though and worth checking out.

Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You

2009-12-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Another killrockstars release, Unwound's Leaves Turn Inside You came out in 2001 and is the band's 10th and final full album. I'm just now digging into the Olympia, Washington band's earlier work and am liking what I've heard so far, though I can see how some of the fans of their earlier material could have trouble accepting the progress and changes made by the time of this final record. I first heard about Unwound through a nice writeup/review at Time Isn't on My Side blog. It grew on me slowly, taking a few listens and attempts, though the second song, "Look a Ghost" is a very infectious, as in it infects your auditory channels and the wonderful tune just stays there promoting an overall sense of well being, well for me anyways.

Unwound - "Look a Ghost"

The way the vocals are delivered in beat with the chord progressions immediately stands out and adds to the "hook" of this song. The instrumental breaks, appearing towards the end of the song, offer variations off the main line of the song, and work to intensify the return back to the main chords. I really like the steady drums that do a good job of staying out of the way and highlighting the chord changes (which also adds to the intensity and "tightness" of the performance).

Unwound - "Demons Sing Love Songs"

"Demons Sing Love Songs" runs a core tune throughout, rising into the chorus parts, and adding a variety of layers (not necessarily on top of each other) to spice things up a bit. Percussion is steady but also changes in regards to use of percussive instrument at times during the song, all the while hammering home another great catchy guitar and rhythm creation. The vocals are softer than those on "Look a Ghost", and I really like the chorus lyrics as they fit into the feeling evoked musically.

when i left my island i was wrong
met a phantom, memorized a song
nothing happens now that i belong

love's a demon, love's a demon, love's a demon, love
love's a demon, love's a demon, love's a demon, lo-o-ove

I'm pressed to include a third song to demonstrate a bit better, the creativity of Unwound on this album. "Terminus" demonstrates as good as any song here what is going on in the deeper levels of the band's songwriting.

Unwound - "Terminus"

The song really breaks down into three parts, the first part, more traditional in its form and sound. A bit harder and direct than the previous two songs reviewed above. Alone this would be a good song, but then about three and a half minutes into the song begins the second part, a build of guitar plucking, and unrelenting percussion. This builds and plateaus, drops, and starts again. The transition into the third part, is eerie and screeching, almost as if its being played to represent a dense fog....then....a beautiful piece closes the song, raising out above the previous two parts.

You can hear the later Sonic Youth influence in Unwound's music, but its as if Unwound took it a few steps further on this album, maybe many steps further. Some of the songs can be quite long (two of them sit around the ten minute mark), but they are never dull. The album can be complex at times, but never overly so, and a great balance is struck with good songwriting along solid musicianship. The vocals remain diverse throughout, and the use of effects during recording help to achieve an overall individualistic result. Highly recommended. As I delve into their earlier releases I'll likely post on them as well.

Lay Low - Farewell Good Night's Sleep

2009-12-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

Lay Low (singer/songwriter Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardottir) hails from Reykjaví, Iceland and has made quite a name for herself there, her debut album, Please Don’t Hate Me released in 2006, went platinum. Having an affinity for Icelandic singer/songwriter Bjork as a teenager I was immediately intrigued by her vocals and reported influences. The following quote is taken from her website:

At age 27, Lay Low draws inspiration from artists like Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Kitty Wells, while breathing new life and fresh perspective into the timeless sounds of American folk, blues and country.

Through repeated listening of her recent release Farewell Good Night's Sleep, Lay Low's voice presents with just the right amount of softness and warmth to accompany her Icelandic accent. Admittedly, I found this type of music (secondary to the vocalist) as perfect background music, something to match a relaxing activity (I wouldn't play this while I sharpen my Wuesthof knives).

Lay Low - "Last Time Around"

This seems to be the song getting the most play around the internet, and it is certainly a catchy tune due to a nice guitar interlude that appears following the vocal passages complementing them well. Violin and a steady high-hat pace the song initially, violin is allowed to merge into the guitar picking that follows. Lyrics about a lonely heart seeking another to clear the "gray skies" appear and disappear as the song develops.

The album remains folk throughout, but songwriting is varied enough to avoid redundancy or an over reliance on vocals to diversify each individual track. I have not yet heard her previous album, but am hopeful that this is the case there as well. Found it interesting that between 2007 and 2008 she took the role of music director for the Pulitzer Prize play ‘How I Learned to Drive’, writing and performing the music.

Lay Low - "Days Have Been"

This song sits as one of the softest, simple, yet rewarding songs possibly because something seems to really shine through the lyrics and vocals connecting emotionally with the subject matter of the song. Piano is used to expand the song instrumentally with basic high-hat and guitar providing the base. Short and sweet. "A Second Hand Heart" offers some nice backing vocals and what reminds me of an almost Hawaiian folk sound musically, an example of the diversity mentioned earlier. She could be blowing up rather soon, considering some of the backing she has started to get since this album was released in the UK and America, if the lighter side of things is your thing musically, I'd say to check this album out.

Mikkel Meyer - Bacon

2009-12-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

Mikkel Meyer's latest album Bacon, which was released late this past November (i.e. a few weeks ago) is available for live streaming (yes the whole album!) over at Statler & Waldorf records' website, and I recommend checking it out further to get a greater taste of what this excellent electronic album has to offer. I first heard of Meyer, a Danish musician, over at Its a Trap! , where I read an early review of Bacon, and listed to the track available below entitled "Tunge (feat. Non)".

Mikkel Meyer - "Tunge"

Non appears from the Chicago based Shadowhuntaz, and as was stated over at Its a Trap!, Non's voice fits well with the music created by Meyer. This forms what feels like a heavy vocal layer dragged over ebbs of electronic waves and a steady percussive beat. The pace of the electronics varies, falls out at times before returning (along with vocals) providing specific points separating the main parts of the song. The end of the song really breaks down as the ebbs slow, scatter, and finally stop.

The majority of the album is instrumental and the first track on the album, "Tatar" is a good example of what can be found within, with the caveat that the beat and rhythm on this song is probably at its most pronounced and being the first track, immediately draws the listener in.

Mikkel Meyer - "Tatar"

Rolling percussion leads into pause, entering the electronic sounds, then both combine and carry the song forward providing the core that is returned to multiple times throughout the 4:18 minute song. Breaks and changes are present to keep things varied just enough to not be monotonous, and like all of the songs on this album, song length is just right (no song reaches the five minute mark, keeping it short and sweet!). The rest of the album contains two other songs where a guest vocalist is present, which makes three total out of the nine tracks. The instumental tracks that close out the album provide both moodiness ("Ostetaerte"), sound layering ("Flodebudding"), and the final track, "Jordbaerkage" being simply a solid composition, right up there with the first track "Tatar" in quality and closes the album nicely.

Admittedly, of all of the genres I'll likely cover here on the blog, I'm rather green when it comes to electronic/experimental/noise (with some mild exposure to noise here and there a few years ago), but I'm really hooked on this album right now and recommend checking it out in full over at the record label site as noted above.

Born Against: Nine Patriotic Hymns For Children & Battle Hymns of the Race War

2009-12-17T00:26:00.000-08:00

These were seperately released records, but can now be found together on cd format through killrockstars. Born Against was a hardcore punk band that existed between 1989-1993 in New York. The bulk of their compositions can be found here on these two albums and on the The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure a collection of obscure 7", 8" and comp. tracks, that I also recommend. The thing that stands out about Born Against is a knack for creative songwriting in a genre that can sometimes reduce itself to bland "hero worship" and a reluctance to variety. Not unlike, guitar work you'd hear from Greg Ginn's Black Flag days, Adam Nathanson's guitar is both heavy and rhythmic, and given the freedom to roam within song structures, branching out at times, only to return crashing back into the driving rhythm maintained by the bass and drums. Born Against was strongly political, and singer Sam McPheeter's ire is turned on classism, sexism, racism, and well you get the picture. I"ve always found McPheeter's lyrics thought provoking at the least and when taken with the music, can be downright haunting.

Opening track, "Mount the Pavement" storms through with steady, yet vicious drumming, and some of the heavier guitar work on the album. The song remains fairly simple in form and because of this, remains formal and concise, but is a driving force in its own right. A few tracks later we come to "Nine Years Later".

Nine years into the future and we're still counting the dead and the dying
Still totaling the countless hidden victims of heightened state terror still
believing of a peace and prosperity of a peace with a hundred thousand
executed by disease of a prosperity with millions living on the streets

Born Against - "Nine Years Later"

Lyrics tend to be biting and direct to the point, often pointing a finger at the bystander, calling for action. Here we are starting to hear a pattern emerging amongst Nathonson's guitarwork in Born Against. As harsh an caustic as the sound the band produces can be, there are sometimes wonderfully catchy (in a good way) and captivating chord progressions and hooks created that individualize each song and create memorable moments within the anger expressed. "Nine Years Later", in its 2:22 minutes, builds slowly, explodes into one of the more emotionally enlightening riffs, and matches perfectly with the harsh vocals. "Mary and Child" takes on abortion, religion, and sexism all at once, taking a pragmatic stance about the life lost to improper medical procedures done under circumstances that hinder the access to safer and legitimate ones. "Well Fed Fuck" is mid-paced track, ending up being one of the longer songs on the album at 4:48 minutes. Short lyrics are repeated over and over and the guitar, drums, and bass follow suit creating what can be a tedious or pummeling experience (depending on your particular persuasion).

Born Against - "This Trash Should Have Been Free"

My favorite song on this cd is "This Thrash Should Have Been Free". The melodic guitar, once again appearing underneath the caustic exterior, catches me every time and rolls right into a strong song in its own right "Poland", which features McPheeter's wailing over build-ups and breaks in the music. The tail end of the disc suffers from some unecessary tracks ("Born Against are Fucking Dead", "Prank"), that derail the impression being left by majority of the album.

These albums have stood the test of time for me, and thinking about it, I believe it's because the songwriting creates distinct song structures and with enough variance within each song to remain interesting upon multiple listening.