September 2005
Live
ORANGER 8/24
Record
The Tears (click here to read)
The Go-Betweens
Goldfrapp
Orange Juice
The Arcade Fire
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The Cribs
The Concretes
Silversun Pickups
I Am Kloot
Wolfman
Devendra Banhart
Annie
Modey Lemon
Portastatic
Grandaddy
T. Raumschmiere
Cheeseburger
Dirty Three
Yoko Utsumi
Madness
PINE*am
Anastacia
Towers of London
Hackensaw Boys
Broadcast
Turbonegro
Abigail Washburn
Dance Disaster Movement
The Isles
Brakes
Broken Spindles
The Joggers
Gang of Four
Live
ORANGER
8/24 Cafe Du Nord
What is with San Francisco and promising rock bands?
Everyone had heard of Oranger,
poised for years as the next big thing, yet there were
hardly any people in attendance on
a clear, relatively fog free evening at the Cafe Du Nord.
The band knew it too - they shuffled aimlessly onstage and
stumbled into a sloppy
cover of "Corona" by the Minutemen. Watching the first couple
lackluster songs of the
evening, you began to worry that one band member would turn
to the other and say,
"Y'know, fuck this. Do you want to go grab a burrito?"
It took a while for them to even look up from their
respective instruments, but a few
songs in, Oranger forgot that they were playing to
jaded musicians and sloppy seconds of
the opening band's friends imported from Daly City
and loosened up. Melodic, beautiful,
didn't - you - hear - that - on - the - radio - one - summer - breaking - up - with - what's - her - name songs.
Modest Mouse after a coupla bouts of therapy happy. When some unsung hero brought a
round of tequila shots onto the stage for the band, the stagefright was over. Oranger
ignored the audience and purely and simply rocked out.
And when the music started to flow, everything that would seem snotty if presented by
hipsters with white belts and fauxhawks only lended itself to Oranger's grown-up
shoegazer charm. Inside jokes, jumping up and down in unison, pretending to break into a
eighties cowbell solo; when these antics made lead singer MIke Drake break into his
earnest grin, you could practically hear the audience sigh in appreciation. Elvis
Costello's charm, Squeeze's pop hooks, and a generous helping of the Replacements irony,
placed there only to postpone the inevitable heartbreak. Love you, I don't love you.
Well, okay yes, I do really love you, but I can't tell you because you'd crush me, Drake
seemed to be singing.
And who knows, with the fickle SF scene abandoning one of it's brighter musical
hopes, maybe he has a point.
Tuula Ala
album: "New Comes and Goes" in stores September 20th.
Audio MP3
"Crooked In The Weird Of The Catacombs"
"Crones"
Buy New Comes and Goes for $14.98 on Amazon!
Record
The Go-Betweens
Oceans Apart
USA release date: April of 2005
The Go-Betweens
Oceans Apart
Sometimes not selling any records has it's virtues. If as Lucinda Williams sang 'take
the glory anyday over the fame', then you coud see the Go-Betweens career as the
embodiment of just that..One of the most legendary of cult bands, they have produced a
body of work that is singular in its consistency. If you haven't heard them, then buy
all of them, there's barely a duff track on a cv stretching from Send Me A Lullaby (1982)
to this year's majestic Oceans Apart. And yet this is a band whose collective 80's output
troubled the charts for 2 weeks. Formed in 78 at a Queensland University, the principal
members Robert Forster and Grant Mclennan quickly forged a musical identity even though
Mclennan had no musical experience. Within four months they had released 'Lee Remick'
and 'Karen' as a single and distributed it independently.
A series of albums followed; Send me a Lullaby, Before Hollywood, Spring Hill
Fair, Lberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, Talluah and 16 Lovers Lane after which
they folded only to reform (minus rhythm section) in 2000. Their records are a prodigious
bunch easily matching The Smiths, another 80's band whose recordings are byword for
consistent greatness. Each record is dripping with immaculate, perfectly crtafted
vignettes. Intellligent and vaguely bookish without being cerebral, always heartwarming
and romantic with the occasional dark undertow. Each record managed to be utterly
different from the last without any novel or dramatic stylistic shifts.
Part of this is undoubtedly due to their catholic tastes. The old phrase 'there's
old wave, new wave and David Bowie could easily have the Go-Betweens name inserted at the
end. Their foundations lie in the bricolage ethics of the new wave (particuarly the heady
angular NY sound) but that was married to a love for Dylan and the pure pop of Mamas and
The Papas and the Monkees. Not for them the hermetic purity of the era.
Within that, the Go-betweens shaped a musical world that was uniquely theirs. Sometimes
reconfiguring that twitchy, wiry NY sound into the shape of a torch song (Liberty
Belle's twin layers of lightning) and sometimes losing themselves in a haze of gossamer
pop (virtually all of 16 lovers lane).The Go-betweens have reformed with 3 records the
Friends of Rachel Worth (2000), Bright Yellow, Bright Orange (2002) and the latest
Oceans Apart. The new one is the most fully realized of their 2nd wave of records.
Recorded in London the use of 16 Lovers Lane producer Mark Wallis provides a link with
former glories that is fitting for a record that seems to stand alongside their best 80's
work.
Oceans Apart perfecty ilustrates the dynamic synergy between these 2 songwriters.
Initially the contrast is overt; the brisk one take urgency of Robert's Here Comes A City
gives way to Grant's reflecttive, wistful Finding You. Or as Mojo put it Forster's 'gutsy
biography' juxtaposed with Mclennan's 'time worn recollection. However, as the record
progresses the boundaries seem to erode and the songwriters respective visions almost
coalesce in the closing 4 track passage Forster himself surrenders to a poetic
sensibility on the Mountains Near Dellray, a bucolic reverie akin to a dream vision.
The record seamlessly fuses a geographic journey with a corresponding emotional
odyssey rich with memories and clipped narrative detail. From the frenetic forward rush
of Here Comes a City (inspired by a german train journey), the record moves back and
forth taking in vivid recollections of youthful ambition (Robert's autobiographical
Darlinghurst Years) and former loves scattered across time and the globe (Grant's No
Reason To Cry).
All of this makes for a very rich listening experinece; embossed with detail and
yet condensed succintly into the space of 10 songs clocking in at under 40 minutes. The
sound itself is suitably panoramic, as Mclennan notes this is the Go-Betweens '1st
headphones record'. Lush and layered yet crisp and energized, the arrangements are as
sensitively nuanced as the details in the songs themselves. Both No reason To Cry and
The Statue feature creamy electronic flourishes that delicately lace the songs while
never saturating the mix. Forster's Lavender even takes in some Peter Tosh style reggae without ever
sounding like the Go-Betweens do reggae.
The songwriting meanwhile is as strong as ever. Mclennan's Boundary Rider is a kind
of companion piece to Cattle And Cane revisiting as it does the farmlands of the singer's
childhood. Here the composition is ghostly and breezy all at once; recalling the
protagonists who roamed andscapes in Jimmy Webb's songs like wichita lineman. It is
amost disarming in its brevity,hypnotic enough to leve itself lodged in your brain long
after it has finished.
Reformations tend to be problematic propositions; bands never often soar to the
heights of former glories which somehow demystifies their legacy. with records as good as
this, the Go-Betweens are clearly an exception.
Buy Oceans Apart new at Amazon for $13.99
Goldfrapp
Supernature
Mute USA
USA release date: February of 2006
The cult of vapid, manicured celebrity lies all around us; a grim mutation of the
Warhol prophecy that 'in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes'. Now, more
than ever, people are famous for being famous. Pop stars are culled from reality TV,
groomed by stylists, given songs to sing and are generally devoid of any personality or
iconoclastic edge. Glamour has become synonymous with a production line banality...
Which is why the ascent of Alison Goldfrapp (and her partner, Will Gregory) is such a
refreshing joy. The duo's debut Felt Mountain (2000) was vaguely part of the post-trip
hop, post-Portishead landscape. However, its haunted, twisted torch songs showed the
dark heart of a singular talent. As intoxicating and sombre as any european movie, Felt
mountain sat awkwardly among the anodyne 'tasteful' coffee table electronica it was
lumped together with. The follow-up Black Cherry (2003) was a dramatic stylistic
overhaul, ditching the widescreen Harry Palmer on Mars soundscapes for an electro-glam
striptease sprinkled with fairy dust. Again the sound offered a tenuous link to the
emperor's new clothes movement that was electroclash. However, as with the debut, they
offered an embarrassment of riches that transcended any prevaiing zeitgeist. Like the
stars of the golden age of the 70's and 80's, the band seemed instinctively aware of how
sound and image coalesce and interact in the world of pop. The bricolage ethics of their
presentation seems more in keeping with the extravagant personas (Bowie, Bush, Prince, Bolan,
Roxy to name a few) that shaped their own worlds with their records.
If the first two records, loomed in the shadows sneakily showing the mainstream all
it was missing, then Supernature is their bid to steal the show and move center stage. It
is everything a great pop record should be; a perfect balance between sassy hooks and the
avant-garde Everything seems turbo-charged & chartbound. Songs don't politely fade out
here, they vapourize abruptly. Yet the taut ,streamlined concision of the grooves and
melodies never eschew their trademark idiosnycrasies and sonic wizadry.
First single "Ooh La La" repeats the formula of previous singles Twist and Strict
Machine. But here the slapback vocal effects and chugging metronomic beat creates a
record that wears its Bolan infuence on its sleeve. Its ferocious blatancy means it
wastes no time in packing its punch. The vocal rocks back and forth between the brazen
and the romantic(swtch me on, turn me up...oh child of venus, you're just made for
love). Here and throughout, the soundscapes are well within the realms of the cutting
edge but this filtered through a pop sensibility that is pungently evocative of a
bygone.age "Ooh La La's" video itself recalls an era of Biba, Bowie & Roxy Music , not as
a nostalgia-fest but merely invoking a time when genuinely intelligent and stylish
people had seized the pop means of production.
After this each nugget comes thick and fast, the pop attack is almost giddying.
"Ride A White Horse" in its title references the opulent decadence of Studio 54 when people
actually entered discotheques on horses. The song itself is a wonderful tango between
the utterly modern and the antique; whiplash beats and techno glitches vie with bubbling
vintage synths for the listener's attention while the chorus is an ecstatic Human league
style reverie.
All of which makes Supernature sound llike a cut and paste job of pop past, present
and future. Which of course it is; cultural collage is one of the hallmarks of the great
pop stylist. And yet it is so much more than that. Alison Goldfrapp is one of modern
music's few truly great vocaists. Forget the lazy Madonna and Kyie comparisons, she is a
chanteuse to rank aongside Kate Bush and Liz Fraser. Like the former she efforltessly
weaves the sensual and the sexy into her delivery. At times Supernature sounds like the
record you wish Bush and Prince woud have made together. The Erotic City fantasia of
Slide In suggests this as does "U Never Know"; its sleazy synth stabs and vertiginoous ,
spiralling vocal layers pitching it somewhere between a go-go dance and an opera. As with
Liz fraser, Goldfrapp is capabe of moments of ineffable beauty only conveyed by wordless
incantations. Both "Let It Take You" and "Time Out for a Day" climax with such spine-tinging
flourishes.
The music itsef is sparse and yet rich with detail. The dazzlingly inventive tricks
of Black Cherry are filtered through "Felt mountain"'s immense sense of space . Koko's
tantalisingly brief eastern intro gives way to chunky Numanoid synths that Goldfrapp's
ethereal vocal icily skates over creating a hypnotic, disembodied effect. Simiarly, the
honky tonk piano riff that galvanizes mutant Sally Bowles shimmy Satin Chic, is pure
genius. The range of their palette amounts to an embarrassment of riches. It places them
head and shoulders above the competition reminding us that pop can be highly
sophisticated and satisfying.
The record concludes with the immaculate "Number One"...It is everything a perfect
pop moment shoud be; a euphoric synth motif soars alongside an achingly lovely vocal
that sings a song of unquestioning devotion (I'l be there to meet you, getting down to
greet you). It harks back to an early 80's landscape where teenage romances bloomed at
youth club discos and suburban leisure centres (this is their "Don't You Want Me") But
the rush of joy underpinned by a misty eyed sadness (the perfect pop equation) never
sounds kitschy or queasily retro. This 11 track neon-lit extravaganza is just beamed from
the same place that made "Dare" and "the Lexicon of Love" such exquisite works of (pop)
art...Unless Kate Bush returns with Hounds Of love part two, this is Album Of The Year,
there is no other competition.
Orange Juice
The Glasgow School
Domino
Orange Juice are a band only recently receiving the attention they
deserve. In the wake of Franz Ferdinand's success & the mining of all things
post-punk, it was inevitable that they were given a reappraisal. The Glasgow
School collects together their early singles and the first attempt at
recording a debut album (the latter was released in 1992 as Ostrich
Churchyard). The compilation can be seen as a companion piece to first
album You Can't Hide Your Life Forever (1982) in much the same way that
Hatful Of Hollow complements The Smiths. Pared down primal immediacy
triumphs over the slick production values of the official debut. It comes as
a timely reminder of just how thrilling a prospect they were back in those
dour, rain coated days. And how being such an anomaly in their heyday has led
them to only being fully appreciated now.
Part of their awkward position within the era that spawned them was
due to a truly maverick fusing of musical ideas that seemed irreconcilable
within the old wave/new wave axis. In Orange Juice, the tensions (as
Stephen Daly refers to them in his sleeve notes) amount to a constant
presence. Debut single Falling and Laughing instantly throws all their
musical cards in the air.The song is pure DIY punk sloppy and yet shimmers
with an elated eclecticism that flies in the face of the purist sensibilities
of the day. Guitar equal parts bydsy twang & disco licks are underpinned by
a funky rhythm section (think Chic reconfigured as a garage band). Edwyn's
voice equal parts snotty punk amateur and lovelorn crooner; a kind of
phlegmatic Bryan ferry relocated from a neon lit underworld to shivering on a
school football pitch. Such quirks undoubtedly paved the way for Morissey.
Both were liberated by the bricolage ethics of the day but too enamored
with the heady romanticism of pop's past moments to ever succumb to the
anti-music austerity that prevailed in those times.
And if anything Orange Juice were a more playful, expansive
proposition than the Smiths. Where one gets the impression much of The Smiths
more funky twists were sneakily inserted by Marr, Orange juice collectively
faunt their Songs like Satellite City bounce along merrily inspired by
populist, pre-punk soul records like George Mccrae's Rock Your Baby. The
giddying rush of Poor Old Soul (parts 1 & 2) is another disco punk gem. Its
taut, angular grooves are propelled by a chorus of almost showbizzy
sentimentality. A chorus that could almost belong to one of the many supper
club confections that filled the charts once disco went mainstream. Part Two
further complicates this conundrum by ending with a Gang Of Four-style
chant of 'no more rock n roll for you'.
While post-punk was virtually defined by a convergence of anti-rockist
rock and contorted dance floor poses, Orange Juice embraced the joyous
chart-friendly world of Chic and Motown. Formative influence Velvet
Underground occupied a similar niche, consigned to the margins of the
avant garde while referencing the music of the mainstream with a mostly
refreshing lack of irony. In fact, the hazy vintage tenderness of Louise,
Louise has all the hallmarks of Loaded-era Lou Reed (as do the exquisite
bahbahs at the outro of Wan Light). Similarly, In A Nutshell is a soulful
dirge which seems ideal for Nico (it was intended as a duet with her ).
And where the purveyors of all things post-punk felt skeptical toward
the romantic condition, OJ embraced it, albeit in an awkward fashion.
Consolation Prize remains one of pop music's most thrilling nuggets of
unrequited love. 'So frightfully camp I made you laugh/tomorrow I will buy
myself a dress' is a couplet that practically invented the fey, floppy
fringed indie boy outsider. Tellingly, the 1,000 violins mentioned in the
song became the actual name of a band from the C86,movement,that haven for
all things anti- macho and indie. The song's coda, a mantra of 'I'll never
be man enough for you' sounds more defiant and exhilirated than deflated.
Ultimately The Glasgow School presents OJ in all their
contradictorary glory. If they represented a swerve away from the movement
that helped shape them, they become a paradigm all of their own.Their
influence can felt everwhere; the aforementioned C86 movement, Belle And
Sebastiane and most recently Franz Ferdinand all seem indebted in some way
to Edwyn's clan.The latter seem to be particuarly kindred spirits ; both
make music too in llove with the thrills of pop music & too danceabe to be
associated with the usual pitfalls of indie.The Smiths managed to weave
their references into a tighter, more aesthetically organized universe, but
OJ deserve more praise than any 'proto-Smiths' tag allows them. Too elated
and in love with pop to be part of any grimy post-punk scene & too
ramshackle & quirky to be part of the opulent New Pop of the eary 80's, they
remain true maverick outsiders.
Buy The Glasgow School at Amazon for $13.99
The Arcade Fire
2003 Self Released
This eponymous 7 track ep from 2003 prefaced the release of the much-lauded Funeral. It
has the halmarks of everything that made their full length debut such a riotous delight.
Enchanting orch pop duels with brittle art-garage ferocity for the listener's attention.
No Cars Go features a huge swampy arrangement and a questing that evokes some magical
flight from immediate reality. The rumbling rhythms, clarion calls and piano cascades
all create a dramatic odyssey that acts as some kind of symphonic movement rather than a
conventional rock tune. Win Butler's voice has already acquired its warped charm,
pitched somwhere between David byrne's artschool warble and neil young's prairie yelp.
The woodlands national anthem is a campfire strum rendered otherworldly by regine's
cracked glass wail. She reappears midway through My heart Is An Apple; her ululating and
the sea effects reminiscent of the cavernous music box fantasia of vespertine era bjork.
Arcade Fire clealry map out their own world here. The childlike sense of wonder
destablized by a queasy menace is one of their most dynamic qualities. They know the
dark heart at the core of the best fairytales. On Vampire/forest fire it almost feels
like a trajectory. It starts as a twisted lullaby all heartwarming sentiment (i'll fix
your meals for you) & yet the same domestic sphere becomes one with a dark undertow
(your sister pours the gasoline).By the song's second half this has come to the surface
as the song's wistul white abum melody mutates into a anxious cacophony. As with
Funeral, the mix is compressed and more than a litte muddy which makes locating the
wonderful sonic details practically an archaelogical expedtion (maybe that's the point).
In a sense it emphasises how this band are like the modern music's equilavent of the
romantic pastoral bower; a haven overbrimming with creative energy.
Mathew Lindsay
Buy Arcade Fire for $9.99 from Amazon.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Howl
RCA/Abstract Dragon
BRMC has been one of the most exciting bands in LA for years. They were part
of the new rock revolution that conquered the UK four or five years ago, along
with The Strokes and The White Stripes. A lot of that spirit has died and
faded. Many of those bands have done unadventurous records or have just done the
same thing for years. People have just moved on and have heard move
sophisticated music. BRMC has also been stuck in the mode of Jesus and Mary Chain
admirers. BRMC has also in the past year broken up and changed labels. They took a
lesson from history. Do they want to be a band that sticks around for the long
haul, or do they just want to do another tribute record? This record does have
a divisiveness of Led Zeppelin III or The Clash "London Calling." Many of
the teenage fans may be gone, but a lot of old blues purists may be jumping on
board for this one. Many of us who had seen BRMC in the summer of 2004, heard
some of these new tracks. This album was called the "Americana LP" for a
while. "Shuffle Your Feet" is one of the older tracks. It is an acoustic thumper
for people who want to slap their knee. It is followed by the darker "Howl."
This record goes back to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash for inspiration, as can be
heard on "Devil's Waitin'." The song that works the best is probably "Ain't
No Easy Way." This is a total revolution in their sound. You couldn't think
that BRMC were capable of such music. A few quieter acoustic numbers follow.
The drumming of Nick Jago is absent from these tracks. This leads to the
expansive sounding "Promise" which has a big piano sound (gasp), and sound
distinctly like The Band. Did they alienate all their old fans yet? There is a cool
sounding song "Weight of The World" which is more like their previous stuff. Of
course two religious inspired tunes "Restless Sinner" and "Gospel Song"
follow this. All this is more in tune with Jason Pierce and Spiritualized, rather
than the gospel according to Elvis. Another familiar tune by Peter Hayes
"Complicated Situation" comes this way and dazzles. The singing of Peter Hayes and
Robert Been sounds more defined on this record. It ends with a double song.
This album is generous and daring. Another career changing album that evoked
The Band and Neil Young and company that I am reminded of is Mercury Rev
Deserters' Songs. That was an epic album for that band. You can barely remember what
they did before it. This album Howl may be that sort of album.
album: "HOWL" in stores August 23rd.
"Ain't No Easy Way" Audio
>>MP3
>>Windows Media
>>Real
>>Quicktime
"Ain't No Easy Way" Video
>>Windows Media HI
>>Windows Media MED
>>Windows Media LOW
>>Real HI
>>Real MED
>>Real LOW
>>Quicktime HI
>>Quicktime MED
>>Quicktime LOW
Buy Howl for $10.99 from Amazon!
The Cribs
The New Fellas
Wichita
This is a band that is from the third wave of UK bands. Besides Razorlight,
most of the previous bands seem like Britpop revivalists. They are conservative
bands that offer nothing new. They are happy churning out tunes that sound
like Blur or even Gang of Four. The Cribs are a breath of fresh air compared to
all that. These are three brothers from Northern England. They are from Leeds
(like Gang of Four). This is their second album. It's beginning to catch on.
Their sound is all over the place. It's energetic rock that at times seems very
mod, grunge and pop. They sing songs about every day life. In "Martell" they
sing about "How hard can it be/To get a slap on the back from a room full of
morons?" In the song "Hey Scenesters" they warn people about fads being
copied and co-opted. They even have funny lines like "groupies and cameras/You come
out like leeches." The Cribs end up being pretty cool. They may sound like
The Jam, Buzzcocks, and Nirvana at times, but they end up not sounding like
anybody. They have an interesting way of phrasing their lyrics, which seems half
spoken and half sung. The Cribs give you a lot of cool sounds and looks. They
are some interesting cats. This might be a band to be on the lookout for.
Buy New Fellas for $17.99 from Amazon!
The Concretes
Lay Your Battle Axe Down
Astralwerks
The Concretes have been one of the most successful Swedish bands in America
in the past year or so. It has nothing to do with their live performances. They
played about ten shows in America. It has everything to do with their song
"Say Something New" being used in a commercial here. Since radio stations refuse
to play new music on the radio, you are more likely to hear a new band on a
commercial than on MTV or the radio. I saw The Concretes play live in NYC last
year. They are a large ensemble. They are very talented. Their singer,
Victoria Bergsman, is very shy. I saw them play twice. At the first show she wore a
wig, like Stina Nordenstam, and a white dress. The second she was dressed
normal. I tried to take a picture and someone from their entourage said "no
pictures" even though everyone around me was taking pictures with their cellphones.
This was at their KEXP performance. Most of this album reminds me of that
performance. Only four or five of them played. It was mostly the duo Victoria and
Maria. One of the songs they played was "The Warrior." Another was "Under Your
Leaves." These songs are very acoustic and quiet. It's like the bare bones
of The Concretes. These songs have none of the production and big Motown sound
of their previous record. Their cover of "Miss You" seems misguided. Maybe
songs by the Velvet Underground or Mazzy Star seem more appropriate. The
Concretes have been around for a long time. This record is a good companion piece to
their first record, which still sounds great after a year has passed. The
Concretes are due for a really great follow-up record in 2006. Hopefully we can
see them play over her more often. Quit hiding.
Buy Lay Your Battle Axe Down for $13.99 from Amazon!
Silversun Pickups
Pikul
Dangerbird
The new LA music scene is large and diverse. It's a land of many sounds and
dreams. Some great ideas get ignored while some mediocre talents are
championed. It's all about timing. It's all about getting a fickle public to get out
there and discover new bands. Life is expensive. Sometimes new bands can only
spend a few years being poor to wait to be discovered. I think that maybe that
the first person with two colored hair was a genius. The 100th person like that
is an idiot. I am not sure what I am saying. Silversun Pickups are the latest
band getting some attention. They are playing a lot of shows. They are
getting known. If they have done any national tours is unknown. They have done some
residencies. This is their first EP. It's pretty good. I am not sure if it
captures the dynamics of their live sound, but it is a start. It is a mix of folk
and rock music. They have male and female vocals. They have been compared to
Earlimart and Autolux. This is something to check out.
ep: "PIKUL" ep in stores now.
MP3>> "Kissing Families"
Buy Pikul for $7.98 from Amazon!
I Am Kloot
God and Monsters
Echo/World's Fair
I Am Kloot has put out a few cool albums. They are part of the scene in
Manchester. John Bramwell is a talented songwriter. Their first self-titled album
released here was an amazing feat. It was full of hits. I was shocked to hear
this new one. I bought the single "Over My Shoulder." It surprises me. It
sounded more relaxed and subtle. Some of the epic songs of the past were replaced
by some intimate stories-songs on this one. There are songs which are
deceptively plain like "An Ordinary Girl' and "No Direction Home." There are some
atmospheric songs. There is more meandering. There is more of a folk vibe on
this one. Bramwell has become one of the new British songwriters who are
something like John Lennon. This is great music, it is deep and moving, and it
deserves a wider audience.
Buy Gods and Monsters for $13.98 from Amazon!
Wolfman
For Lovers
Rough Trade
I am not used to reviewing singles. I have a big stack of them next to me. I
never wrote a word about any of these. It was just an indication of what is to
come. But this is a single by Peter Doherty. He is a one-man movement in
music. Doherty has done two albums with The Libertines. He has formed another band
called Babyshambles. Everything he has done has become gold. Wolfman "For
Lovers" is another big single for him. It's more like the easy listening of the
first Richard Ashcroft solo album. It is piano driven with background strings,
which could never really have been on a Libertines record. There is something
tragic sounding about "For Lovers." On the other hand, "Back From The Dead"
sounds like it could have been on the last Libertines album entirely. Even
Carl Barat is playing on this track. Doherty wears several hats and it becomes
confusing. I saw a picture of him kissing Elton John recently. If Doherty died
today, no one would be surprised. Elton John could do a song "Candle In The
Wind" about him. Hopefully he can release a few more records, whatever the
moniker, whatever his beef with Barat, whatever his drug addictions and police
record, before he calls it quits on this life.
Buy For Lovers for $12.99 from Amazon!
Devendra Banhart
Cripple Crow
XL Recordings
Devendra Banhart has had five releases in the past three years. He has been a
force in what has been called "New Weird America" along with Joanna Newsom
and Antony and the Johnsons. While he has become a sensation in England, he is
still very underground in America. They love quirky people over there. His
music has been used in a commercial in the UK. On his first three albums, you
felt he had used up all his material. Cripple Crow is like a brand new start.
It's like "Now we accept you Devendra, what can you do for us?" He has also
broken off from Young God Records and become part of the system. A little of this
new music was presaged last fall when Banhart toured with a full band. Andy
Cabic and Noah Georgeson were in this band. They took a bunch of his intimate
numbers and made them more rocking. They were a party band. There are some songs
that recall past greatest like "Now That I Know," "Long Haired Child," and
"Chinese Children." These songs have a big sense of humor about them. "Santa
Maria Da Feira" is one of the songs sung in Spanish. One wonders why Banhart
doesn't do a whole album in that language. Even some of his previous songs
could be done in a new language. "Heard Some Say" is his most anti-war political
song, which has the phrase "We don't want to kill." Songs about animals
populate this album like "Lazy Butterfly," Dragonflies," and Mama Wolf." There is
an overall mellowness on this record. It's a very relaxed feeling that
permeates the sound. There is a bunch of knee slapping moments. It's a good time
band feeling. It could be party music, to dance to. Banhart gives us a lot of
songs here. It has a distinction of being the most together album he has ever
made. He is very consistent.
Buy Cripple Crow for $13.99 at Amazon!
Annie
DJ-Kicks
K7
Her first album has just come out and has rocked the indie world. Some of her
recent shows in America were pretty interesting. Her own music has been
compared to early Madonna, Kylie, and Tom Tom Club. With this DJ-Kicks we get to
hear for ourselves what music really turns Annie on. Obviously it's a mix of
rock and electro. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" by La Bionda is a cool sounding
electro track. That evolves into Alan Vega. There are also songs by Le Tigre and
Zongamin. "Bongo Song" was like a really popular song that combined the sound of
LCD Soundsystem and Ratatat. There are a couple new Annie songs like
"Wedding" and "Gimme Your Money." A few old songs like Bow Wow Wow "I Want Candy"
and ESG "My Love For You." There are a few new songs like Death From Above 1979
"Black History Month (remix)" and MU "Paris Hilton." I haven't like the
last few DJ-Kicks records, but this one is pretty cool.
Buy DJ Kicks for $17.98 at Amazon!
Modey Lemon
The Curious City
Birdman
I saw these guys at CBGBs a few years ago. That old club might close pretty
soon it's true. The only reason I stopped by was that I saw Meg White standing
outside the club. Apparently she is a fan. When I saw them it was some of the
heaviest music I had ever heard. Back in 2002, many new bands were really
fresh and they just were loud and rocked out. I saw a lot of good bands in that
month. This is one of them. Their first two albums were heavy assaults on the
listener. The power is still there. But besides the opening track "Bucket of
Butterflies" which recalls most of the early material, most of this album is
different. There is more psychedelic rock and keyboards on most of the rest of the
album. It is spacey. It is mod. The songs are catchier. Sometimes they remind
me of The Yardbirds and The Seeds. Every song is high quality. This is a good
record to check them out if you haven't heard them before.
Buy Curious City for $21.99 at Amazon!
Portastatic
Bright Ideas
Merge Records
Portastatic was one of the big acts at the recent Noise Pop festival in San
Francisco. There was a lot of exciting surrounding his performance. I saw
Superchunk in San Francisco back in 1992 at the height of their popularity. They
were the hot band to check out back then, like The Arcade Fire is now. Mac
McCaughan has been very productive all these years. I put this album on with an
open mind. I felt like the songwriting was very distinct and unique. All the
songs were very up. This album does have a lot of good qualities of 1980s indie
rock. There are attributes of songs like "I Wanna Know Girls" that just seem
great. It's not overkill. This is one of those albums that will be in the
background but people will remember at the end of the year. Some people who have
been around for a while should be making music like this. Maybe he is not the
best looking guy, but the music is fit.
Buy Bright Ideas for $13.99 at Amazon!
Grandaddy
Excerpts from the diary of Todd Zilla
V2
I did an interview with Grandaddy in 2000. They played a show that night
where David Bowie showed up. He was a fan. Does this sound familiar? Since then
they have become a very successful band. They are well known internationally.
They don't seem too interested in their own success. It's been a while since
the Sumday record. In the middle of the new record Jason Lytle came up with
this. This is an EP in lieu of a new album next year. What is the state of the
band, and who knows? "Pull The Curtains" and "At My Post" sound like classic
Grandaddy songs. The album moves into slower more introspective songs.
Apparently Jason Lytle thinks that Modesto is becoming a lame mall. This culminates in
"Fuck The Valley Fudge." Lytle has shaved off his beard and is planning to
move to LA. He has stopped skateboarding. This is an interesting experiment.
Buy Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla EP for $7.98 at Amazon!
T. Raumschmiere
Blitzkrieg Pop
Mute
What band is there out there ready to nail the coffin into CBGBs? Some say
it's more "punk" to not like punk rock. Green Day probably agree with all that,
as they accept another video award. This band evokes The Ramones as much as
they do Ellen Allien. The music is strong and loud. Raumschmiere is an actual
dude. This is the second album that we know of. This record sort of reminds me
of the energy of bands like Death In Vegas, Nine Inch Nails, and Suicide. It
is a wild trip. There are also contributions from Quasimodo Jones, Sandra
Nasic, and Judith Juillerat. Half of this album is minimalist techno. Part of the
sound evokes the digital hardcore days. This is not about the love fest. This
is about real feelings.
Buy Blitzkrieg Pop for $11.99 at Amazon!
Cheeseburger
Gang's All Here
Kemado
Every year or two people try to make big dumb rock. Last year it was The
Darkness and Young Heart Attack. This year it is Towers of London and
Cheeseburger, among other groups. The songs are simple. It is about hedonism. Songs like
"Cocaine" and "Easy Street" and "Saturday Night" focus on the mysterious
allure of the pleasure principle. Maybe this is ironic? Maybe this is Spinal Tap
come to life. Cheeseburger is one of those bands that thinks it is a shame that
CBGBs is closing. Rock and roll with never die.
Dirty Three
Cinder
Touch and Go
Dirty Three are a band that don't even live in the same city. They live on
three different continents. They can't stand being close to each other. They
have been around for 14 years. This is their seventh album. Much of their music
is instrumental. They seem at times seem like a version of Low or Smog without
vocals. This time around there are vocals. Sally Timms sings and hums on one
song. More successful is Chan Marshall on "Great Waves." It seems like a
really great song. Most of the album deals with varied instrumentation. The Dirty
Three combine folk music with exotic sounds. They are world travelers. Warren
Ellis also plays with the Bad Seeds. Cinder is about good times and lost
friends. It seems like a good place to start liking this band.
Buy Dirty Three for $7.50 at Amazon!
Yoko Utsumi
Yoko Utsumi
Asian Man Records
Yoko Utsumi is a new artist. New to my ears at least. She plays power pop
that is pretty interesting. It's very musical. Songs like "Fun" and "Revolt"
are songs about freedom and revolution. Yoko sings in Japanese. Her influences
are grunge and pop music. At times she seems like a female Elvis Costello: the
early years. I haven't heard rock music with a horn section that has been so
compelling in years. This is the best Japanese record of the year no doubt.
"Boy and Girl" sounds like Ike and Tina Turner at their best. This is a rocking
album.
Buy Yoko Utsumi for $13.99 at Amazon!
Madness
The Dangerman Sessions Vol. 1
V2
Madness was one of the big Ska revivalists of and around 1980. There was a
time when even I was heavily into Ska. In Los Angeles, we had a club called the
ON Club, where a lot of Ska bands played in the early 1980s. At the Whiskey
a-go-go, they even played the outside like a checkerboard in anticipation of The
Specials. I was more into The Specials and Selector. Only the total knobs in
my drama class lied Madness. I never bought any of their albums. It was only
about six months and my love for Ska was done. That whole period and vibe would
influence someone like Gwen Stefani, and she would bring Ska to a whole new
generation. But now Ska is sort of a putdown. Witness the whole Bravery vs.
Killers. They accused each other of being the lowest of the low: a product of a
Ska band. But as I remember, in England at least, Madness was the biggest band
there in 1982. They had all the hits. They were as big as The Jam. They have
wanted to stage a revival before. Here they are again. In America, they were
never so big. MTV is not about to play their videos like they did in 1982. This
is a roots record. Someone will like it out there. I prefer the early stuff
from the 1960s. There is a recent box set that was really excellent. I am not
sure if lightning will strike twice here.
Buy The Dangermen Sessions, Vol. 1 for $14.99 at Amazon!
PINE*am
Pull The Rabbit Ears
Eenie Meenie Records
This is the perfect record for SF Burning. PINE*am is three girls from Japan.
This is an amazing record. When I first heard this I was as exciting as when
I first heard Ladytron or Sugar Plant. This band met in Osaka and released
their first album in 2000. Now part of the band lives in Vancouver. Some songs
have weird synth kiddie sounds like "Pull The Rabbit Ears." But there are some
pop elements like on "Starlight, Star Bright." It is a pretty exciting mix of
pop, electro, and easy listening. We like the Japan stuff. Send it over if it
sounds like this. This is great.
Buy Pull the Rabbit Ears at Amazon for $6.50!
Anastacia
Anastacia
Columbia
Anastacia is one hot bitch. She was gaining some momentum in the States with
her last album. She appeared with Celine Dion on Divas where they sang "Rock
Me All Night Long" together. That didn't come off so well. But she is very
high profile in Europe for some reason. Just like Robbie Williams is huge
everywhere but can't even get good service at the Taco Bell in Van Nuys. Some singers
like Anastacia and even Moloko, while very popular in the EU, don't really
have much clout in America. She is from Chicago, but you would think she is from
Norway. These albums get thrown at us every year, and they end up in the
bargain bin years later. This album finds Anastacia going for a more rock and roll
vibe and less R&B. The pipes are still in full force. "Pretty Little Dum
Dum" floats off into Saint Etienne territory. The big hit "Left Outside Alone"
reminds me more of Shakira. It is quality stuff. I am not sure if anyone is
listening. People have new acts like MIA and Annie to deal with. Anastacia is
more like Kylie and Robbie Williams: the past. The fact that this album comes out
the same time as Hurricane Katrina doesn't really help things at all.
Buy Anastacia at Amazon for $23.99
Towers of London
On A Noose/Fuck It Up (singles)
TVT Records
Another exciting band from left field. It's like two years ago when The
Darkness came out and shocked the world. This band is like Spinal Tap meets the New
York Dolls. This is the total opposite of the indie rock world. Every few
years people want to bring out the guilty pleasures of hard rock, with all its
unapologetic odes to sexism and anarchy. These guys are so unconventional they
can't be bothered to send me a fucking full album. "On A Noose" reminds me of
The Clash in the early days. Probably the b-side "I Lose It" here is a little
better. Lead singer Donny Tourette was fined £775 for destroyed the stage at
Anglia Polytechnic University. "Fuck It Up" is more like early Clash. Instead
of Joe Strummer as lead singer, it sounds like the dude from Chelsea. The
final song "Down In The Streets" is reminiscent of Sham 69, if they had been an
Alice Cooper cover band. The songs are grand and unmusical. Luckily all the
songs are short. Hopefully they have a good stage show. I want to see them and
fight them.
Buy Towers of London at Amazon for $6.49!
Hackensaw Boys
Love What You Do
Nettwerk
These guys are from Virginia. Many group now like The Raveonettes and BRMC
are getting into roots music. The Hackensaw Boys are a group coming from the
other direction. They are hicks who would like to be an indie band. At first this
sounds like a conventional record, but you get to the second track
"Cannonball" and it sounds like The Pogues on crack. So does "We Are Many." Holy shit!
Most of their songs are rooted in history and they are storytellers. It's not
sure how many family members are in this band, but people in this part of the
world usually have a lot of cousins. This is pretty good stuff. I like Howl by
BRMC, but this is the real deal.
Buy Love What You Do at Amazon for $16.98
Broadcast
Tender Buttons
Warp
Broadcast is down to two members now, Trish Keenan and James Cargill. I saw
them play a few years ago and it was great. They definitely have their own
sound. It's sort of this 1960s sound that never existed, and 1984 futuristic vibe.
Tender Buttons is a novel by Gertrude Stein. It is one of the most difficult
books and I am not sure that anyone ever figured out what it meant. So
Broadcast has created word and sound collages. Things are really stripped down. In
songs like "Black Cat" moogs go wild and there is something claustrophobic too.
Of course there are some quiet folk moments in songs like "Tender Buttons"
and "Tears in the Typing Pool." The song "America's Boy" almost sounds like
Ladytron. There is interesting phrasing in "Corporeal." The beats are simple.
The synths are out of control. The vocals remain the same. Broadcast is good
at what it does. If it was easy, other people would be making good records. I
guess they mourned Dr. Robert Moog's recent passing away. This is a tribute
that these sounds will live on.
Buy Tender Buttons at Amazon for $13.99
Turbonegro
Party Animals
Abacus Recordings
Here it is. It is Turbonegro's sixth album. This is the band that brought you
heavy rock and heavy drug use. They promote gay sex on every album. This
album finds them rocking out better than ever on songs like "All My Friends Are
Dead" and "Blow Me." "Blow Me" is their 20th song about oral sex. This band is
dedicated. They pay homage to their hometown in "City Of Satan" which has
that "I Love Rock and Roll" vibe. Keith Morris (Circle Jerks) sings lead vocals
on "Wasted Again." One of the best songs is "Death From Above" which is a
punk anthem. Every songs on this album is a hit. This album is much better than
Scandinavian Leather, which had some tedious moments. Turbonegro is back in
full force. Get you gay leather ass out to one of their shows!
Buy Party Animals at Amazon for $14.99
Abigail Washburn
Song of The Traveling Daughter
Nettwerk
Some records come out and they seem so opposite of what is going on. This is
one of those records. That makes me curious. Where did this stuff come from?
What sort of sensibility is behind these songs? So many people have went back
to the Appalachian mountain music to gain authenticity. Abigail Washburn does
it as good as anyone. Apparently she got interested in doing this music while
she was in China. She took some banjo lessons. Then she wrote some good songs.
Some songs like "Rockabye Dixie" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" are classics.
Most of these songs deal with every day themes and Biblical images. Abigail
Washburn has a great voice that is quite convincing. This may be one of the
great records of the year that we come back and rediscover.
Buy Song of the Traveling Daughter at Amazon for $7.99
Dance Disaster Movement
Snow On The TV
Dimmak
This band has a name like it may be some Gang of Four cover band. But in
truth this band has more to do with the avant-garde traditions in rock music. Some
bands like Silver Apples and Faust come to mind. More recent, there is Liars.
The first track "A Squared" is weird noise. "Get Back on The Starting Line"
is a good idea what they are like. Weird beats, spoken lyrics, and a menacing
beat. This music is weird and spacey. It is uncompromising. Sometimes there
are dance beats, like on "Pulse." But the only dancing you can imagine is by
robots in a cafˇ in Berlin. They are strange guys. This is a difficult sounding
record.
The Isles
Back To Terrific
Binder Records
This is a new band from New York City. It sounds like pop oriented indie rock
in the vein of The Pleased and Luna. "True South" seems like it takes more
inspiration from recent NYC bands. There are only four songs on this EP. It is
pretty good stuff. Hopefully we will get to hear more.
Brakes
Give Blood
Rough Trade
This is a Britpop super group that includes members of British Sea Power,
Electric Soft Parade, and Tenderfoot. You figure that Peter Doherty is in a few
bands, so what not others? So this album is a curiosity. It is a combination of
punk and alt-country. They recorded it in five days. This album is a legend.
"The Most Fun" is a hilarious song. In the song "Heard About Your Band" there
is stuff about Karen O and Sleater-Kinney. Many of these songs are short.
There is a cover version of "Jackson" by Nancy Sinatra. One of the best songs is
"You're So Pretty" which encapsulates a lot of college radio music. This is
an excellent album. If it is a real band, I don't know.
Buy Give Blood at Amazon for $13.99
Broken Spindles
Inside/Absent
Saddle Creek
This band is Joel Peterson. He is the bass player in the Faint and Beep Beep.
This is in effect his third solo record. Sometimes as a bass player, you find
your ideas being brought to the back. Witness Bill Wyman and John Entwistle.
Those blokes had to do the occasional solo record to satisfy their creative
life. Peterson is no different. "Inward" sounds more like movie soundtrack
music. "This Is An Introduction" is like a mellow Faint tune. Peterson played
everything on this record. He didn't want anyone to fuck it up. "Burn My Body"
is a rocking tune. After listening to a bit of this, it reminds me of
minimalist German techno. I was really into John Foxx and Gary Numan back in the day.
There are no records like that anymore. But this is close in spirit.
Buy Inside/Absent at Amazon for $10.98
The Joggers
With A Cape and A Cane
Startime International
The Joggers have always been one of the most under-rated bands. Their first
album is one of the most daring records that I know about, even though it took
me a while to discover it. Benjamin Whitesides is a talented dude. He had a
breakdown about a year ago and the band almost quit. They are band and it's
better than ever. "Ziggurat Traffic" has some weird samples. Some weird Indian
strings. "We've Been Talked Down" is like a mix between The Fall and Led
Zeppelin. "Wicked Light Sleeper" is a pretty cool tune. There is an intensity to
all their songs. It's very intellectually soothing. Some of the riffage on
"Since You're Already Up" is almost like prog-rock. Much of this album deals with
insomnia or being half awake or half asleep. A very awakening experience.
Buy With a Cape and a Cane at Amazon for $13.98
Gang of Four
Return The Gift
V2
Gang of Four is one of those bands that create comparisons. It's the angular
guitar and the odd funk vibe with a lot of space. Every drum pattern on the
first album was different. All the members sang lead vocals. All the songs were
about difficult subjects that you had never heard before. Jon King used to
bang a piece of metal. It seems quite tame today. Andy Gill created a lot of
options in post-Hendrix guitar surgery. At their peaked, Gang of Four was one of
the most exciting bands to ever perform. They probably inspired more American
bands than the Ramones or The Sex Pistols ever did. Dave Allen left after the
second album, and things were never the same. They recently reformed with all
the original members at Coachella. Here they have an album of old material
recorded anew. It is material from the first two albums, Entertainment and Solid
Gold, and two EPs. "We Live As We Dream, Alone" is a song from the third album
that was always popular live and often included in some of the greatest hits
collections. The album starts off with "To Hell With Poverty" which was
always one of their best songs. It has continued to be an energetic song. Then the
album continues with three songs from the third album that sound much the
same. "Why Theory?" is one of the better cuts from the second album Solid Gold.
The starkness is still there. This new version sounds better than the original.
Then we get to "Anthrax." It's a re-tooled version. It's updated. Now most
of know what Anthrax actually is. "Paralysed" and "What We All What" from
the second album stay true to their earlier versions. "Ether" which was the
opening track on the first album comes in halfway here. It is an intense
retelling. One of their most famous tunes "He'd Send The Army" (all the metal
banging), is pretty decent. "Capital" had a heavy bass line by Busta Jones back in
the day. It sounds tepid here. "I Love A Man In A Uniform" I have heard too
many times. "At Home He's A Tourist" is fine. The new version of "We Live As
We Dream, Alone" with Dave Allen on bass is okay. They used to do a live
version where it broke down into guitar and vocals at the end, which was a killer
live song. This is an interesting record. It's good for people who have never
heard them before. It's old news for the rest of us. I am more interested in
listening to the remix CD.
Buy Return The Gift at Amazon for $13.99
Alexander Laurence
