OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS
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The Ladder Failed, Soul Junk, Sunset Valley, Haujobb, Anton Barbeau, Len Brown Society, Vaportrail, Clyde, My Favorite, Readymaid, Propeller, The Moonies, The Mad Capsule Markets, Tait, The Knit Separates/Orange Cake Mix, The Intentions, Quilt, The Dimestore Haloes, Post-Haste, Rick Rose Rude, Tennessee Twin, Alun Piggins, The Murder City Devils, Tino, The Shelley Winters Project, Belle Da Gama, Salinger, Saint Sophia, Spyglass, The Tinklers with X.X.O.O., Kamal, Ox, The Tight Bros From Way Back When, The Double, Quinton, Sparechange00
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Various Artists / The Ladder Failed / Lazyline (CD)
If you enjoy the Little Darla compilations, you can stop reading now and just go buy this disc. I'm a big fan of this sort of "lots of unknown bands from the middle of nowhere" compilation. The good people at Lazyline have taken it upon themselves to sort through bedroom recordings from the southeastern US and release them in a lovely little package. The bands on The Ladder Failed don't seem to share any particular stylistic bent, although there is a generally mellow vibe that makes for a reasonably cohesive listen. There's bleepy electronica, fuzzy guitar pop and even a bit of improvised fusion here; it's a diverse collection of tracks that have clearly been selected for merit rather than allegiance to any particular scene or style. The recording quality on some of these songs isn't great, but the point here seems to be to introduce us to some new bands, not to wow us with production and gloss. I'd much rather have a hand-picked batch of songs from a bunch of bands I've never heard of than a full CD from each of those bands. I'm probably never going to listen to all of those CDs, but there's a very good chance I'll give the compilation at least a couple of spins. I really hope Lazyline, Darla and all the other labels doing this sort of thing keep it up. --
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Soul Junk / 1941 / Absalom (CD)
This cute 3" CD, which sounds a little like an audio experiment gone haywire, rumbles through programmed drum beats and beefy bass lines that lay down the low end. Known for his stark pro-Christian indie-rock beliefs, Soul Junk leader Glen "Galaxy" Galloway steers through everything from plodding electronica tracks to free-form jazz with eye-opening success. While this little piece of cuteness may make your li'l sis cry, its contents are of the more explosive variety. Circus-style keyboards and pitch-shifted vocals on "Rubbernecker (Slo neck rub remix)" prove that there are endless possibilities to Soul Junk's output. I'm not sure if you'll find God or Jesus buried in this release, but you may indeed have the musical revelation that Soul Junk needs more of your stereo's attention! --
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Sunset Valley / Icepond/ Barsuk (CD)
This is an album of great moments. There's the chorus of "Fall Fly", which launches into the musical troposphere like a rocket helmed by Thom Yorke, then crashes down in a gorgeous mess of scattered piano tinkling and bass guitar. There's singer Herman Jolly singing "I'll never see the surface again" as the band sweeps around to the dark side of the moon on the swooping space-rock of "Blackberry Bushes". Sunset Valley shares a label with Death Cab for Cutie, and they know how to chime and ring as well as anyone. Sunset Valley, however, seem more restless than most; they try their hand at a multitude of styles, and generally succeed. The lyrics are a stream of twisted brilliance; "You're a nut because you live so well/I'm a nut because I live in a shell," Jolly pronounces on "Nico Ride," and you have to marvel at the combination of wit and poignancy. At times, the band overreach themselves, delving into a new song only to come up with a retread of a better one from earlier on the album. However, if pop songs skewed into unexpected and appealing shapes is your thing, you'll find plenty of fish in this Icepond. --
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Haujobb / Polarity / Metropolis (CD)
It's immediately obvious that Haujobb didn't just sit around eating sausages during their two-year hiatus. They're back in full force, better than ever. While it initially seems cold and distant, Polarity is actually a work of rare depth -- at least by the standards of its genre. The usual industrial reference points -- Front 242, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly -- are acknowledged, but Haujobb has taken great care to update their sound, massaging breakbeats, ambient textures, throbbing 808 rhythms and other more "modern" elements into the mix without subverting the music's tone. In the process, they've produced some beautiful, albeit chilling, melodies; "Subsonic" and "Violator", for instance, are rich and cinematic, oozing with sci-fi romanticism despite the genre's supposed sterility. Polarity will never be a "happy" record, but Haujobb deserve credit for taking a step forward, away from their increasingly stagnant peers. --
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Anton Barbeau / The Golden Boot (Anthology, Vol. 2) / 125 (CD)
On his sixth release, Barbeau offers a selection of outtakes, demo versions and similar ephemera. For those unfamiliar with his repertoire, Barbeau travels the same melodic paths frequented by musical oddballs like Robyn Hitchcock and Elvis Costello. After listening to tracks like "Third Eye", you'll wonder why he hasn't scored a major radio hit yet. Like his aforementioned peers, Barbeau draws heavily from the Beatles' innovation, wrapping a pop song wrapped in a mysterious gauze so that it's as disturbing as it is pretty. Given the nature of the collection, it shouldn't be surprising that not everything here is a winner; however, the abundance of strong material makes you wonder what else he has hidden in his closet. While The Golden Boot may not make the best introduction to Barbeau's work, fans of intelligent geek rock could do a lot worse. --
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Len Brown Society / It Wasn’t the Smoothest Time / Galaxia (CD)
On It Wasn’t the Smoothest Time, The Len Brown Society prove themselves to be wolves in sheep’s clothing -- an art/noise-rock band posing as a delicate indie pop act. Sure, there are shimmering, lovelorn moments here (the positively Simon & Garfunkel-esque "Going Nowhere" and the genteel "Blind Man’s Toupee" spring to mind), but most of the time the Browns are too busy whipping up a noisy maelstrom to really care about heartbreak or melody. On the art-damaged "Talk to Bob" the band squeals and squalls around a tipsy rhythm and some woozy trumpet blurts, while the odd sound experiments "Paris 98" and "Womyn" sound like acid-fried Olivia Tremor Control outtakes. "Chlorine" is absolutely massive, a brutish, guitar-driven number that's certain to make young children cry. However, underneath the fury and sheer noisy abandon is a band that understands that beauty arises from the strangest places, even though we hardly ever look for it there... which makes It Wasn’t the Smoothest Time the wolf that it’s okay to root for. --
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Vaportrail / The Angel Has Landed / Self-Released (CD)
My latest Splendid box contained an unexpected vein of "space rock" -- Vaportrail, Iowaska (reviewed next week) and who knows how many others. Vaportrail’s brand of space rock is a fairly unique beast. This is the stuff of floating; perhaps it’s even what the astronaut would have piped into his helmet as he dreamily bounced around the outside of a space-station, tethered to civilization by a thin safety line. "Suspended" is a particularly relaxing dreamscape in this vein. "Dream Yourself Awake" is a almost like a creative visualization exercise, in which the vocalist places you in a gentle space-scape. There are a few noisier moments on the album -- "Europa" and the opening to "Eta Carina", for example -- but what this band does best is enable the listener to drift off into the space of reverie and quietude. --
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Clyde/ Self-Titled / Baby Julius (CD)
Clyde are one of the more popular acts in New York City these days. They have the vocal talent and commercial tastes of a Pearl Jam, albeit one with a hand on the rap-metal scene, and can be seen for many dollars less in a small club. Since the evil figures in their songs aren't always workers at Ticketmaster, they're also a lot less irritating than Pearl Jam. So far, it's easy to understand New York's apparent love affair with the group. However, to like Clyde, you have to like a group whose music tries not so much to win fans as to win a big record deal. This self-titled debut is nothing but a demo, intended to woo major label executives. The first four songs sound like instant hits, and will insure them major label status, while every other song is plodding, tiresome filler. To give you one example, on "Good Guys Finish Last", the singer takes long pauses between each word in the title. Why would a band want to find out how fucking long a cliché can be stretched? I only assume the test came out of some bet proposed by the drummer, and that's fine, but why put it on your CD too? It sure makes me envy the major label executives whose attention spans last only twenty minutes. --
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My Favorite/ A Cult Of One / Double Agent (CD)
On the second installment in the Joan Of Arc trilogy, My Favorite flex their New Order/Pet Shop Boys muscles for slightly more than fifteen minutes of flashbacks. It's true that A Cult Of One is short on length, but that's why they put all those "repeat" options on your CD player. Consider it quality over quantity. "Le Monster" stands out as classic '80s British New Wave material, and though it's a familiar sound, it's done so well here that you can't help but want more. It's understandable why leg warmers and Flock of Seagulls hairdos faded away with the '80s, but the near disappearance of New Wave is another thing entirely. Thankfully, My Favorite are more than willing to fill the void. --
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Readymaid / Jets from the Beginning / Monumental (7")
The "Similar artists and influences" portion of Readymaid's PR material reads like an alt.encyclopedia: artists listed include (among others) Radiohead, Low, Beck and Squarepusher, along with The Beatles and Bach. Judging from the two tracks on this 7", however, Dave Matthews Band might be a more appropriate comparison. The incongruously named "Hello Kitty Beast Machine" moves along at the kind of ambling, loose-limbed pace that six men jamming tend to produce; the hint of gravel in the vocal reinforces the Matthews' effect, while French horns, vibraphones and a saw and bow enliven the folk-rock instrumentation. Obviously skilled, Readymaid lack a certain straining vision that inhabits the music of most of their influences. A darker vibe charges "Old (It Gets)", which sounds a little like a depressive Clem Snide, but ultimately it too passes by without leaving much of an impression. --
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Propeller / The Art of Clear Thinking /Makoto (CD)
Almost entirely instrumental emo, The Art of Clear Thinking sweeps you off your feet from the first bar of its five-song ride. "South Chicago" sounds as grungy as Southeast Baltimore (i.e., Dundawk), with a bluesy sound in the guitar chords that reminds me of some of Hendrix's chitlin' circuit-era stuff. It's the best song, as well; later songs are more emo than jazzy, and the bandmembers sing more. Their voices might be good, but sound so distant I can barely hear them. If emo isn't dead yet, these guys may be part of the reason why there's still some life in the genre. --
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The Moonies / At the Movies / Sexy Diablo (CD)
The Moonies come from Australia and write pop anthems for young hipsters. Well, to be more precise, At the Movies is something of a concept album about being a young, hip, poor, gay artist living in a "share house". There's also a subplot about being a filmmaker. A typical line goes, "Young filmmaker you better beware, they don’t like pansies over there. The lens is round but the screen is square." The music ranges from Stones-y blues numbers and straight-up pop to downtempo indie, all with mixed results. Some moments are catchy and enjoyable, but overall, the recording quality and consistency is not solid enough for me to recommend this -- unless you're a young, hip, gay artist living in a "share house". Or want to be one. --
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The Mad Capsule Markets / OSC-DIS (Oscillator in Distortion) / Ryko/Palm (CD)
I don't know what impresses me more: this Filipino group's ability to combine punk, metal, grunge, gabber, techno, hip-hop and a dozen other genres, or the fact that they're able to generate so much hype for a two-year-old record. Described as Japan's most aggressive band, the decade-old group, which sounds like a mixture of Atari Teenage Riot, Ministry and Lords of Acid run through a Nipponese cultural filter, is finally making its big move in the US. The time could be right: OSC-DIS has enough crunchy intensity to hook the Digital Hardcore crowd, some big riffs to pique the interest of adventurous nu-metal listeners, and an anarchistic pop sensibility that could play well with punk rock kids. And of course, the group's whole body armor/robot/hi-tech image should play well with America's huge animé subculture, although the Mad Capsule Markets' overall "look" wisely avoids the trite Manga art tie-ins that a few Stateside bands have beaten to death. Dismiss them as over-marketed crap if you'd like, but the thought of music this abrasive moving major units with the backwards-visor crowd is appealingly ironic. --
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Tait / Empty /Forefront (CD)
At least one broad-based music website files Tait under Gospel. While I wouldn't go quite that far, I'll admit that their weighty lyrics do seem to speak to a certain brand of listener more concerned with spirituality than the next big thing. The band teams DC Talk frontman Michael Tait with a group of competent rock musicians. Their debut is an all-encompassing modern rock record with requisite R&B, soul and funk subgenres taking precedence on a few tracks. On the band's first radio single, "All You Got", a simplistic, yet effective melody bolsters the song with enough oomph to create lasting appeal. The album's remaining hooks are held in relatively similar parallels, while the songs' individual styles take a few twists and turns that separate them from the rest of the disc. --
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The Knit Separates/Orange Cake Mix / Split / 3 Acre Floor (LP)
This handsomely packaged split 12" release pits the unjustly ignored Frisco Bay sensations The Knit Separates against internationally renowned popmeister Jim Rao (aka Orange Cake Mix) in a battle for the softer side of your heart. Side A drops the Separates waist-deep in a sea of wistful melodies, guitar fuzz and sunny harmonies. The urgent "Finding Out About Your Life" is drenched in squalling melancholy, while "Moonboys" is a scratchy sea-shanty serenade to no one in particular. On the flipside, Rao efficiently dispatches seven slices of distinctively shimmering oddball pop. He reaches deep into his bag of tricks to pull out gorgeous renditions of Big Star’s "Nightime" and Felt’s "Female Star". The instrumental opener, "The Glimpse", shows-off Rao’s knack for penning sublimely orchestrated pop, while "Through Hazy Eyes"’s layered production and samba breaks suggest that Rao has a J-pop record or two lying around the house. Filled from beginning to end with glistening musical treats, this split release deserves a safe and happy home on your turntable. --
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The Intentions / Self-Titled / (CD)
A bad thing happened when the Intentions, like so many bands before them, decided to combine punk and pop. The results of their experiment are grungy, but lack the bad-ass edge that originally made punk so cool. And on the pop side, there are well defined choruses, and you can make out the words, but none of the music is remotely catchy. The lyrics are a little more palatable, but could still use some work. Take "You Live With Your Parents" -- sure, it's an interesting concept for their genre, but nearly half of the song's interminable hundred and fifty seconds are taken up by the vocalist singing its title in a nagging, nasal voice, as if he was a neo-punk suburbanite. Their more successful songs are the ones in which the subject is more fleshed out, like "Good Mood", which is a character sketch of a working man. Too often, the Intentions get lost in their genre, offering guitars that are a little too tough to pull you in and choruses that aren't memorable enough to bring you back. --
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Quilt / Blazing Sock Monkeys / Giordano Entertainment (CD)
Judging by the music on Blazing Sock Monkeys, Quilt must have used up most of their creative energies in thinking of a name for their album. They certainly didn't waste any inspiration on the music. With its loud riffs and off-key singing, as demonstrated in songs like "Tarantula" and "Epileptic Whitey", Blazing Sock Monkeys attempts to attach itself the sleaze-rock of bands like Buckcherry, but falls a little short of that modest goal. The whole thing hits a nadir with "Last Dance", which begins with a extraordinarily bad cover of "Stairway to Heaven" and...well, let's just say it doesn't get better. Incredibly, the liner notes lists seventeen musicians as having some part in this album. It's a pity none of them had a decent tune to share. --
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The Dimestore Haloes / Dumb Radio b/w No Place Like Home / With an X (7")
While it includes all the elements of a good release, this two-song 7" has trouble coming together in the end. The Dimestore Haloes mix Chaz Matthew's vocals at the forefront of each of these tunes. While Matthew's husky lines are delivered with confidence, nothing helps them stand out from the rest of the bands in the overcrowded rock 'n' roll music pool. Without a way to make an immediate and lasting impression, The Dimestore Haloes are forced to rely on the music, which is crisp and direct, but more of a backing force than something that attracts your attention. Intriguing enough to inspire you to research other Haloes releases, but not strong enough to make you an immediate fan, this 7" is more like a bridge, leading you to mightier Haloes sounds. --
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Post-Haste / Adventures of a Mathematician / Ionik (CD)
In "I've Seen Perfection", Post-Haste are not referring to their own song. Even with the can't-go-wrong ba-ba chorus, it's fairly unlistenable. Ditto for "Metaphysical Waltz", which makes the same mistake, forgetting that whiny vocals are their group's trademark. This is a good band with obvious limits, and whenever they veer near heartfelt pop-soul, they go far beyond those limits. Happily, in the album's other four songs, Post-Haste not only know their limitations but capitalize on them, which makes for some of the best new-wave this side of Barcelona. "A Good Pop Song" sounds like it's been done before, but it's very catchy and a lot of fun, while "A.O.A.M." is a mind-meld of Elastica, Gary Numan and Six Cents and Natalie. "Are U Covered" is urgent, driving twee-pop drinking music, and "Ugli Fountains" brings to mind Mollycuddle, a group I seem to love to mention in reviews of bands that I like. Four out of six is just as good as two out of three, and the band at their best is good enough to see any time they come to your town. --
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Rick Rose Rude / Murder By Guitar / Bleeding Rose (CD)
Time and energy do not seem to be scarce resources in the land of Rick Rose Rude. According to his copious press materials, the Ocala, Florida-based fuzz-rocker has been cranking out gobs of DIY rawk-and-roll cassettes and CD-Rs for several years now. He sings and plays all of the instruments on Murder by Guitar, and wrote all but two of the ten tunes. These are not high-quality recordings, but they're good enough to make it clear that Rude is a good-natured and slightly goofy guy with a serious jones for living the rock and roll dream. He calls his music "glitter gutter guitar rock", and that's a pretty fair description. The only problem is that Rude's one-man-band setup really doesn't allow for that much in the way of rocking out. There's a great moment on his cover of Johnny Thunders' "Chatterbox", where he says "come on, ring my bell" and then proceeds to ring what sounds like a tiny pair of finger symbols. He follows this up with a scrawny guitar solo that sounds like it's coming out of a broken AM radio. Despite all that, Rude is clearly a talented fellow, and he really enjoys the music he's making, which in a perfect world would be just about enough. --
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Tennessee Twin / These Thoughts Are Occupied b/w Oh Darkness / Mint (7")
Forget alt-country -- this is the genuine article. Cindy Wolfe (actual twin sister to Bratmobile's Allison Wolfe) leads her skilled ensemble through a pair of twangy ballads that wouldn't sound out of place in any bar-room jukebox. "These Thoughts Are Occupied", while semantically suspect (you see, a mind can be occupied, but thoughts themselves can't...oh, sod it), is a perfect tale of post-breakup bravado, teaming Wolfe's mandolin and high-pitched, girly-girl vocals with fiddle, accordion and some gorgeous pedal steel; it goes on a little too long, but is otherwise flawless. "Oh Darkness" lacks the memorable lyrics of the A-side, but compensates by being shorter and sweeter, with more of that gorgeous mandolin/pedal steel interplay. If you can get your head around the concept of buying a country single by an expatriate Californian and her Canadian friends, you'll be well pleased by Tennessee Twin. Bring on the full-length! --
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Alun Piggins / Balladesque / Moldy Floor Records (CD)
First of all, I have to announce that Balladesque had an unfair advantage with me from the start; not only is the album cover a deliberate homage to the Replacements' classic Let It Be, but his pose apes that of the coolest 'Mat, Tommy Stinson. After that, I would probably have liked his record even if he'd used only his feet to record it. That being said, Balladesque is a solid, if somewhat standard singer/songwriter record. Piggins is the kind of guy who would record his music even if no one wanted to listen to it, and the album reflects that attitude, both in positive and negative ways. The first few tracks, "Heading Out West", "Navigate By The Stars" and "Fire In The Window" are all solid songs based on acoustic guitars, basic drums and the occasional harmonica. Piggins' voice is clear and satisfying, and the lyrics are well-thought-out. The problem is, once you get past those three, the rest of the album is essentially more of the same. Sure, he's capable of rocking in a very polite Paul Westerberg-solo sort of way, but he's not the songwriter his presumptive idol is. Certain tracks, like "Eclipsing," are very good, and given the right mood, this album is precisely what hits the spot. It's a perfect sound for lazy Sunday afternoons around the house, but it's not quite strong enough to jolt you awake on the Monday commute. --
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The Murder City Devils / Thelema / Sub Pop (CD)
If Morticia Addams ever listened to rock music, her favorite band would almost certainly be The Murder City Devils. Their efficacious blend of fire-breathing punk rock and late '60s horror film soundtracks would certainly have appealed to her skewed sense of morose immortality. Thelema, the Seattle sextet’s newest offering, goes a little bit further in cementing their reputation as the kings and queen of Edgar Allan Poe-inspired rock ‘n roll. From the opening roar of "That’s What You Get" to the spooky lamentations of "364 Days", Thelema buries itself deep in your mind, leaving you feeling paranoid, jubilant and terrified all at once. Once again, lead singer Spencer Moody regales us with tales of murder, love, sacrifice and heavy drinking while his bandmates encircle him, creating a soundtrack for his lurid tales that’s as frightening as it is intoxicating. No other band makes pain and suffering sound as unequivocally cool as The Murder City Devils do here, which is exactly why you just might catch Morticia flailing about in the pit the next time this lot come to town. --
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Tino / Architectonic #33 / Self-Released (CD)
Using carefully selected vocal samples, such as a very proper sounding man repeating (but not over-repeating) "It's quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it?", Architectonic #33 takes you on a voyage into a bizarre and occasionally eerie world. As far as home-made electronic-acoustic hybrid discs go, this is about as good as you're likely to find. The melodic "Sunday Morning" and the atmospheric "More Than A Bird" stand out, but none of the five tracks here are likely to disappoint. Your only real dilemma may be in trying to obtain a copy of the disc; Tino's website is completely in French, so you may need to dust off those old French 101 textbooks or take your chances with Babelfish just to place an order. Believe me, the extra effort is certainly worth your time. --
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The Shelley Winters Project / Self-Titled / Self-Released (CD)
Wow, track three ("Water") sounds a lot like the Sisters of Mercy. Just for a few moments, but they were my favorite moments on the whole EP. And then the next track, "Blood", sounds like the theme from Shaft. Ohhhh, maybe they mean "blood" in the jive-talkin’ sense. The Shelley Winters Project is a five-piece from Boston that specializes in pastiche-pop; they pull in funk, some Zappa, a bit of folk. My main difficulty with music like this is how completely deliberate it sounds -- it’s just too self-aware and accessorized -- but if you're into orchestrated pop, you'll find a lot to like in The Shelley Winters Project. --
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Belle Da Gama / Garden Abstract / 125 (CD)
These ten tracks push all the right alt-rock buttons. The opener, "The Mozart Defect", offers ear-pleasing three part harmonies, "CA Redemption Value" has a nifty guitar line running between the choruses, and "The Cult of Kids" provides a rough noise-fest. While all of the songs are solidly written, there is little to distinguish Belle Da Gama from the Gin Blossoms or any other band that received heavy rotation on early '90s college radio. This is a bit of a disappointment, because the band has chops and can pen a catchy melody. Nevertheless, this is a strong debut album, and hopefully the band will establish a more idiosyncratic sound for their next effort. --
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Salinger / Bobby Thomson EP / Self-Released (CD)
Salinger's mix of soft rock and post-punk leaves little room for the intimacy that they strive for in their lyrics. The music never settles into a groove, none of the melodies chisel their way into your heart and no huge guitar rock solos offer a mind-blowing climax. That's why you need to listen to the EP a few times to get really close to it. Once you've done this, you'll find that there was plenty of emotion present the whole time. The opener, "The Girl With Nothing to Say", is the perfect song for anyone who has ever desired a person who couldn't care less; "Quite simply, it's temptation...it's like a disease / the most beautiful I've ever seen." Salinger continues to be topnotch from there. "Gina Faria" is a short and desperate track in which the narrator recalls an old lover. The disc closes with the slow and introspective "Goodnight Now", in which the band says its goodbyes in a poetic, Songs: Ohia vein. --
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Saint Sophia / The Deep Nothings Network / LittleGirlEmpire/BMI (CD)
The Deep Nothings Network deepens the musical explorations of their first album, Example: I Die On My Knees, rather than moving away from that style. The band has only one major idea, which they push and pull into various shapes, but the result is a very well-unified album that flows smoothly from track to track. The music, strangely enough, is driven by acoustic guitar, big fat bass and drums that are led by crashing cymbals -- all three occasionally overwritten by atmospheric synth. The band has been compared to Gary Numan, Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis: moody prog-rock with a grad degree in art criticism. To be perfectly honest, they remind me of King Crimson. Late summer's hotter-than-hell death grip will be released when you listen to this -- it's like being stuck in the Hirschorn overnight with a full moon outside and some patchouli burning in the corner. --
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Spyglass / Strategies for the Stranded / Pattern 25 (CD)
On their second album, Spyglass continue to take their music into lush, dark, velvety depths, with the help of Barbara Trentalange’s deep, ghostly voice and John Roth’s crafty and dissident Rhodes and Vibe melodies. While their sound compares closely to the oft-imitated-but-never-topped Portishead, with some guitar lines inspired by the other influential ‘head, they have established their own unique and mature style. While the album begins with their poppiest song, "This Heaven", the songs get deeper, darker and more complex as the album unfolds. The five-piece band works exceptionally well together, using spare guitar lines to open up room for intriguing hooks and Barbara’s satisfying vocal melodies, while the bass and drums diligently drive home the groove. Strategies for the Stranded is a complex emotional puzzle that not only fits nicely together, but paints a pretty picture. --
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The Tinklers with X.X.O.O. / Self-Titled / Music a la Coque (7")
Hazy, stream of consciousness lyrics are the hallmark of this Half Japanese side band. Recorded back in 1984 and 1985, these slightly loopy and topically curious tracks explore everything from whales to rhetorical religious questions. The Tinklers and X.X.O.O. create a unique sound that has the feel of lo-fi Half Japanese, but distances itself by instilling a distinct spatiality into the music, creating well-defined ambiance. The suaveness of the Fair brothers creates a roomy, free-form environment that leaves space for your own mental explorations. This Italian 7" is probably more geared towards collectors; the monotone, reverb-drenched recordings will lose your attention quickly, unless you're attuned to the eccentric Half Japanese frequency of incredible tales and derelict deviancies. --
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Kamal / aka RJ-Block / Dapwati Entertainment (CD)
OutKast may have spent the past couple of years dragging hip-hop into a liberated fantasia of a future, but there are still plenty of MCs with their eyes on the past. Aka RJ-Block presents Colonia, NJ's Kamal, whose minimal production and straight-jacketed lyric style recall the second tier of mid-'80s rap talent. For ten songs, Kamal makes plain his love for the ladies and his own rap prowess; little else enters his field of vision, and ten tracks of posturing and leering quickly become tiresome. Kamal's lyrics range from the simplistic ("So sucker MCs, cut the crapola/You don't know shit from shinola") to the lascivious ("I'm glad I got your numba/Looking at you makes my jones/stiff like a cucumba"), as he makes like a latter-day 2 Live Crew with repetitively explicit rhymes. (Best lines: "I'll bathe in your juices/Don't give me no excuses/I'll rub your body down/just like the best masseuses.") The music sticks to a mid-tempo groove, spiced up with occasional organ and squealing rock guitar. By the time Kamal compares himself to Michael Jordan ("I'm the Rolls-Royce of rap") there's no getting around the lack of skills, but the rapper's sincerity isn't in question -- and on the bright side, the album has a refreshing lack of gunplay and misogyny. --
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Ox / Don't Call Me Lazy / Allegory (CD)
When a band sends us small toys along with their CD, I typically have two responses: (1) "Cool, toys!" followed by (2) "Uh-oh. This record probably isn't very good." Ox sent us one of the most amusing packages we've ever received -- a lovingly-packed box that included a small plastic alien figure, a glow-in-the-dark star and a little container of "alien goo"...oh, and Don't Call Me Lazy, too. The "space" theme, while not an obvious choice based on the album's title, is addressed by several of its songs. And how's the music? Well, the members of Ox freely admit that they play for their own enjoyment, and their tastes lean toward thick, sprawling stoner rock. Don't Call Me Lazy sounds a little like Black Sabbath as performed by ZZ Top, and a little like Bardo Pond covering Pearl Jam. Despite some throwaway lyrics and characteristically muddy small studio production, these guys work well together, and they produce some solid rock'n'roll moments here -- see "Cool Cat" and "You Got Me Runnin'", not to mention the epic closer "The Intelligent Race". If nothing else, Ox prove that music made "for fun" doesn't necessarily have to be a cartload of trite crap. --
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The Tight Bro's From Way Back When / Lend You a Hand / Kill Rock Stars (CD)
The emo kid stood in quiet contemplation, looking at the setting sun...and just as a single tear formed in his right eye, the Tight Bro's From Way Back When kicked his little emo ass and stole his girlfriend. That emo kid went on to write songs about how his ass was kicked and his girlfriend stolen, but the Tight Bro's went on to rock harder and harder with the hope that if they could out-rock the other rock bands, perhaps people would like them more. Such is the Tight Bros' relationship with the independent music scene. In this modern world, songs seem to have gotten too emotional and too complex, and who'll deny that a dose of refried primitivism and anti-intellectual rawk -- in the spirit of AC/DC -- isn't a little refreshing? Personally, I couldn't stand Jared's wailing, rock-typical voice and found myself focusing in on the lead guitarist, who at times showed a little talent in keeping the riffs coming and keeping them varied. For example, "Bring Your Thunder" alone probably has enough hardy rock riffs to fill up an entire Black Sabbath album. But in the end, all you have is a lump of unpleasant loudness that's as inspirational as a pile of dirty clothes. --
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The Double / Loose Crochet / Fifty Four Forty or Fight! (CD)
To say that Double's music is as abstract and colorful as the painting that adorns the cover of their debut release would be quite a drastic understatement. Over the course of Loose Crochet’s eight tracks the duo, consisting of drummer/vocalist Jeff McLeod and guitarist/vocalist David Greenhill, combines sideways rhythms and odd time signatures with ungainly guitars and (frankly) painful vocals, concocting a sound that’s part free jazz, part no-wave yet all Double. At times, they sound as if they have no business at all making music ("Swears"), while other moments prove them to be remarkably adept noisemongers ("Southern Born Songs I Imagine Alive for Real"). Wildly uneven yet strangely endearing, Loose Crochet is prefect listening for those of you with one foot in the art museum and the other in the mosh pit. --
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Quinton / Hoover Records Presents... / Hoover (CD)
According to his press, Quinton's music possesses a "Dylan-esque independent edge." What it fails to mention is that the Dylan they refer to is not the 1960s icon, but rather his son, Jakob, lead singer of the Wallflowers. Hoover Records Presents... is a half-hour of better-than-average roots rock, with songs like "America" and "I" showcasing a performer who has an ear for a nice tune and a decent voice. It's far from the gun-toting cowboy vigilante image he would seemingly like to put forth, according to the bizarre stickers that come with his album. Quinton is definitely a competent performer with a bright future ahead of him. But the savior of rock? Most assuredly not. --
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Sparechange00 / Fifty Thousand Moments / Cargo (CD)
Sparechange00 has a unique way of creating walls of guitar-laden harmony, making each song sound like an entire pop album that's been smooshed, boxed and refined into a concentrated food bar. The result is quite pleasing, giving lovers of pop more bang for their buck and lovers of post-punk, well, post-punk. Both musically and lyrically, the album lives up to its title; each song is simply jam-packed with ever-changing harmonies, fast guitar riffs and stories of nights that you remember for their difficulty and angst. For example, in "Heart's the Driver", singer Ryan Watts sings of driving from coast to coast, seeing his band-mate asleep in the back seat and, among other particular memories of the trip ("food poisoning in Jersey"), his own thoughts and emotions. By the time the song ends, you can't help but feel satiated. And that's only the first of five tracks. --
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gz - george zahora | am - andrew magilow | ib - irving bellemead | jj - jason jackowiak | td - theodore defosse
rd - ron davies | js - jenn sikes | rt - ryan tranquilla | al - amy leach | jw - john wolfe
az - alex zorn | ea - ed anderson | jk - josh kazman | mp - matthew pollesel | bm - brett mccallon
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