OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS | |
Lilys,
Flinch!,
Steve Kilpatrick,
Pierce Woodward Trio,
Sans Fate,
Serge Boogie,
Enemymine,
The Allegheny White Fish,
Junkbunny,
Harmony and Pollution,
AFI,
Gaza Strippers,
Blacklight Braille,
Razor 'n Guido,
Mouse on Mars,
Blume,
The Drunks,
Waterworks,
Delarosa and Asora,
Fairgrove,
Purple Mustard,
Las Cecilias de Cuba,
White Out with Jim O'Rourke,
Schizoid
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Lilys / Selected / File 13 (CD)
It’s been a few years since we’ve heard anything new from Kurt Heasley
and his well-loved and highly respected Lilys. Since the release of The 3 Way, the only thing we’ve had to tide us over was their split EP with Aspera Ad Astra, which
was good but left fans craving more. So for many, Selected is cause
for rejoicing. Not exactly new material in the
traditional sense, Selected consists of five songs which, for various
reasons, never made their way onto any other Lilys album. Some tracks,
like the blissful "The Any Several Sundays" and "Won’t I Make You
(Sleepy)", are live favorites that have been re-jigged in the studio and
are seeing the light of day for the first time here. Others,
like the jangly psych-pop of the Apples in Stereo cover "Touch the Water",
simply never made the cut when it came time to choose album tracks. The
album’s other two songs, "Peerless" and "Peerless II", are purely
experimental yet strangely effective pieces of sound manipulation.
While Selected is not exactly brand new material, its impressive quality
should help ardent Lilys fans better stand the wait for a new studio
album, or it could serve as a modest introduction to this immensely
talented group. -- jj
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Flinch! / The Flinch EP's /Flinch! (CD)
Germantown, Maryland is known for many things: brew pubs, ski shoppes, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology and, for better or worse,
strawberry fields. They're also known for bands that sound a lot like the
Beatles -- but don't count Flinch! (not to be confused with UK's Flinch) among
them. The punk band's first CD release contains both their past EPs, "Dyslexic
Enema" and "Flesh Enema", and shows these Marylanders to be quite deft with their
melodies. The guy singer yells like Lee Ving (with food in his mouth) while
the girl sounds a bit like Juliet of the Rondelles. The lyrics, often
screamed, can be rather silly ("Something's swimming under me, nowhere to
escape cause I'm his next meal"), but they're "silly" in a good way ("I
wanna know what an octopus does, I wanna go on an octopus cruise"). The band's guitar attack isn't bad either. It has more in common with heavy metal
than punk, and contains more solos than one would expect or want, but is
fairly well played all the same. Though the band displays little growth beyond the
standard of the
two EPs, I like the more recent "Flesh Enema" more, as the themes are
more unified ("Farm Animal", "Purple Cow", "Kick the Bitch") and the guitars
a tad less screeching. If you get this, be sure to play all the way through, as the mystery track is probably their best song -- a good rocker
with good sentiment ("You know I love you, my pretty little slut"). -- td
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Steve Kilpatrick / Westside Crop Circles / Expeditious Productions (CD)
I don't know about you, but I like blues songs about furniture. Steve Kilpatrick's "Brothers-in-Law" praises couches as a throne to a lazy ass and a litmus tests for his sister's string of
husbands: if they let him slack on it for days on end, they're okay in Kilpatrick's book. While many songs present fairly straight-ahead white boy blues, some stretch into the poppy
realm, a la Timbuk 3, replete with heavily-affected guitar and eager-to-please lyrics. Other songs, such as "Smell that Rainbow", forego the sometimes awkward lyrics and show off
Kilpatrick's adroit guitar skills. It's on tracks such as this, where the guitar says more than the lyrics, that his talent shines. -- rg
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Pierce Woodward Trio / Steer / Long
Run (CD)
What a pleasure to start the year out with something this
enjoyable. This Massachusetts-based trio marries a simple
indie-rock aesthetic to the stripped-down, understated
playing style of folk rock. Vocalist/guitarist Woodward
brings a
smoky, storytelling vibe to his vocals; I'm sure I'm
reminded of Pierce Pettis only because of the first name
connection, but I hear a similarity. Gian Pangaro's upright
bass anchors the tunes with its unique voice, and every once
in a while Pangaro and Woodward conspire to create
split-second Violent Femmes flashbacks from thrumming bass strings and quavery vocals.
Ultimately it's drummer Andy Eggers who controls the music's mood, and his
subdued rhythms help to cement Steer's intimate style
-- it's a quiet, controlled performance that compels you to
listen. While the disc's Americana-tinged aura grows a
little too familiar over nine tracks, it's still a
thoroughly pleasant listening experience, like the
soundtrack to a wonderful night spent in a cozy coffeehouse
with good friends, comfy couches and delicious drinks. -- gz
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Sans Fate / Songs for the Dazed /
Self-Released (CD)
I get the feeling that someone in Sans Fate read a "How to Succeed in
the Music Biz" guide and then proceeded to take the contents a bit too
literally. The music is fine -- it's sort of jazz-emo, which is pretty
terrifying to think about, but it's really not so bad...just kind of
generic. That Mrs. Jones band comes to mind, and the singer, for some
unfathomable reason, keeps reminding me of Tracy Chapman. The thing that
bugs me about this CD is that it's so tame and tentative sounding. It
really seems like the band is following some sort of "Rock Band 101"
plan, rather than just getting out there and wailing what needs to be
wailed. I don't doubt that the fellows in Sans Fate are sincere about
their music, but as long as they're putting things like "I will now
discuss each member's musical background and influences in an effort to
define the sound of our music, which is a difficult thing to express
using language" in their press kits, they're pretty much doomed. -- ib
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Serge Boogie / Amotivation/Eye Contact / Wrecluse (CD)
On this CD, which collects two EPs, Serge Boogie creates pleasant hip-hop
moods underneath quickly-rapped lyrics. The disc creates an
underground/outsider feel...picture a harder, non-insane Kool Keith. Serge Boogie is originally
from St. Petersburg, Russia, and you figure there most be something cool in
the
water there. Boogie doesn't ever settle for the awkward
white-person-acting-black
mindset; his songs seem geniune and never forced. On
"Gimpology
101," Serge Boogie puts Eminem and his ilk to major shame while examining his
thoughts
on phonies in the business, never resorting to the crass, pathetic insults
of Slim
Crappy. The music underneath the voice is always interestingly funky --
perhaps not
Dr. Octagon quality, but very good nonetheless. Serge Boogie should have a
good
career ahead of him, making damn fine music, full of personal meaning and
comprised
of all sorts of treats that jaded hip-hop fans can appreciate. -- tnd
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Enemymine / The Ice In Me / Up (CD)
Enemymine is made up of members of Godheadsilo, Mocket and Some Velvet
Sidewalk, but as Enenmymine, the trio works more in a Jawbox vein. The Ice In Me is an impressive album. It's heavy and
swaggering and yet still thoughtful and musically sensitive. With two bass
players and a drummer, Enemymine's sound is nothing if not bottom-heavy.
This leaves plenty of room on the top end for vocalist Mike Kunka to
screech, wail and rant. If I had to pick a prime track on the album it
would probably be "Caught Inside". With gut-churning riffs and
whiplash-inducing tempo and dynamic shifts, it's a great representative of
what you'll find on the rest of the album. Furthermore, it highlights the
airtight execution and structural sophistication that sets The Ice In
Me apart from more lowbrow hardcore fare. -- nw
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The Allegheny White Fish / The Anti Freakout Method / Orange Entropy (CD)
It seems that the easy access to recording equipment -- the high tech world
that can be found in your apartment -- has created a whole new revolution.
CD-R culture is the cassette culture of the late nineties. If you have the
technology, you can put out a CD, and who cares about the music? It's the
release of a product. It's fun, it's a kick, and sometimes it's even
interesting. While sometimes, as with this whole White Fish thing, I don't know.
This is like a soundtrack to an old '70s Atari game, but remixed by Skinny
Puppy and filtered through a pedal that Beck made while getting stoned
and listening to Nick Drake bootlegs. There's just too much sound
sometimes, and I lose the melody. It rocks and rolls and it beeps and
stutters. I'm giving up now. -- mf
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Junkbunny / Bump / SemperLoFi (CD)
Here's proof that it's possible to make "jangly guitar pop"
without sounding like every other band on the block.
Junkbunny teams Alec Cumming, Joel Bachrach and Semper LoFi
honcho Michael J. Bowman, creating a thoroughly capable trio
whose playing is infectiously fun. It's obvious that these
guys have played together before; their easy rapport gives
their songs the loose, informal spontaneity of a basement
jam session. While some of the early tracks sport Elephant
6-style musical and lyrical eccentricities, the later songs
establish a quasi new-wave sound that's like little else out there. Each
player seems comfortable with guitar, keyboards and vocals,
making for a broad and pleasing musical palette. All you
wanna-be home recorders should learn a lesson from this --
it's okay to know how to play your instruments! Only the
recording itself needs to be lo-fi. -- gz
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Harmony and Pollution / S/T / Felt (CD)
Take away the hiss and poor production and you have a band with obvious
commercial potential. Jason Grisell's voice sounds like many seventies/eighties artists whose first
name began with "D" (David Gilmour on "Bottle Blonde" and "Pace Like a
River"; Don Henley on "Horses"; Dennis De Young on some high notes), and
he's supported by a band that must know Toto and the Eagles inside-out.
The guitar work is menial, but it works, as this kind of material doesn't
need elaborate structures or game plans. It just needs to get stuck in your
head, and make you want to play it again. While I don't care for most of
the bands they seem inspired by, it's hard not to be impressed by their
well-crafted material, and it's very easy to find oneself placing their best
songs (particularly "Bottle Blonde" and "Your Letter") on mixtapes made for friends. -- td
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AFI / The Art of Drowning / Nitro (CD)
Make sure your IV drip is running, because here comes another heavy dose of
California-styled pop punk. AFI's snotty-school-kid front man attitude is
conveniently backed by a canon of quickly changing tempos and
straight-laced batterings that will knock out a patient of punk rock as easily as
a cup of Demerol. "The Lost Souls" sticks in your arm
like the nurse's late night insulin shot, giving you an energy boost that
surges through your bloodstream. The fiendishly addictive chorus on "Of
Greetings and Goodbyes" may leave you bedridden, but it'll have the whole
hospital floor chanting in unison in short order. Your body may still be aching
from the last round of punk treatment you received, but remember that
it's what the doctors at Nitro Records prescribed, and they promise that as
long as you stick to your regimented diet, you'll feel better shortly. -- am
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Gaza Strippers / 1000 Watt Confessions / Lookout! (CD)
Led by ex-Didjits frontman Rick Sims, Gaza Strippers carry on in the punk
tradition. But with dueling, showy lead guitars, stuck-up, bratty vocals
and ballsy attitude, they inject '70s power rock into the mix. "My Car Is" is
a prime example of this nod. With subject matter that embodies "big is
better" (ranging from a fancy silver and gold hotrod to a six-foot tall
girlfriend to a ten-foot long television) and a sound to match (fiery guitar
licks going on simultaneously in separate channels), this song is ten times
as brash and manly as anything sung by some whiny teenage punker. With this
big rock attitude comes raunchiness, too. I don't think I need to give you
the gist of "Newburgh Housewives", and "Catfight" isn't about real cats.
"Mommy Shot Daddy" also probably speaks for itself. Gaza Strippers are
certainly good at their thing; their energy level is blistering, their
execution is immaculate and their writing is just campy enough. If they
have a weakness, it's that some people might not fully appreciate their cock
rock mentality. -- nw
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Dietle's Tavern 601X represents a night in some odd little pub where
everyone knows everyone else's name -- even if the name is Squick, Herne or
Marley. The main composer and ringleader (because this CD is the work of an
aural circus), Owen Knight, is focused on making "fringe rock", and the end
result is definitely focused at a fringe audience. The band's goal is to use
ambient sound (including real-time weather), alternative percussion (e.g.
washboards, wooden fish, winebottles, trees, chinese temple blocks, metal
leaf rakes, etc.) and spoken poetry, in addition to more traditional
instruments, to create a different sound. The band
succeeds at this goal most admirably, and some of the end result is even
listenable, such as my personal favourite, "Joe Joe Chops Off His Toe". The
spoken poetry, however, is less enchanting; I've sat through enough open mic
and poetry slam nights to know that even poetry by amateurs is generally
better than this (I haven't heard the words "digging", "down" or "fuzz" so
much since I last saw Half-Baked, it never rhymes, it has no rhythm,
etc). If you are a percussionist, or just love the sound of odd percussion,
I recommend Dietle's Tavern 601X for general learning purposes -- the
percussion in the album truly is creative. Otherwise, your money is probably
best spent elsewhere; you can't dance, sing, drink, relax, eat, make love
or sleep along with this music, and it isn't funny either. -- js
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This is the sort of mass consumption-style techno you get when one of the
guys making it is named "Razor". While easy enough to dance
to, it seems to lack a certain sophistication, as if it's pandering to the big-haired,
Miller Lite swilling, Jetta-driving trixies who've given up trying to dance to
the Dave Matthews Band. Numerous generic diva
vocalists (all of them busty and scantily clad, if the liner
note photos are to be believed) spew cliched lyrical phrases; they
"want you", they'd like you to "Move your body," and then
"do it again". Call me a snob -- you'll be right -- but
very little of Dancefloor would get me anywhere near one. There are a few
strong moments -- see the early minutes of "Tweek It" for an example -- but for the most part
it's just too bland. I
might dance to it at a party, but I wouldn't remember doing
so. -- gz
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Mouse on Mars / Instrumentals / Thrill Jockey (CD)
Instrumentals was originally released to accompany Mouse on Mars’ 1997
fall tour with Stereolab. Initially a vinyl-only release, the album has
been lovingly re-released so that all turntable-less
MOM fans whom did not happen to catch the duo on that tour can enjoy it
as well. Recorded between 1995 and 1997, Instrumentals contains more of
the bulbous, organically based dance music with which the German duo has become
synonymous. "1001" and "Chromantic", for instance, are filled with bubbling
synths, random percussion and obtuse "found" sounds. The album’s other
five tracks roll along the same electro-induced paths of space travel
and steely industrial wail. While it does not serve well as an
introduction to the music of MOM, Instrumentals works well as a companion piece
to Autoditacker, Vulvaland or any other Mouse on Mars release you might
happen to own. Like Glam, this is aimed more at the
die-hards than the casual MOM fan. -- jj
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I don't suppose anyone remembers Scram!, the ska/punk band that was
pretty popular in Philly in the 1980s? Well, if you do, the first
track on this CD will leave you feeling pretty darn nostalgic for your
days as a delinquent wannabe punk rocker hanging out on South Street. If
you don't, that's okay too; Blume also conjures up the whiteboy
funk-rock of G. Love and Special Sauce, or a mellower, less wacked Red
Hot Chili Peppers. The grooves are solid, the bass fat but nimble, the
guitars raw or dreamy, depending on the mood. This is very friendly,
approachable music, the kind of thing that would go over just as well at
a family barbecue as it would at a hipster pub. It's CDs like this that
remind me that it's not pleasant pop music that sucks, it's sucky
pleasant pop music that sucks. Blume isn't sucky. Woohoo! --
ib
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The Drunks / Ruin It For Everyone / TKO/Flat (CD)
Let me tell you about my friend Steve. I'm not sure where Steve is right
now, but more than likely, he's either in the process of filling up with, or already
completely filled up with alcohol. This New Hampshire gang of hooligans
sounds like it's related to good ol' Steve, at least in namesake. With a
raucous mix of bottle clashing, oi! and guitars that'll barrel you over
with chic insolence, these Drunks recklessly consume an inordinate amount
of your time with an occasional memorable moment of ridiculousness. The
John Cougar Mellencamp cover at the end of the EP provides a good
laugh, leaving you with the sobering sentiment that with a few more rounds,
this band will find its own. And just like poor Steve, once The Drunks get
going, it's pretty hard for them to get back on their feet as they
carelessly stagger through tales about beer, the murder mistress Elvira and
fists a-flyin'. -- am
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Waterworks / Dragonfly / Waterworks (CD)
Dragonfly opens with "Odonata", an ode comparing the birth
cycle of a dragonfly ("we start as nymphs") to the traditional mode of
falling in love. The tune is as gossamer as its subject's wings, sung in a
breathy, almost whispered tenor by Doran Stambaugh. The acoustic guitar work
is lovely and nearly as delicate as the vocals; the instrumental
musicianship on this album is solid workmanship that should make the artists
proud. Although Waterworks is supposed to present pop/rock, the end result
is more like folk/rock. The lyrical themes are vaguely religious (two of the
band members have been in Christian rock bands before) and/or romantic, but all
of the songs are very ethereal and not at all earthy. If Waterworks were
put into paint, their music would be a Maxfield Parrish painting. Which is
better than say, Thomas Kinkade (Painter of Light!! -- Ed.), but still somewhat gooey, or at least fey. Still, just about anyone, particularly folkies, will enjoy this -- unless you're in a hard-rock mood, in which case you'll be tempted
to put it in the microwave. -- js
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Delarosa and Asora / Agony / Schematic
(CD)
Delarosa and Asora is one of a handful of aliases used by
Atlanta-based multi-instrumentalist Scott Herren. His music
here falls into the category of subtle electronic sounds --
slow, languid jazz-derived grooves spiked with blips, bleeps
and crisp electronic rhythms. You might catch yourself
wondering if Barry White is about to start singing, so
seductive are some of these tracks. If ambient music slips
beneath your listening radar, you might find cuts like
"Wiffle" a little tough to follow, but the intricate,
shifting rhythmic patterns of the three-part "Paz Suite"
should please you. Despite the title's assertion, listening
isn't painful at all. The promotional edition of
Agony also includes the six track Backsome EP,
which will receive a separate commercial release. It's even
less obtrusive than Agony, making it the perfect disc to
listen to when you don't actually feel like listening to music. -- gz
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Fairgrove / In Defense of the Inexperienced / Montesano (CD)
Fairgrove hail from Seattle, and feature former members of August Haze (lead
singer Jay Wesley Harrison) and Engine Kid (drummer Chris Vandebrooke and
bassist Arthur Behrman, who has since been replaced). With a little luck and
some lineup consistency, you'll probably get a chance to hear them, as they
have soaring Archers of Loaf guitars and nice brooding vocals a la Pedro
the Lion. Their songs are wonderfully produced, too, sounding as good as or
better than Pavement's recent efforts, which makes this one of those indie
records which could conceivably receive commercial radio airplay. The lyrics ("And we're
holding hands like sisters/Looking for gifts for each other") are sung with
unexpected conviction, and the guitars never lead you to mundane emotions,
but to moments of hurt that inexperience (with love, and life) brings.
Fairgrove, like it or not, even have a trace of Seattle twee within them,
with keyboards from "If You Were the Landscape" leading this listener
straight into thoughts of their Seattle relatives, Tullycraft. Altogether,
these five songs mark a wonderful beginning for this young band. -- td
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Purple Mustard / The New Mary Jane / Tetragrammaton (CD)
It all starts off pretty promisingly. You can
get into the opening, but the heavy handed "Everything That I Want" drags
you down somewhere between Matthew Sweet and Geddy Lee. These psychedelic
South Floridians even make a "Rollercoaster" sound like a child's
merry-go-round. It sounds like Purple Mustard are hungry for a hit, but all
I heard were the misses. As a post script, "P.S." actually rocks in a
whimsical way. That's probably because the lyrics don't get in the way. -- im
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Las Cecilias de Cuba / De Que Te Quejas? / Real Rhythm
(CD)
This charming CD fuses traditional Cuban salsa with modern day rock rhythms
and magnificent female vocals. The nine distinct female voices are the
primary reason why this CD excels, as each provides a unique personality
that's sassy and smart, yet still retains a sense of exuberance as it
entertains. With a full range of bongos, horns and Cuban percussion
devising an elaborate backdrop, Las Cecilias de Cuba's vocals shimmer, while
their fantastic understanding for melody has an uncanny knack for sinking a
rhythm into your brain, even though you may have no idea what they're
actually singing about. De Que Te Quejas? is one of the most
accessible world music releases you'll hear, so if you've always been
curious about world or Cuban music, here's a fine opportunity to check out
a stunning staging of salsa that's refreshingly affable and most certainly
the genuine article. It will dance, sing and shout its way into heavy
rotation at your home. -- am
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White Out with Jim O’Rourke / Drunken Little Mess / Ecstatic Peace (CD)
In the entire history of album titles, very few have suited their content
as well as Drunken Little Mess suits the abstract compositions of noise
terrorists White Out and producer extrordinaire Jim O’Rourke. Released
on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, Drunken Little Mess has an
awful lot in common with Sonic Youth’s recent avant garde offerings on
their SYR imprint. Recorded live at three separate locations,
this is a skewed melange of synths, tape hiss, live
guitar, drums, bass, flute and Jim O’Rourke’s severely punishing
PowerBook noodlings. Make no mistake, this is abrasive stuff, not suited
for everybody’s tastes, so if you automatically buy anything with O'Rourke's
name on it, exercise caution here. "Least Shred Of" and "Cloaking" are short,
stabbing slabs of pure noise, whereas "Maelstrom and Tear" and "Fury
Breath Flying at Half Mast" are full-blown noise rock operettas replete
with savage movement and brief bouts of solitude. Fans of Merzbow or
Atari Teenage Riot might want to explore the sheer sonic revolt of
Drunken Little Mess; the rest of you might want to steer clear and first
explore Mr. O’Rourke’s more digestible solo material. -- jj
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Schizoid / All Things Are Connected / D-Trash (CD)
Taking their cue from Alec
Empire's Atari Teenage Riot, Schizoid is pure robotic hell from Kitchener,
Ontario. From "Two Minutes Hate" to "Ampulate", the listener is assaulted
with bloody-throated yelps and treblized hyper hip-slop. It's one part grindcore
techno and two parts post-millenial tension. The graveyard circus that is
"Grim Prospects" is an interesting ride and the more clearly executed "Food
for Thought" is like drum'n'bass Nine Inch Nails. And yes, the lyrics are
all printed in CAPS. -- im
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gz - george zahora | nw - noah wane | am - andrew magilow | ib - irving bellemead | jj - jason jackowiak
td - theodore defosse | rd - ron davies | js - jenn sikes | rg - rodney gibbs | tnd - tim digravina | im - iain macleod
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