Roadside Monument / Eight Hours Away From Being A Man / Tooth and Nail (CD)
If you've decided there's a dearth of clever, melodic-yet-
driving post-punk-rock in your CD collection, hie thee to
a CD retailer and pick this up. Introspective lyrics,
brow-furrowing titles ("Tired of Living With People Who Are
Tired of Living"), viscerally intense drumming and a squalling sonic
mixture of dreampop's lazy feedback and grunge's abrasive
dissonance, a tendency to veer from silence to screaming
fury in seconds...who could ask for more? -- gz
I hate Christmas music, and I'm not that fond of MIDI-based music (unless it's
for the dancefloor). But I actually like Snow, as it takes all those
seasonal songs we know, love, and hate and presents them in a new light. As
opposed to the latest popstars covering these overused melodies (and thinking
that I'll like them better with a modern twist), these are actually done with
such sentimental spirit that I still can still enjoy hanging up the stockings
while it plays in the background. -- es
Yoko Love / Who's Your Daddy? / Epiphany Recordings (CD)
Yoko Love appears to be a funk band with hardcore roots,
not unlike (although not nearly as commercial as) Infectious
Grooves and the dreaded RHCP. And they're at their best, by
far, when those roots are showing -- when hardcore speed,
rap/rant delivery and no-frills production combine with
killer bass lines and wicked hooks, as on "Ballsack" and "The
Shit", in particular. When the band goes for a more
produced funk sound, or aims for Green Day turf, their sound
gets generic in a hurry. -- gz
Whiskeytown / Strangers Almanac / Outpost Recordings (CD)
This Austin-via-Raleigh band, barely three years old, has a sizeable
discography already, grounded on their "insurgent country-rock" sound.
Mid-tempo, tenor to baritone singing, complimented with fiddles, banjos and
pedal steel (the "country" part) combine with familiar guitar musings and
lyrical ideas (the "rock" part) to produce this mixture of latter day
Replacements' heart cum Merle Haggard's depresso-reality. A very mature
record that has its share of lyrical lamentations as well as memorable
choruses. Brooding, contemplative and spiritual -- highly recommended for
those interested in the insurgent sound. -- am
Up, Bustle & Out / Carbine 744,520...Che Guevara...A Land of Hope and Freedom EP / NinjaTune (CD)
U,B&O get caught up in the revolutionary spirit of Che Guevara, and
crank out seven tracks/mixes full of Spanish guitars, groovy breakbeats,
seventies flute sounds, extracts from Guevara's speeches and more. The
result, especially on "Carbine 744, 520 ... Che Guevara" goes above and
beyond genre standards -- and while the disc's message isn't entirely
clear (other than saying that U,B&O think Che was pretty damn cool),
it's a laudable effort and only occasionally sounds like B-Tribe. -- gz
Magic Music / Dark to Light / Century II Records (CD)
The first Track on Dark to Light, "Friday Night at the Bookclub"
begs the question, "What if David Bowie had sung "Graceland" rather than
Paul Simon?" It grooves like the later but has the somewhat spacey vocal
inflection of the young former. As a whole, Dark to Light is solid,
mature, adult contemporary rock with just a tinge of mystery. If that
happens to be your cup of tea . . . --nw
Boymerang / Balance of the Force / Astralwerks (CD)
The current glut of releases in the D&B genre means that this one stands a chance of getting lost in the fold. Of course, the very fact that the entire genre is based on variations on the same rhythm means most releases will, necessarily, sound somewhat alike -- but Boymerang, born from the ashes of Bark Psychosis, deserves attention. Eschewing minimalism, they opt for a rich, often psychedelic approach, creating a multilayered mixture that, while haunting and menacing, is far from cold and inhuman. Recommended, especially for naysayers who claim you don't need musical talent to make electronic music. -- gz
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