Mista Smiley Y'all

Stellamaris - The City turns everything electric

2008-06-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

With a drive to succeed sans a record label, Stellamaris took the initiative to finance and record their first full-length studio effort, "The City Turns Everything Electric," in February of 2005. The band itself views this record as an accurate account of the first nine months of writing and playing together. Strong melodies combined with intriguing lyrics that touch on love, greed, death and God, make this an album that almost anyone can identify with.

In June of 2005 Brian Falco and Ryan Henry joined the band to complete the lineup that is now Stellamaris. Citing artists such as Doves, Pink Floyd, and Wilco, Stellamaris continues to mature while writing new material for their next record. The band has already recorded home demos of many of these songs in preparation for their next release.

This is one of the fewest, well, only myspace band that I have thought has really been quite talented and will probably be a lot bigger in the futureAND I KNOW THIS IS A RUN N sentence but also worthy of a buy and a concert tickey, ooo yah.

Link Here

Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds and Waso Live in Perth

2008-06-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Collaborations between rock or pop performers and symphony orchestras usually yield little more than bombast and redundancy, but Ben Folds' Live in Perth is a delightful exception. Recorded in 2005 in an outdoor venue (described by Folds as "a luminous green petri dish") in that Australian city, the 80-minute concert finds the singer-songwriter-pianist in the company of conductor Simon Kenway and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra--not the world's finest classical ensemble, perhaps, but one that's perfectly matched to his quirky, affecting style. Favoring material from his Rockin' the Suburbs and Whatever and Ever Amen CDs, Folds used local musicians for most of the arrangements, with the result that the orchestra enhances the songs rather than merely augmenting them. Most of all, of course, it's the songs themselves that carry the day. There's a hint of Stephen Foster's parlor ballads in Folds' approach, especially the several songs that are in waltz time; there's also an undeniable poignancy to character-driven tunes like "Fred Jones Part 2," "Steven's Last Night in Town," "Boxing" (about sportscaster Howard Cosell, a curious choice of subjects if ever there was one!), and "Not the Same" that's vividly brought to life by WASO's string and percussion sections in particular. By the time you get to "Narcolepsy," the twelfth of the 14 songs performed here and one that features a co-vocal by operatic tenor Stuart Haycock, you can't help but be won over by this thoroughly charming show. --Sam Graham (Amazon)

Here.

Poor Aim: Love Songs

2008-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever found yourself home alone after a tough time outside in the world that just kinda sucks sometimes just to realize that inside these walls all your dreams HAVE BEEN SHATTERED? God knows I have not, but if you have..ugh.. I duno. Who is blow? It's not drugs sillys. Blow is this mildly smeeki fox named Khaela Maricich, You know shes the one singing the type along because it only probably takes 45 wpm to type out the lyrics because it doesnt seem like it took very much thought into creating the songs but YOU WERE FOOLED these are TOUGH feelings and sometimes the simpliest of words express them the bestest. Anywho it's a very catchy jumpy sing along album that'll make you wanting more. But if there has to be a genre for it..its uh..wait let me look it up... "Resilient electro-pop". There you go. FINISHED

Clicky

Unkle - Psyence Fiction

2008-01-31T08:07:00.001-08:00

This Unkle album is truly CLASSIC by all means. It has many guest appearences by 'popular' musicians. Thom Yorke in "Rabbit in Your Headlights" also, Joe Satriani ("Unkle Main Title Theme") meet Massive Attack ("Blood Stain", "Unreal"), Craig Armstrong ("Celestial Annihilation") and don't you dare forget the voice of The Verve's Richard Ashcroft in "lonely soul". "Lonely Soul" seems eerly haunting nowadays, probably because it was featured on a commerical for a very popular gamez. LOLZ WHICH GAMES YU SAYS. WELL I WONT says because I forgot. If you havn't listened to this VERY overlooked album already, this is the time to little grasshoppa.. click...enjoy and pewpew with glee.

*coughz*

Dillinger Four - Situationist Comedy

2006-10-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

The band blames the weather, or at least their publicist does, and maybe there's something to that. Midwestern bands do seem angrier and louder than their coastal compatriots, perhaps due to all those long, cold winter nights and vast, open vistas that make one holler to be heard. Maybe it's merely lack of exercise; it's hard to skateboard through a cornfield and tougher to snowboard down a prairie or around Minnesota's many lakes. So Dillinger Four aren't your typical sleek hardcore heroes drenched in California sun and breezy melodies, but a quartet of pachyderm punks crashing out of the hinterland and Hopeless Records, who released their first two albums, and into the arms, appropriately enough, of Fat Wreck Chords. OK, really they're only big boned, but their sound is huge, and on Situationist Comedy they thunder and roar, slam and crash, walloping their way across the tracks, the musical equivalent of a demolition derby of two-ton trucks. Heaving into the musical elements of arena rock, old school punk, and speedcore and pouring the molten mass into a melodic mold, Dillinger Four rampages across genre divides and makes a mockery out of the term generic punk. Only one complaint: So large is the sound, that the vocals are pretty much trampled underneath. A crime really, as the group has much of import to impart, but thankfully lyrics are included in the CD booklet. Their most visited theme is nonconformity in the personal, business, and political realms, and the message is clear: stand up, stand strong, and be true to yourself. In the post-9/11 milieu, this is all the more important, which the lyric, "simple arguments now accusations of dissent," nicely sums up. Hypocrisy is flailed, privilege unveiled, and convictions ring true. A heavy-hitting album in every sense of the word

Link here

Descendents - Somery

2006-09-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Somery is an overview of the Descendents' SST records, drawing equally from each album released by that label. Although this means a handful of great songs from their best albums are missing, Somery nevertheless selects the highlights from their occasionally uneven records, making it a useful and comprehensive retrospective.

Link here

Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope

2006-09-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

On Begin to Hope, Regina Spektor treads a delicate balance between her anti-folk past and her present home on Sire Records. Though the label re-released Soviet Kitsch in 2004, Begin to Hope is Spektor's first original material for Sire, and it feels more like a major-label debut than Soviet Kitsch ever did. The album's big, glossy production and preponderance of drum machines and keyboards inches Spektor toward territory that isn't exactly mainstream, but is closer to a more conventional adult alternative singer/songwriter sound. Her songwriting mirrors this, too: "Field Below," which finds her wishing for the countryside while living in the city, has a mellow, appealingly rambling vibe that grows from the traditional singer/songwriter roots of Joni and Carole; "Better" takes the breathy, literate, pretty side of Spektor's music and tailors it into a radio-friendly single. "On the Radio" takes it a step further and becomes a smart, funny, and sad meta-single, with lyrics like "We listened to it twice/Because the DJ was asleep" backed by poppy synths and beats. But even though Begin to Hope's first few songs might suggest otherwise, Spektor is much too freewheeling and quirky a talent to stick to the straight and narrow for the entirety. Show tunes, classic soul, the Bible, and the backs of cereal boxes are all inspirations for the album. And whether she quotes the melody from Doris Payne's "Just One Look" and pairs it with lyrics about orca whales on "Hotel Song," or begins the lovely, confessional closing track, "Summer in the City," with the line "summer in the city means cleavage," Spektor uses them in unexpected ways. She also places some truly surreal, heady tracks toward Begin to Hope's end: "Lady" is a torchy number arranged for piano, saxophone, and typewriter, while "20 Years of Snow" is buoyed along by impressionistic keyboards that twinkle and tumble like a just-shaken snow globe. "Apres Moi," one of the album's most impressive tracks, showcases her classical piano training, her Russian heritage, and those biblical influences to ominous, paranoid effect. Leaving the more unique, quintessentially Regina Spektor-esque tracks at the end of Begin to Hope isn't so much a bait-and-switch as is a clever way to lure in and loosen the inhibitions of new fans. The album feels like getting to really know someone: at first, it's polite and a little restrained, but then its real personality, with all of its charming idiosyncrasies, finally reveals itself.

Link Here

Avett Brothers - The Gleam Ep

2006-09-07T05:05:00.000-07:00

The Avett Brothers are a non-traditional bluegrass band that originated in Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Seth and Scott Avett, and a third member Bob Crawford. Risen from the ashes of Seth and Scott's former rock band Nemo, The Avett Brothers combine old-time country, bluegrass, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, honky tonk and ragtime to produce a sound described by the Washington Post as "post civil-war modern rock", or by other reviewers as "grungegrass". The group themselves eschews labels, feeling that "none would do the music the justice. It's simply left up to each person to extract his or her own account from the Avett's music."Their live performances, generally at smaller venues, showcase their use of three-part harmony and southern rock feel, and are admired for being intense, energetic, and soulful.

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Joanna Newsom - Walnut Whales

2006-09-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

Walnut Whales is the self-distributed debut EP by Joanna Newsom. It was released on CD-R in 2002. Though the majority of the tracks were re-recorded, with very slightly altered lyrics, for her debut full length album The Milk-Eyed Mender, three of the songs — "Erin", "Flying a Kite", and "The Fray" — are otherwise unreleased. Being a limited edition release it is now unavailable outside of file-sharing networks and second hand exchanges.

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The Anniversary - Designing For a Breakdown

2006-09-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

The Anniversary's debut album, Designing a Nervous Breakdown, blends their skill at crafting emotional, punky-yet-melodic songs with a fondness for new-wave synths. Little analog flourishes pop up on songs like "The 'D' in Detroit," which also features pleasant boy-girl vocals and driving guitars. "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" recalls the delicate, intertwined guitars and endearingly awkward vocals of bands like Joan of Arc or Modest Mouse, while "All Things Ordinary" and "Emma Discovery" don't forsake melodic complexity for their charging rhythms. A strong debut, Designing a Nervous Breakdown reaffirms that traditional indie rock can still sound fresh and lively.

Link here

Spitalfield - Better Than Knowing Where You Are

2006-09-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Growing up in the public eye has never been an easy task for a young band. We have had the distinctive pleasure of watching SPITALFIELD mature from a pop-punk band out of the suburbs of Chicago into an impressive, fierce, and very smart rock band…and this was only with their first two records! The whole world took notice on their critically acclaimed second record, Stop Doing Bad Things, making it evident that the “SPITALFIELD sound” was becoming a whole new beast altogether.

Link Here

Morning 40 Federation - Self Titled

2006-06-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

As quests for 21st century recombinants of 20th century music forms go, Morning 40 Federation is one of the more imaginative ones, integrating traditional New Orleans jazz, funk, film noir-ish creepiness, and an appetite for trashiness into a format that's more alternative rock than anything else. The vocals are delivered with the sardonic diffidence of a jaded carnival barker, and a sense of ironic joie de vivre permeates the proceedings. To be a wet blanket about matters, though, why isn't this as fun or moving as it could have been? Well, the mix is often as sludgy as a bayou swamp, and while in some senses that might be perceived as appropriate for this kind of thing, at times it's thick enough to make you feel like you're drowning in it rather than wading through it. (When much of the murk clears on songs like "9th Ward" and "One in the Bottle," the surge in cogency is palpable.) Also, while the greasy on-the-prowl mood is kind of cool, some the songs are kind of too similar to each other to stand out. Too, the record's so long (and some of the individual cuts definitely go on for too long) that it can turn a little sour, much like a stopover at a speakeasy can wear out its welcome after one too many drunks knocks over your beer. It's suitable enough music for when you're in a rather prickly decadent frame of mind, with unpredictable musical turns throughout, especially in the insertion of brassy passages that bring to mind particularly wobbly New Orleans festivities.

Link Uno

My Apologies for the uhh gap? Prehapes? WoW really does get addicting :( , anyways I bought this cd a few weeks ago, its so purday. Figured a share would be nice, i'll try to upload more. till then toodles!

The Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing my Choir

2006-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Fiery Furnaces' fourth US release, "Rehearsing My Choir" is based, with liberal heaps of poetic license, around the recollections of Matt and Eleanor Friedberger's grandmother, 83-year-old Olga Sarantos. As Eleanor and Mrs. Sarantos trade off on vocals, signaling quick shifts in time and perspective, the music barrels along at their heels, the Furnaces changing up instruments and arrangements to match the action. As much musical theater as concept album, the story arc of "Rehearsing My Choir" largely takes place in mid-20th century Chicago. The lyrics matter-of-factly recount our heroine's adventures from a half-century ago, and so reflect how the average person's aspirations and experiences were different enough then to seem almost alien now. But it's no period piece, no nostalgia or attempts at "authenticity" in evidence, and Mrs. Saranatos' dry, unsparing treatment on tracks like "Candymaker's Knife in My Handbag" is the furthest thing from sentimental. "! Rehearsing My Choir" was written and produced by Matt and recorded in separate stages: Vocals engineered by John McEntire At Soma EMS in Chicago over November/December '04, the musical backing tracks recorded that November by Bill Skibbe at Key Club Recording Company in Benton Harbor, MI, and mixing done with Rafter Roberts at San Diego's Singing Serpent, in Feb. 2005 Originally from Oak Park, IL, siblings Matt and Eleanor Friedberger formed the Fiery Furnaces in 2001, after each had made the separate decision to move to New York City. Neither had been in a working band before, but once they started playing regularly in NYC the Furnaces made up for lost time – most successful bands have less to show for their lifetimes than the Fiery Furnaces have packed into the span of two years. Since recording "Gallowsbird's Bark", (released by Rough Trade in 2003), the band has spent most of its time in the studio or touring. By the time of "Gallowsbird's" release, the band was already finishing up its 76-minute follow-up, "Blueberry Boat," released later in 2004. "EP," a full-length record consisting of B-sides and UK singles, was released in early 2005 and was as different in intent and execution from "Blueberry Boat" as that record was to "Gallowsbird's Bark." With the Shins, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco and others along for the ride, the Furnaces spent the remainder of 2003-2005 trekking around Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA. During this time the band also established its unorthodox method of recreating its songs live - running through the set list all at once, breaking the songs into fragments and threading the bits amongst each other, not stopping for breath til the end. The Fiery Furnaces have just finished their next record, "Bitter Tea," which is tentatively scheduled for release in the early 2006.

Link here

Flotation Toy Warning - Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck

2006-04-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

If Flotation Toy Warning is out to lull listeners with sheer melodic excess, perhaps it's working a little too well. Over the course of the band's elegant avant-pop debut, it subjugates effect to ambition, inflating concise pop sound-bites to epic proportions (10 songs in a daunting 72 minutes). Sitting at the digi-pastoral nexus of Scott Walker's overstated vocals, the Flaming Lips' neon popscapes, Brian Eno's ambient experiments, and Neutral Milk Hotel's found-sound dalliance, FTW engages in much repetition that seems unnecessary-- many of these ideas could have been winningly discharged in half the time. Instead, they intricately bloat and dawdle, and you might feel "over" a song before it breathes its admittedly gorgeous last.

Link

A Silver Mt. Zion - "This Is Our Punk-Rock," Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing

2006-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Things just keep getting bigger with A Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. This album, their third, sees another incremental change in the band name, and a bump in membership. Though still the core septet from their previous effort, they are joined this time by a 22-member choir. So, with the change in the makeup of the band comes a change in their sound. And on This Is Our Punk-Rock Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing, A Silver Mt. Zion have finally gotten huge. Opening track "Sow Some Lonesome Corner So Many Flowers Bloom" moves the group out of the shadow of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and into their own. The choir take the front of the stage, singing simple "fa-la-la" lyrics in a dramatic melodic progression, expressing a purpose in ways that Godspeed has only hinted at. Halfway through the choir stops and are replaced by a guitar and violin duet that swims in the melancholy waters of the first album, before erupting into a majestic climax with a full band. Whereas in the past the band has refrained from really delivering on a build-up, here all caution is thrown to the wind and it is comparable to the highest peaks of the GYBE! discography. The remaining tracks all feature Efrim on vocals, his cracked voice recalling Will Oldham's Palace, with an Appalachian folk vibe running throughout. Granted, this would be folk music of the saddest sort, but paired with a Quebecois' hopefulness in place of American despair. This Is Our Punk-Rock is the most satisfying and rewarding album that A Silver Mt. Zion have delivered.

Link Here

A Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble As Sparks Fly Upward

2006-04-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

For their sophomore release, A Silver Mt. Zion has expanded and changed their name, adding three more members to make the original trio of Efrim, Thierry, and Sophie from Godspeed You Black Emperor! a sextet at their core, plus the addition of a huge horn section (one heavily overdubbed contributor on trumpet and trombone) and various others lending vocal, atmospheric, percussive, and textural support. The three new members — Becky, Jessica, and Iain — fill out the band's sound with a denser string presence, which creates a backdrop for piano and eventually, electric guitars and drums. This band is like the mirror image of Godspeed You Black Emperor!; things evolve more slowly and melodically, and they open onto themselves. One example is the opener, "Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling From the Sky!," where a lone violin and piano are eventually engaged by more strings and high, whining guitars that grow out into chord progressions that build on the ostinato of the theme but never, never explode. On "Could've Moved Mountains," the strings open up sad vistas in the heart of sound itself and are caressed by a guitar streaming, ever so slowly, along the underside of the mix before it reshapes the tune in its own image. This is music constructed with the same sense of dynamic and attention to detail, from echo and flange to masked vocals and the shimmer in cymbals, but it is so stunningly, heartbreakingly beautiful in its unfolding that for it to reach any other conclusion than to fall apart or disintegrate at the end of each piece would be to violate it somehow. As it is, the music on Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward is devastating in its beauty and ghostly in its articulation. We can only wonder what spirits came from the ether to inform this vision, and be glad they did.

Link

Stars - Set yourself on fire

2006-04-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

Set Yourself on Fire is the third album by Canadian indie rock band Stars. It was released in 2004 on the Arts & Crafts International record label in Canada and the United Kingdom, and in 2005 in the United States.The album's most notable single was "Ageless Beauty", the band's breakthrough hit in Canada.Currently, Set Yourself on Fire is a candidate for Amazon.com's Best of the Year So Far: 2005 selection.

Link Here

Architecture in Helsinki - In Case we die

2006-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

On their debut album, Fingers Crossed, Architecture in Helsinki felt like they were just getting their bearings. This gave the album, and the Australian indie pop collective's mix of symphonic and electronic pop, a tentative, first-steps kind of charm. However, after a spending a year on the road tightening up their live act, and a little while longer in their wonderfully named Super Melody World studio recording their second album, In Case We Die, the group sounds much more assured. Everything on In Case We Die, from the intensely sweet melodies and vocals to the widescreen production, delivers the kind of playful pop majesty that Fingers Crossed's best moments hinted were within Architecture in Helsinki's grasp. "More assured" doesn't mean "less creative" though; this is a second album that really does expand on the sounds and ideas of the debut instead of just rehashing them. Indeed, Fingers Crossed's standout pocket symphony, "The Owls Go," feels like a template for In Case We Die's lush, playful, multifaceted sound. Most of the songs have lots of parts and changes to them, such as the opener, "Neverevereverdid," which begins with a spooky, operatic fanfare, then becomes delicately rambling folk-pop, and finally morphs into speedy, shouty Krautrock. Despite the ambition of songs like this and the suite-like "In Case We Die, Pts. 1-4," the album never feels ponderous; in fact, it's often even cuter than Fingers Crossed was. "It'5!" and "Cemetery" are adorable without being saccharine, and touches like the power-drill solo on "Frenchy, I'm Faking" and jungle sound effects on "Need to Shout" ensure that the album's more polished sound never feels slick or stuffy. Even In Case We Die's most straightforward moment, the single "Do the Whirlwind" — which is so sleekly synthy that it could almost pass for straight-up dance-pop — shares at least some of the quirky warmth of more homespun-sounding songs like "Tiny Paintings." An album with this much vibrant, irresistible, Technicolor music to its name could have only come from a place called Super Melody World. Not only is it a delight to hear Architecture in Helsinki come into their own on In Case We Die, but the fact that it comes so soon after their debut makes it all the sweeter.

Sparta - Porcelain

2006-04-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

You liked the 'more mellow' songs of At the Drive-In, you probably gonna love this one. This is the style of 'Invalid Litter Dept' in perfection. Great arrangements, very harmonic and melodic rock, with a slight touch of post-core here and there. With about an hour of playtime, you also get a good share of music for your buck. The melancholic aspect clearly dominates for me on this one. And as I'm into stuff like that, I really like this album.Still, the real kicker is missing. Though this is great stuff, it an go by unnoticed in the background while doing something. Like, for instance, 'Bleed American' by Jimmy eat World. If you do not pay attention to the music, it will go unnoticed somehow, and an hour later you will ask yourself "What, already over?". Which is kinda sad, as the music is really Grade A. Some minus points for that. But if you concentrate on it, real great stuff.

^ lol, i didnt write that got it offa sputnik thought it was amusing.

Link Here

Anathallo - Sparrows

2006-04-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

These seven songs, recorded in 2002, commemorate the second release for anathallo. We had a lot of fun during the four day recording process. We slept in a minivan in the Pamida parking lot and talked about marriage, struggles, and making pancakes. The outcome of the experience was a record which (initially) left us quite discouraged. We weren't happy with it at all. I had a horrible time with the vocals and vowed to become a monk. Unfortunately, those plans never came to fruition. After a couple weeks of thinking, listening, and remixing, we decided that it wasn't as bad as we thought. It's angular, slightly more 'rock' than our other releases and marks our discovery of polyrhythm. For fans of Diana Ross, Limp Bizkit, and The Shaggs.

Link Here

From Monument to Masses

2006-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

so From Monument to Masses, is a policatlly ASCUTE wtf doesthat mean, band. They be from the fine city of San Fran(yay california!). and this album (Schools of Thought Contend ) has some pretty awesome beats on it. What would they be genre wise? probably experimental, and instrumental rock and uh post rock/indie rock. w.e. Just released a month or so ago, this album as become one of my favorites. I know for a fact that this piece of awesome, delicious awesome..ness.. is goinng to go with me on my month long journey! so i dont really know how to explain the album cuz its more of a mix i would think then just from one certain band, so why not let the professionals do what they do best.

FMTM, along with many talented artists, have been working very hard for the past several months on a new full-length album titled "Schools of thought contend.". The album, now finished, contains a number of diverse remixes
(ranging from electronic and indie pop to drum&bass and post-rock) of songs
off "The Impossible Leap...", as well as 2 new FMTM studio tracks. We will be
putting up a new webpage profiling the many contributing remix artists, as well
as offering additional writings and remix tracks not available on the album.

And there you have it! check it out, its surely as awesome as i say if your into what i said... and stuff.. oh and theres two links cuz MS was being gay. its a huge album.

Link Here(MS)
Mirror one(sendSPC)

Sufjan Stevens - Enjoy Your Rabbit

2006-04-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

Sufjan Stevens' second release, Enjoy Your Rabbit, is a vast departure from the pan-ethnic folk of his debut. Using almost no exterior samples, Stevens crafts an electronic, all-"instrumental" song cycle based on the symbols of the Chinese zodiac. While working within these considerably narrower confines, he still maps out a wide musical territory by using each symbol as a mode, each one exploring different textures and tempos and, in the process, evoking a surprising array of moods. At times eerie and ominous like a backwoods Autechre, other times sounding like more club-oriented fare, Stevens sometimes trades in bloops and bleeps for oblique glitches and crackles, but the underlying guiding principle is wide-eyed exploration that fills nearly every track with a sense of playfulness. Enjoy Your Rabbit never gets too serious, although at times it's very intense. Many tracks even have some sort of musical pun working just under the surface; for instance, "Year of the Horse" is by far the longest, clocking in at over 13 minutes, and "Year of the Ox" has a regular, heavy thudding beat.

Link Here (NEW LINK)

Neverending White Lights - Act 1: Goodbye

2006-04-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

shrugtastical, blogs being weird.

So, therefore. No Descrip Or, Image.

Link Here

Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited

2006-04-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's varied style and formidable individuality made him impossible to categorize. Although famous in France for many years, he did not achieve his first No. 1 album until 1979 when he released Aux Armes et caetera more than twenty years after his music career had begun. But since the 1980s his legacy has been firmly established.

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ALL - Allroy's Revenge

2006-04-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

All's third album is a faster, punkier outing that lacks the focus and attitude of the group's earlier work. Vocalist-of-the-month Scott Reynolds sings with maturity on existential dilemmas like "Copping Z" and "Fool," and his earnestness sets the record's tone; Allroy's Revenge is an ambitious record, but given All's prior success as a goofcore band, an ambitious record is probably the last thing that fans want to hear

Link Here

Blood on the Wall - Awesomer

2006-04-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Gratefully, musical sophistication is something that doesn't much appeal to Blood on the Wall. Instead of being more carefully produced or less manic or just plain better, the trio's third disc is, as they christened it, simply Awesomer. Ben Shanks shrieks with the same lit-up, near-lunatic force he brought to the band's self-titled debut, and his sister Courtney Shanks continues to sound as though she wished she were playing with Yo La Tengo or Cowboy Junkies; all the racket just makes her want to retreat into some lo-fi hollow. Still, Blood on the Wall — which is way unfortunately named, calling to mind as it does a screamo or metal outfit — is a band that manages to pull its disparate energies together, and that's what makes its music so likable and so genuinely fresh. Between "You Are a Mess" and "Mary Susan," Ben manages to recall both the Violent Femmes and the Beastie Boys. Opener "Stoner Jam," meanwhile, seems in service to Courtney's ultra-coolness. Combined, all of Awesomer's songs stimulate a need to follow the band for its next few outings. Schizophrenia — not to mention the vast bulk of safe-playing indie rock acts — never sounded this good.

Link Here

Q and Not U - Power

2006-04-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

One of the original batch of bands that started mixing indie rock, post-punk, and disco-influenced rhythms in the '90s, Q and Not U return with Power, an album that nods to dance-punk's moment in the sun and also finds them adding more dimensions to their already versatile sound. Like Les Savy Fav, Q and Not U are among the strongest songwriters working in this style, and on Power, they're equally adept at short, sharp shocks like "L.A.X." and more introspective pieces such as "Dine." This ebb and flow makes the album less forceful than previous work like No Kill No Beep Beep, but it also makes Power more interesting, even if the ping-ponging between quietly quirky pieces like "Throw Back Your Head," an oddly folky, flute-driven song, and brainy, spazzy pop like "Wet Work" is disconcerting at first. It's tempting to single out Power's most singular moments, like the medieval harmonies on "District Night Prayer," as the album's highlights, because they're such a departure; however, "Book of Flags" and "Tag-Tag" are prime examples of the band's undeniably kinetic punk-funk. "Wonderful People" and "Beautiful Beats" are even more danceable, but still retain that paranoid, too-smart-for-their-own-good feel of all of Q and Not U's work. This feeling comes to the fore on the tense, "Glass Onion"-esque "Collect the Diamonds" and "X-Polynation," which both echo the trend of mixing politics and dance-punk, but do so more subtly, and timelessly, than the rants of !!! and Radio 4. Even when there are plenty of other bands working in a similar style, Q and Not U remain more distinctive and harder to classify than many of their peers, which makes Power an exciting album and proof that the band has variety and vitality to spare.

Link Here

Sugar - Copper Blue

2006-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Bob Mould realised his career goal--a rock & roll trio like Hüsker Dü, only without another strong personality to compete with him--most completely with Sugar's 1992 debut. It's mixed strangely, with little bass and lots of treble, but that gives it a buzzing power, especially on heavy-guitar songs such as "Hoover Dam" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind". By the end of "A Good Idea", the narrator inexplicably drowns the woman he loves and Mould's voice assumes a frightening monotone. The only real relief from Copper Blue's intensity is the constant flood of catchy melodies

Link

Rites of Spring - End On End

2006-03-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

You won't find many people in the punk rock scenes and sub genres that haven't tasted Rites of Spring. Their influence is apparent and important on many of today's "underground" bands. Unfortunately they have often been pigeonholed into being the definition of the DC or Dischord sound, and the god fathers of "emo." But those are just easy excuses in making connections. The Rites of Spring was the birth of a new way of looking at music from a punk rock-based viewpoint. They took the fury and anger and harshness of the movement and attempted to make it into craft. The members later continued down this path and expanded on the ideas first born here. Picciotto and Canty are best known for their work in the ever-important Fugazi. Mike Fellows has made dirty music with Royal Trux and also nailed the best pop drums for Air Miami with Mark Robinson. Eddie Janney has not only produced some of DC's best music, but is also a member of Girl's Against Boys, who have melded techno and electronica into rock to create a very unique sonic sound. It's apparent that The Rites of Spring were a step in a greater path of underground music, but what an important and formative step it was.

Link

The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies

2006-03-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

4AD tries, tries again with Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies, the second Pixies best-of they've released since the band broke up in 1992 and the companion piece to the long-awaited, simultaneously released DVD Pixies. Lessons have been learned from 1997's half-baked Death to the Pixies: this compilation's track listing is in more or less chronological order (although Surfer Rosa's "Where Is My Mind?" pops up in the middle of the album, after a string of Doolittle tracks), which helps the flow of the collection; since each of the Pixies' albums had its own distinctive feel, the cut'n'paste approach of the previous best-of didn't always serve the songs it collected. More importantly, Wave of Mutilation boasts 23 songs, as opposed to the 17 on the best-of disc on Death to the Pixies. While, theoretically, 23 tracks should be enough to capture most, if not all, of the band's definitive moments, that's not quite the case here. The collection does a good job of compiling the band's singles, two excellent B-sides ("Into the White" and "Winterlong"), and many of their key album tracks, but those are so numerous that, for the second time, more than a few of the Pixies' best songs have been left off of their best-of album. The picks from Doolittle are more or less perfect (although including the wonderfully creepy "I Bleed" certainly would've earned some extra credit), but several near-essential songs from each of their other albums are missing in action. Surfer Rosa's "Cactus" and "River Euphrates are at the top of that list. Come On Pilgrim's "I've Been Tired" and "Levitate Me" are missed nearly as much, even though including them would bring the total songs from the eight-song mini-album that appear on Wave of Mutilation to five (making a case for Come On Pilgrim to be considered the Pixies' most consistent — if not best — work).

Link Here

A Thorn For Every Heart - Things arent so beautiful now

2006-03-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

A Thorn for Every Heart follows up its 2003 EP with this tight and smart follow-up, a 30-minute-long exclamation point of screamo/punk fusion that offers multiple layers of bludgeoning power chords, chiming arpeggios, angelic harmonies, and hoarse roars of rage. There are even occasional incursions of piano and violin, just to keep you guessing. Lyrically, there's nothing here that will really grab your attention, but in sonic terms, A Thorn for Every Heart is surprisingly advanced for such a young band. The vocal arrangements on "February" and "Night to Remember" will catch you by surprise, and guitarists Phil Nguyen and Jeff Harber are gratifyingly unwilling to just build a lazy wall of sound for the singer to yell at; instead, they toss unexpected rhythmic changeups ("Prediction") and elaborate contrapuntal chime-and-grind arrangements ("99 With an Anchor") into the mix at every opportunity, keeping things both interesting and, frequently, jaw-droppingly pretty. Great stuff — it will be fun to see how they follow this one up.

Link Here

Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2

2006-03-13T00:42:00.000-08:00

Like many sequels, Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 isn't the equal of its predecessor — that felt fully realized, where this feels a little patchwork — yet it is still satisfying on many levels. As on the first, the Billy Bragg-written and sung music is the most convincing since he captures the cadences and spirit of Guthrie's music. They sound like classic, weathered folk songs whereas Wilco's numbers are modern inventions, splicing music that is clearly theirs with Guthrie's words. The chasm between the two artists was apparent on the first, but it's more evident this time around, largely due to the fact that several of Wilco's songs were recorded without Bragg after the release of Mermaid Avenue. This gives the record a strangely disjointed feel that isn't helped by the guest appearances by Natalie Merchant on "I Was Born" and Corey Harris whose vocals overpower "Aginst th' Law." Since Bragg and Wilco are pursuing slightly different directions in the first place, the guest artists only add to the patchwork quality of the record. Still, even with its weaknesses, there are plenty of worthwhile things here from both sides of the spectrum. If Wilco occasionally is a little too somber or introspective, they do have moments where everything aligns perfectly. But, as on the first, it's the Bragg-led numbers that truly catch fire, feeling every bit as warm, funny, and vibrant as Guthrie's best work. His contributions go a long way to making Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 a pleasing sequel.

Link Here (UPDATED LINK)

Dispatch - Who are we living for?

2006-03-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

D.I.Y. superstars Dispatch have made a name for themselves by embodying the punk aesthetic of doing it yourself without corporate intervention, even though their music owes nothing to the sound of punk itself. In fact, given the songs on Who Are We Living For?, a more ideal audience for their funk/world/jazz/R&B/rap-tinged rock & roll is graduated Dave Matthews Band listeners: people who enjoy that band's eclecticism but have been turned off by their degree of media saturation. Lyrically, most of Who Are We Living For? is rife with social commentary, addressing leftist social issues that run the gamut from homelessness, violence, and justice. It's not surprising from a band that was arrested in 2000 for protesting the Boston presidential debates because of the exclusion of Ralph Nader. The end result sounds like a more politicized, eclectic 311, and even if many of the songs are ultimately undistinguished, Who Are We Living For? is an album made by and for the collegiate rock crowd.

Link?

Islands - Return to The Sea

2006-03-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Islands is a musical band formed in Canada in early 2005, featuring Nick Diamonds (Nicholas Thorburn) on vocals, J'aime Tambeur (Jamie Thompson) on drums, Patrice Agbokou on bass, and at least temporarily, Jim Guthrie on guitar. Islands is a band that is always in flux, with membership changing when appropriate. Most recently two string players, Alex Chow and Sebastian Chow, and a bass clarinetist, Patrick Gregoire, joined the band.Although the two founding members of Islands (Nick and Jamie) were members of The Unicorns, Islands is a completely new and independent project. This, in contrast to Th' Corn Gangg, which began as a direct off-shoot project of The Unicorns several months prior to their December 2004 break-up.

Link Here (RS ICK, sorray)

Portugal The Man - Waiter You Vultures

2006-03-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

The sparse nature of “Waiter: ‘You Vultures!’” makes it obvious that this band isn’t from anywhere around here. With members mostly from Alaska who have relocated to Oregon, these guys are barely what I’d consider a part of the contiguous United States—and even more part of the standard music scene. This album, their debut, features the former vocalist of Anatomy Of A Ghost, and sound nothing like they did. Swooning, caressing vocals and songs that are chaotic and calm all at once; this album is a refreshing blend of mathy indie rock and pop art-rock ala Coheed And Cambria, but don’t hold them to any of Coheed’s musings. This album makes you want to sleep, but not out of boredom—instead to truly indulge into the incomprehensible, into the depths of dreams where things don’t seem to make any sense but you love them anyway. Confusing and distorted, this album as a whole is a vivid dreamscape, a tundra of vast and bewildering ideas, and sounds nothing like any common band in this day and age.The music, however, uses conventional instruments—pianos and lots of clean guitars, and even brutal bass/synth driven distortion ala Muse (in one of the album’s power tracks, “Chicago”). The way the band uses the tranquil, buried synth is best displayed in the opening track, however (“How The Leopard Got Its Spots”) as the synth follows and strays from the vocal melodies. It was a special treat to hear Nic Newsham from Gatsby’s American Dream on “Marching With 6,” pulling off a powerful crescendo, and then again in “Elephants,” the chaotic jam that pleads the listener to “slip into the water…slip into the coats, the colors…”

Link herre

Thursday - Five Stories Falling

2006-03-12T00:14:00.001-08:00

The release of Thursday's Five Stories Falling EP offered a convincing argument for the New Brunswick, NJ, band's status as true comers in the hardcore rock hierarchy and unequivocally proved their mastery at creating tumultuous, anthemic emo-rock, built upon a fiercely confrontational affront and a melodic subtextual base. Albeit, Cure influences are readily palpable throughout (most apparent in the leadoff track, "Autobiography of a Nation"), the five-cut disc (featuring four live tracks from their 2001 Full Collapse CD, and one unreleased studio recording) showed Thursday's astonishing ability to completely captivate a live audience while also allowing for a fully realized demonstration of their cathartic guitar-heavy sound, replete with sentimental takes on impending death ("Standing on the Edge of Summer") and unreserved, freely vented rage ("Jet Black New Year").

Link

Thursday - Five Stories Falling

2006-03-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

Saetia - A Retrospective

2006-03-12T00:12:00.000-08:00

Saetia was a band from New York City that formed in early 1997. Saetia's first show was at ABC No Rio to about 30 people. 2.5 years, 17 songs, numerous tours and 4 bassplayers later, Saetia played their final show at ABC No Rio to 40 people.

Sorry not much time to post huge descriptions :(

Link

Sufjan Stevens - A Sun Came(extended)

2006-03-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

The debut disc from this former member of the folk group Marzuki and sometimes Danielson Famile contributor stakes out some wide musical and thematic territory. Although it was recorded on four-track, it transcends the confines of lo-fi and can even seem sonically overambitious at times. Exploring a terrain that can only be called pan-ethnic folk, A Sun Came begins with Celtic overtones before traveling east in a global musical study. Indian, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, American folk, and instruments ranging from banjo and sitar to oboe and xylophone (most of which are played by Stevens) — it's all found here in some form or another, which would be a bit disorienting if not for Stevens' often personal lyrical turns and the wide-eyed indie rock vibe that permeates the songs no matter where they may roam. Also, short spoken word pieces are sprinkled across the album, snippets which on one hand sound like field recordings but are in actuality personal anecdotes and reflections from friends, blending further the multicultural music-lesson feel and the introspective, singer/songwriterly tunes — a nice effect. Highlights include "Demetrius," which takes a Sonic Youth-inspired guitar riff, rides it to the British Isles for some pan pipes, then onward to a Moroccan opium den, and "A Loverless Bed," which is a beautiful, reverb-laden ballad turned noise freak-out.

Link Here (updated linkMegupload)

John Lennon - Acoustic

2006-03-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting — and frustrating — solo career. Lennon was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic songcraft; he also had a tendency to rest on his laurels, churning out straight-ahead rock & roll without much care. But the extremes, both in his music and his life, were what made him fascinating. Where Paul McCartney was content to be a rock star, Lennon dabbled in everything from revolutionary politics to the television talk-show circuit during the early '70s. After releasing a pair of acclaimed albums, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, in the early '70s, Lennon sunk into an infamous "lost weekend" where his musical output was decidedly uneven and his public behavior was often embarrassing. Halfway through the decade, he sobered up and retired from performing to become a house-husband and father. In 1980, he launched a comeback with his wife Yoko Ono, releasing the duet album Double Fantasy that fall. Just as his career was on an upswing, Lennon was tragically assassinated outside of his New York apartment building in December of 1980. He left behind an enormous legacy, not only as a musician, but as a writer, actor and activist.

Link Here

Taproot - Blue-Sky Research

2006-03-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

Taproot returns to the scene with Blue-Sky Research, their melodic yet hard-hitting follow-up to the critically acclaimed Welcome. Studio wiz Toby Wright (Alice in Chains, Kiss, Korn) pushed the band to write over 80 songs for this record. The hard work has paid off handsomely, as Blue-Sky Research delivers not only on every song, but as a cohesive album.

Link Here

H.I.M. - Razorblade Romance

2006-03-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Even though H.I.M.'s main goal seems to be gaining attention from a female audience, Greatest Lovesongs sure was artistically a success. The contrast between Razorblade Romance and the debut, however, is quite large. Melancholy and angst seem a little artificial, while Greatest Lovesongs had a truly pressuring atmosphere all the time. Razorblade Romance forgets all about that, and the whole concept of gothic rock and so-called love metal repeats itself many times during the album. But the songs themselves are actually very good; when ignoring the implementation, hit songs like "Join Me in Death" and "Right Here in My Arms" work really nicely. And horrendous clichés in lyrics and playing don't really matter, because H.I.M. recycles them well. The slightly over-produced sound may distract for a while, but after all, the song material is of a kind that is hard to fit into a demanding format. Anyhow, the songs as a whole are organized well, and it's easy to listen the album the whole way through.

Link Here

Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles

2006-03-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Xiu Xiu continue to push the envelope with their third album in two years, Fabulous Muscles. While their mix of low-res electronics, flamboyant synth pop, and experimental rock sounds slightly more accessible than it has before, that just makes it easier for Jamie Stewart's confrontational vocals and lyrics to sink in that much deeper. As always, Xiu Xiu juxtapose their heroic doses of misery with lovely, if rough-edged, music: the drooping synth lines and chunky beats on "Crank Heart" and "Brian Vampire" sound like the music from some unspeakably sad video game, while "Little Panda McElroy"'s acoustic guitars have a hesitant prettiness that makes lyrics like "I can stop hating my own heart/I can do it because of you" even more intimate. Stewart either whispers obsessively or shout-sings, as if he's trying to drown out his own thoughts, and does both on the brilliantly morose "I Luv the Valley OH!," on which he vows, "It's a heart that you made/And I won't rest until I break it." More so than with many other bands, Xiu Xiu's music immerses the listener in the band's world view and the songs' characters: "Bunny Gamer" is an extraordinary portrait of yearning and self-loathing that begins as an internal monologue of an unrequited lover and then becomes a painful dialogue between him and the object of his affection, who is much more careless and carefree. The song's dead-calm desperation borders on the creepy and pathetic, but this is the uncomfortable territory that Xiu Xiu claim as their own. Much like the musical equivalent of Todd Solondz or Harmony Korine, Xiu Xiu set out to disturb their audience in pursuit of higher artistic goals. More often than not (and arguably more often than Solondz and Korine), the group succeeds. "Support Our Troops OH!," which graphically depicts a U.S. troop killing a young girl, could have been played for shock value, but the palpable anger that runs through the track is more implosive than strident. Similarly, "Nieces Pieces (Boat Knife Version)" explores a dysfunctional family with quiet contempt and dark humor rather than outright rage. It all culminates on "Fabulous Muscles (Mama Black Widow Version)" — its effeminately macho title is yet another one of Xiu Xiu's dualities — a mix of sex, violence, and sadness that features the lyrics "Cremate me after you come on my lips, honey boy/Keep my ashes in a vase beneath your workout bench" and manages to be horrific, romantic, and funny at the same time. Fabulous Muscles might be the best expression of Xiu Xiu's unrepentantly original music; even if the world that the band creates isn't necessarily one you'd want to visit all the time, it remains fascinating.

Link here

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Secret of Elena's Tomb

2006-03-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

Just over a year after releasing their brilliant Source Tags & Codes, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead return with Secret of Elena's Tomb, five new songs that continue the band's creative winning streak. Paradoxically enough, the condensed EP form shows off the band's progress better than a full-length album might — within 20 minutes, Secret of Elena's Tomb spans the experimental rock and pretty but still powerful ballads that made Source Tags one of 2002's best albums, as well as some new directions. "Mach Schau" explodes and then slowly pulls itself back together again; with its epic sweep and polished experimentalism, it comes the closest to the sound Trail of Dead explored on their previous album. "Crowning of a New Heart" and "Counting off the Days," meanwhile, are even prettier and more accessible than Source Tags' gentlest moments, mixing cellos, acoustic guitars, and breathy harmonies into their sound effortlessly. "All Saints' Day" might be the best song on Secret of Elena's Tomb, welding tribal drums, blazing guitars, and impassioned vocals to an anthemic melody; "Intelligence" is the most radical departure, boasting drum machines and dark electronics that suggest that the band could give the Liars and the Rapture a run for their money if they pursued a punk-funk direction. While Source Tags & Codes might be a more cohesive listen and feature slightly stronger songwriting, Secret of Elena's Tomb suggests some promising directions for the band's next album.

Linky!?

Bear Vs Shark - Terror Hawk

2006-03-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

Post-hardcore is a slippery genre. If emo is commonly defined as "we know it when we hear it," maybe post-hardcore is "we know it when we can't hear anything after hearing it." But that's too easy; lots of music is loud. Maybe post-hardcore is what happens when people who are into hooks and melodies get into heavier styles like punk, metal, and hardcore. Post-hardcore kids listen to classic Metallica and hear the melody beneath the mayhem, the pop in the apoplexy. They listen to emo and imagine what those wobbly arpeggios would sound like with some real balls in the dynamic shifts, some buffness in the chordage.You can hear some latter-day Wire in Bear Vs. Shark's linear, deeply textured riffs; there's some early Mission of Burma in their pronounced loud/soft dynamics and fist-pumping rhythmic maneuvers. But beneath Terrorhawk's ripped chords, frantic tempos and dudefaced vocals, there's a dewy-eyed indie rock record whimpering to be let out. Not that letting it out would've been advisable-- as it stands, the raw fury and insane energy level of the album stampedes right over the brain and booms down the spine.

Link Heere

The Libertines - Up the Bracket

2006-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

The first British band to rival the garage rock revival sparked by the Strokes and White Stripes in the U.S., the Hives in Sweden, and the Datsuns in, er, New Zealand, the Libertines burst onto the scene with Up the Bracket, a debut album so confident and consistent that the easiest way to describe it is 2002's answer to Is This It. That's not just because singer/guitarist Pete Doherty's slurred, husky vocals sound like Julian Casablancas' with the added bonus of a fetching Cockney accent (or that both groups share the same tousled, denim-clad fashion sense); virtually every song on Up the Bracket is chock-full of the same kind of bouncy, aggressive guitars, expressive, economic drums, and irresistible hooks that made the Strokes' debut almost too catchy for the band's credibility. However, the resemblance is probably due more to the constant trading of musical ideas between the States and the U.K. than to bandwagon-jumping — the Strokes' sound owes as much to Britpop sensations like Supergrass (who had the Libertines as their opening band on their 2002 U.K. tour) and Elastica as it does to American influences like the Stooges and the Velvet Underground. Likewise, the Libertines play fast and loose with four decades' worth of British rock history, mixing bits and bobs of British Invasion, mod, punk, and Britpop with the sound of their contemporaries.

Link Here

Devendra Banhart

2006-03-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, and Los Angeles, Devendra Banhart was always playing music and drawing. But it wasn't until his brief stay at the San Francisco Art Institute that the disciplines became his constant companions. With the encouragement of poet and SFAI professor Bill Berskon, Banhart began experimenting with all kinds of art. He also began recording songs around that same time, usually on shoddy, hand-me-down four-track machines. Brief, half-finished, or written in stream-of-consciousness form, the recordings weren't initially intended for release. But friends encouraged Banhart, and he sent out a few tentative demos. He also left SFAI in favor of busking and wandering, and his travels led him from the Bay Area to Paris and eventually back to L.A. By now he was performing regularly, but he hadn't recorded or released anything officially. That changed when Michael Gira (Swans) issued the first Banhart material on his Young God imprint in October 2002. Oh Me Oh My... was an immediate critical hit, and comparisons to legends of songwriting, eclecticism, and tragedy were frequent (Tim Buckley, Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan, et al.). The Black Babies EP arrived in 2003, followed by Banhart's first full-length, Rejoicing in the Hands, in April 2004. Young God released its companion, Niño Rojo, in September. Acclaim for both was nearly unanimous, and Banhart's audience continued to expand. He jumped to XL for September 2005's Cripple Crow, an ambitious set and his most sonically expansive album up to that point.

Cripple Crow

Crow

Rejoicing

His Name Is Alive - Detrola

2006-02-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

So, they are alive after all. Even the most die-hard His Name Is Alive fans could be forgiven for thinking that the band had broken up — or at least gone into a deep hibernation — after the release of their final 4AD album, Last Night. Though Warn Defever and Company were actually busier than ever with special MP3-only releases and albums and EPs on smaller labels like Ypsilanti, En/Of, and Defever's own Time Stereo, the lack of any widely released new material seemed ominous. Fortunately, Detrola, His Name Is Alive's debut album for the aptly named Reincarnate Music, puts to rest any worries about the band's existence and is definitely worth the four-year wait. Detrola sounds like the highlights of all of the band's previous albums chopped up and reconfigured into songs that sound familiar, fresh, and utterly His Name Is Alive; actually, it could make as good an introduction to their freewheeling musical invention as the 4AD comp Always Stay Sweet does. "Introduction" nods to the drama and spookiness of their earliest work: a heartbroken late-night lament surrounded by loops of noise and applause that turns into deafening noise, it sounds like it was recorded at Mulholland Drive's Club Silencio. "*C*A*T*S*," meanwhile, updates the ethereal atmospheres of Home Is in Your Head with meowing synths. "Your Bones" is a delicate acoustic ballad that could've easily appeared on Mouth by Mouth or Stars on ESP, while "Seven Minutes"' tight, sexy electro-jazz fusion proves that Lovetta Pippen is still a crucial part of the band's wide-ranging sound. Detrola finds the band exploring the same themes that have always run through their music: spirituality, sensuality, and mortality. It's doubtful that any other group could turn a simple statement like "you need a heart to live" into something as equally sweet and scary the way His Name Is Alive can. While Detrola sounds a lot like the band's earlier work, it's still inventive. The avant-pop on Mouth by Mouth, Stars on ESP, and Ft. Lake is still fresh-sounding, and this album's updates on that aesthetic are, in turn, a step forward. "After I Leave You" and "In My Dreams" use synth pop as an inspiration in a way that sounds futuristic, even alien, instead of stuck in the '80s. On the other hand, "I Thought I Saw" sounds like a slightly skewed take on "Wedding Bell Blues" and other sweet, sad soul classics, and "Get Your Curse" could be taken for '70s singer/songwriter pop if it weren't for unsettling lyrics like "Your house will burn for years and years." Detrola is slightly more subdued than some of His Name Is Alive's previous albums, but it's still a reminder of how much their beautiful, strange, oddly moving music has been missed. With any luck, their fans won't have to wait another four years before they make another album as good as this.

Link Here

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

2006-02-14T10:40:00.001-08:00

Travelling Without Moving deepens the acid jazz and '70s soul fusions of Return of the Space Cowboy, yet it doesn't have the uniform consistency of its predecessor. Nevertheless, Jamiroquai's fusions sound more fully realized with each outing, which makes its patchy songwriting forgivable.

Link Here

Test Icicles - For Screening Purposes Only

2006-02-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

With most of the hot U.K. bands of the mid-2000s borrowing from new wave, post-punk, and '90s Britpop, Test Icicles deserve some credit for having a slightly different set of influences, even if the band isn't radically inventive in its own right, either. On its debut album, For Screening Purposes Only, the trio crafts a chaotic sound that is heavily inspired by American and Canadian noise rock bands like the Mae Shi, the Blood Brothers, and Death from Above 1979, as well as heavy metal (which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering their Beavis and Butthead-ready name and song titles like "Party on Dudes"). Test Icicles can shriek and shred with the best of them, particularly on the album's opening track, "Your Biggest Mistake." However, by the second song, "Pull the Lever," the band can't resist throwing a poppy hook and vocal harmonies into the mathy, nimble noise, and by "Boa vs Python" and"Circle.Square.Triangle.," they sound like Bloc Party's brooding dance-punk with more piss and vinegar and less angst (in some of their press photos, Test Icicles even look like a bizarro version of that band). Most of For Screening Purposes Only falls somewhere between manicured noise rock and cleaned-up death-disco, but the band finds time to explore other sounds too: "Catch It!" flirts with screamo without fully committing to it, U.S. bonus track "What's Michelle Like?" is heavy and ugly, with thudding drum machines anchoring the chaos, and "Dancing on Pegs"' squeaky vocals and quick tempo shifts border on camp. Test Icicles try to do so much with their music that it could blow up in their faces at any moment; that they manage to pull off most of For Screening Purposes Only without embarrassing themselves (or annoying their audience) too much is a pleasant surprise — if you can call anything associated with music this willful and spazzy pleasant. Caught somewhere between challenging and accessible, For Screening Purposes is worth checking out for those who like their music prickly but with an undercurrent of pop to it, too.

Link Here

Fastbreak - Fast Cars Fast Women

2006-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Connecticut's hardcore heros give us their first full-length album and their best outing yet. Not unlike legends Gorilla Biscuits and Turning Point, Fastbreak play energetic and powerful hardcore, backed with tons of melody and catchy hooks. Fast and upbeat rhythms, sincere shouted vocals, and sugar-coated melodic guitar riffs make this record so damn catchy and fun that you just can't say "no." Definitely leaders for the new straight edge generation.

Link Here

Horse the band - The Mechanical Hand

2006-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

"Birdo" glides along at break-neck speed with monster riffs and intense vocals. The song's lyrics are pure nonsense, but it's the textures of the instruments that grab your attention. The group uses an interesting sound effect system (similar to early video game tones) throughout their music. I think it is what separates them from their hardcore peers. The intro to "A Million Exploding Suns" may sound like your advancing to the next level of Zelda, but once the heavy guitars, thumping bass, and pounding drums kick in, you'll realize your listening to the next level of heavy metal. If you're not ready to punch something at this point, you will be once you hear "House of Boo". Horse mixes things up by changing tempos, keys, and riff patterns here. "Heroes Die" is an instrumental track that is lead by a military drum pattern and mixed with sound effects of knights battling with swords on their mighty steeds. I know it seems a little Dungeons & Dragons, but it's actually a really cool tune that goes into modern and futuristic battles as well. I could see it as their live intro or outtro song.

Link Here

The Books - Lost and Safe

2006-02-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

On their third full-length release, Lost and Safe, the Books show that they are back stronger than ever and from the beginning are subtly pushing new forms. Still present in the Books' song structures are string work and found sounds, but the inclusion of vocals from the bandmembers themselves gives Lost and Safe a depth that was only hinted at on Thought for Food and Lemon of Pink. The use of more vocals is never overbearing and works well with the other elements of speech, at times completing sentences or thoughts of particular samples — the lyrics are printed with the sample text included as well. Rhythms and textures of strings and other various instruments seem to complement the found sounds and samples to a wonderfully haunting effect, as on "It Never Changes to Stop," "An Animated Description of Mr. Maps," and "Venice." The Books manipulate sound elements that are found or created by their string playing, which can be jarring at times, as on "Be Good to Them Always." Lost and Safe is subtle and dramatic throughout, as the Books use all of their musical resources to create an album that sounds like the members of a modern Gastr del Sol might have discovered computers and sounds deep in the woods or in the cracks of high-tech buildings, and incorporated these elements in their music-making. From the songwriting to the production to the performance, the whole package that the Books present with Lost and Safe works wonderfully and makes for a very rewarding listen.

Link Here

This Mortal Coil- It`ll End In Tears

2006-02-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

The first of 4AD owner Ivo Watts-Russell's multi-artist studio sessions under the This Mortal Coil name, 1984's It'll End in Tears was a surprisingly influential album in many circles, key in the reawakening of interest in artists like Alex Chilton and the late Tim Buckley by a younger generation of listeners. (Two songs from Big Star's Third are included, a version of "Kangaroo" featuring Cindytalk vocalist Gordon Sharp that sounds even druggier and more disorienting than the original, and a chilling piano and strings version of "Holocaust" with haunted vocals by Howard Devoto; the simple but ravishing version of Buckley's "Song to the Siren" by Cocteau Twins Liz Fraser and Robin Guthrie was cited by David Lynch as the direct inspiration for Julee Cruise's first two albums and has since been used several times in commercials and films.) The covers are the most memorable part of the album — a Robbie Grey-sung version of Colin Newman's "Not Me," cleverly incorporating a hypnotic riff from another Newman song, "B," is the most conventionally hooky song on the album, to the point that folks who haven't listened to the album for a while tend to forget that half of the songs are "band" originals. These six songs mark 4AD's definitive break from its origins as an artsy post-punk imprint (Bauhaus, Modern English's first few records, etc.) to the development of "the 4AD sound," a heavily reverbed wash of treated guitars and atmospheric keyboards with vocals treated as another instrument in an amorphous wash of sound. The problem is that these largely instrumental tracks sound more like half-baked studio doodles than fully formed songs; a three-song stretch on side two featuring Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard is particularly tiresome. As a whole, It'll End in Tears is a lovely, often exquisite record; taken individually, the power of some of the songs is lost

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Spitalfield - Remember Right Now

2006-02-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Spitalfield are back with Remember Right Now, once again posing the musical question, "How melodic can melodic punk get and still reasonably be considered punk?" Of course, the only rational response to that question is "Who cares?," which is why we're not even going to discuss the glockenspiel that keeps popping up on the bridge during "Those Days You Felt Alive." Instead we'll focus on those irresistible hooks, those delirious harmonies, those big fat crunchy guitars, those sometimes-just-a-bit-too-dewy-eyed lyrics ("It's a brand new day/You've got someone to be/And that someone is you"). Given their age, it's no surprise that these guys seem mainly obsessed with questions about what life holds in store for them ("Stolen from Some Great Writer," "In the Same Lifetime," "Am I Ready?") and the incomprehensible vagaries of romantic love ("Make My Heart Attack," "Those Days You Felt Alive"), but you can tell they're growing up because they obviously feel something other than blind rage. In fact, they don't sound angry at all, even when their friends betray them and their girlfriends confuse them. It must be the joy of making music this hooky, harmonious and fun.

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Dance Hall Crashers - The Old Record 1989-1992

2006-02-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is some choice third wave ska, fronted by two swell females. This is the record to own by this band. Avoid the other stuff unless you're a big fan. During this era, the band still had a brass section (and a damn good one, at that). They were also sticking to solid, upbeat ska riffs, rather than venturing in to rock or punk territory (like they did later in their career). Every track is pretty solid, with the exception of "Street Sweeper", which the gals do not sing on. The beauty of this CD (and the band in general) is the gorgeous harmonies that Elyse and Karina weave. These two play off of each other in a unique, fun way. Their voices sound more like instruments than simple means of providing us with the lyrics. "My Problem", "Keep On Runnin'", and "Better Than Anything" exemplify exactly how good this band can be. Lyrics revolve around guys, coffee, guys, relationship turmoil, and guys. The only version available now has bonus tracks that weren't on the original full length, including the slower live favorite "He Wants Me Back", the slightly muddy "Skinhead Barbecue", and four others. Why this great band later ditched their horns and went to playing so-so rock and punk with slight ska leanings is a complete mystery to me.

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Ghost Mice - Europe

2006-02-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

this is the secong full length by ghost mice. ghost mice is me (chris) on guitar, hannah jones on violin and pascaloo benvenuitti on many small intruments. this album is an attempt at something that hasn't been done very much in the DIY punk scene. it's a concept album. all of the songs are about the trip that hannah and i took to europe in the summer of 2,000. it was not a tour, it was a traveling trip. we stayed for 90 days. we didn't have enough money. we didn't know anyone in europe. needless to say the trip was really hard and we learned a lot about life. there is one song about each country and one song about each body of water we crossed by boat, for a total of 11 songs (36min). all of the songs fit together to tell the whole story of our trip. the lyrics don't always give a play by play (day by day) description of our trip but always relate to the countries we were in or how we felt in those countries. this is also pascaloo's first apperance on a ghost mice recording. (pascaloo is from france, we met him on our first tour there). this CD is also enhanced and had CDROM files including 198 photos that we took on our trip and a bunch of somewhat random MP3's (including totally michael and some ghost mice demos).

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The Good Life - Album Of The Year

2006-02-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

Take a listen to this album. Album of the Year tells the story of Tim Kasher's (Cursive) doomed marriage. It's bittersweet and brutally honest. Not as depressing as previous albums like Novena on a Nocturn and Black Out, songs like "Lovers Need Lawyers" and "Notes in His Pocket" boom with energy and pop sensibility without demeaning the qualms at hand. But it's "Album of the Year", "Under a Honeymoon," and "You're Not You" that ultimately encompass the mood of this record. "Two Years This Month" encapsules the entire album as one huge mess; perhaps symbolizing the entire relationship. This album is for anyone whose loved and lost. For those who haven't, prepare to have your heart broken.

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Since By Man - Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse

2006-02-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

A year has gone by, and Milwaukee's Since By Man are back again with their sophomore full length, Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse. This time they've picked up their instruments and crafted one of the most explosive albums to come out in years.

The continued evolution of Since By Man is evident on both an artistic and content level. The strained vocals remain over what is their most aggressive effort yet. It maintains elements that warrant comparison to bands such as Mogwai or Jesu, but there is a discordant, riff heavy assault in the vein of Converge, Botch and Dillinger Escape Plan. On top of this, Since By Man has created a compelling and ever-expanding approach to melody.

Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse seamlessly transitions from their previous release (A Love Hate Relationship EP), building upon those elements in a progressive style that has become synonymous with Since By Man. With Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse, the band breaks new ground once again.

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Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures

2006-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Rogue Wave's second album is at its heart no great departure from their first. Like Out of the Shadow, Descended Like Vultures is indie rock through and through. There isn't a moment that doesn't feel influenced, borrowed, or previously released by Death Cab, Elliott Smith, Yo La Tengo, Lou Barlow, and so on. Luckily there also isn't a moment that's not tuneful, exciting, or ingratiating; it's second-hand but runs just like new. Indeed, sweet vocal harmonies, melodies that hook you instantly, and arrangements that envelop you in their gooey goodness are still the backbone of the Rogue Wave sound. And again there is a nice mix of rockers ("10:1," "Publish My Love"), mellow and intimate acoustic ballads ("California," "Temporary"), and moody pop tunes ("Catform," "Are You on My Side"). This time out Zach Rogue is joined by a full band, though it's mainly Pat Spurgeon who plays jack of all by providing able backing on drums, guitars, keys, bass, and autoharp. This reliance on other people doesn't tamper with the winning formula much, though the production does. Unlike the first album, which had a homey, lo-fi energy, this one feels shiny and professional like it was cut by real musicians doing it for real in a real studio. The guitars are thick and layered, the drums upfront and loud, the lead vocals very lush and reverbed. It gives the album's big ballads like the opening "Bird on a Wire" or the ebbing-and-flowing "You" a naturally epic feel that other bands have to try way too hard to achieve. Unfortunately, on the rest of the record it adds an extra layer of studio realness that takes away most of the intimate charm the group had so much of previously. With Descended Like Vultures, Rogue Wave have become just another indie rock band, one that has delivered a strong album without a weak song on it, but a real band just the same. Hopefully, the people who fell in love with the first album will stick with Rogue Wave and see through the shine to the substance, because it is there and the album is good, just in a different way.

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The Fiery Furnaces-ep

2006-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

An EP virtually in name only, the Fiery Furnaces' B-sides collection is pretty generous, gathering ten tracks and running 41 minutes (which is relatively short compared to their 80-minute epic, Blueberry Boat). It's not a totally complete collection of their odds 'n' sods, which may frustrate fans still looking for the band's cover of the Clash's "One More Time" that appeared on Uncut Magazine's tribute to the legendary punks, or for the honky tonk-inspired version of "We Got Back the Plague" that appeared on the CD release of the U.K. Tropical Ice-Land single. However, what does appear on EP not only reflects how well the Furnaces' B-sides complement their albums, it also makes an enjoyable and fairly coherent mini-album in its own right.

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You Say Party! We Say Die!

2006-02-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

Fusing the leftist party-punk of Le Tigre with the dark, militant dramatics of Pretty Girls Make Graves, full-length debut Hit the Floor! neatly strips punk rock and politics alike (one and the same, really) to just get with the beat-- or get beaten. Exclamation point, exclamation point. Synthesizer!Nocturnal guitar stabs, mournful harmonies, dance-mother-fucker bass, and clanging hardcore beats advance the band's agenda of overthrowing, well, something. YSP!WSD! has a knack for emphatic codas that all but slip its agitprop past the brain's trusting hook receptors. Singer Becky Minkovic's voice exudes a horn-rimmed idealism that charms even as she shouts breathlessly for violence.

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Just Surrender - If These Streets Could

2006-02-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

The internet is a wonderful thing, Purevolume.com is almost completely responsible for blowing up this out-of-Poughkeepsie band. Just Surrender went from a pretty much unknown band to one of the more popular bands on Pure Volume, and with good reason. Just Surrender creates a brand of pop-punk that we all know and love, any comparisons to Taking Back Sunday or Armor for Sleep are more than justified. "If These Streets Could Talk" is the follow up to "Tell All Your Friends" that Taking Back Sunday never released. However, Just Surrender still manages to keep this release from getting lost in all of emo-branded music that floods our play lists and itunes libraries. "If These Streets Could Talk" may sound somewhat generic, but it's filled with energy that seems to be lacking in so many releases, making up for the minor identity crisis.

With a little more effort, more inspired lyrics, and more consistent instrumentals, this album could have been an epic release. However, "If These Streets Could Talk" manages to pump out a lot of energy, and the first few listens are a lot of fun. The next release from this band could be awesome, there is a lot of raw energy that has yet to be tapped into. A few more songs like "She Broke My Heart" and "I Can Barely Breathe" are just want this band needs to break it big, but for now, the band is doing fine. With a growing fan base, a good live set, and a nice set of songs to be heard, Just Surrender is on the long road to success. I recommend this album to anyone who loves the growing emo/post-hardcore genre, or anyone looking for a fun album. Don't expect any groundbreaking or earth shattering, because that's not what Just Surrender was trying to do. This album is a solid, fun release, and that's all you need to expect. It wouldn't be right to ignore the album artwork in this review, because it managed to pull me into the band. The album art is truly beautiful, and is reason enough to pick up this release.

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Jack's Mannequin - Everything in Transit

2006-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

If Andrew McMahon is the Ben Folds of Something Corporate, then his side project Jack's Mannequin is his Fear of Pop, his opportunity to step out of the group and try something different. Except in McMahon's case, it isn't so much fear of pop as much as an embrace of pop, since he sheds the loud guitars and punky overtones of his main band for a sunny, unabashedly tuneful Californian pop on Jack's Mannequin's debut album, Everything in Transit. In truth, it's not all that far removed from his contributions to Something Corporate, which were also tightly written and tuneful, but it sounds truer to his artistic inclinations than either of SC's studio albums, since underneath its guise as a loose concept album about a year of turbulent relationships on Venice Beach, it's a full-blown singer/songwriter piano-pop album. More than ever, on Everything in Transit McMahon sounds like the heir to Ben Folds' wise-ass interpretation of Joe Jackson, but McMahon isn't as cynical or goofy as Folds. His humor is sardonic and low-key, plus he's more concerned with affairs of the heart. Although he relies a little bit too heavily on first-person narratives, he has a keener eye for character and behavior than his emo peers, and he's a better tunesmith, too, not just content to write hooks, but taking the time to let the music build and breathe. With producer Jim Wirt, McMahon has given Everything in Transit an appropriately colorful, even cinematic, scope and, thanks to drums provided by Tommy Lee (who proves here that he's a more versatile drummer than he ever did in Mötley Crüe), it also has strong backbone. So the album has momentum, but it's as sweetly melancholy as a fading summer, yet not nearly as transient as that, either. It really shouldn't work — it's a conceptual power pop album, delivered by an emo songwriter, backed by an aging metalhead, and co-produced by a guy who gave Hoobastank hits — but the result is one of the more pleasant surprises of 2005. It's good enough that it makes you hope that McMahon makes Jack's Mannequin his full-time band.

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Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology

2006-01-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

The excellent two-disc set Analphabetapolothology collects the entirety of the Cap'n Jazz oeuvre, assembling all of the singles and compilation tracks as well as unreleased eight-track demos and live material from their final show in their native Chicago.

Disc One

Disc Two

Obsidian Shard.

2006-01-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

Remember years ago when Ultima online was the shiznits and most of your friends loved playing it on their nintendo's , gameboy zelda look a likes.

I remember when I was a young lass, and I'd sit next to my brother watchin him play the older versions of Ultima online yeaaaaaaaaars ago, and thinking it was the coolest thing ever.

I would say Obsidian Shard is the best Uo server out there at the moment, I've played on others and I'm a GM on others but nothing compares to Obs, its the best distinction of Uo i've ever played. Be warned, it does get addicting. But its still loads of fun, I'm quite awful at explaining it.. so better yet go to the site and check it out for urself.

www.obsidianshard.com

If your interested in playing, go to the site, apply for an account and download the full installer(under GETTiNG STARTED). Stop by the forums too if you have any questions or any sort of trouble loggin on, new players are always warmly welcomed.

Click here to download the installer (all the information is available on their site)

hope to see some of yalls in game when I return to my casa!

Also for those of you that are wondering What the heck where the hells be teh albums i dont give a poop about this game.

I'm gonna be back in the country/town in 2 weeks ! then the emo-ness shall continue, horray!

Uno Momento

2005-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to be out of the country for the next month, so I wont be posting albums. If I do however, that would be some sort of miracle. When I come back I'll get into albums and whatever else full gear, Spring semester would then be on a start so..yup. Hope everyone had a good christmas(or whatever else you may or may not celebrate), and will have a fantillyastic New years (I know mine will be...interesting at the least).

Thanks for the comments! And thanks for stopping by. And continuing to stop by for some of you :) .

See yall's at the start of February.

Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State

2005-12-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Sufjan Stevens's third album is a charming homage to his home state of Michigan. Filled with heartbreak, the album cryptically addresses Stevens' frustration with the notorious job market in the city of Flint in a lovely ballad that opens the record and documents the depressing struggle the city of Detroit has fought to once again attain the elegance it had prior to the riots in the late '60s; however, it also touches on a brighter side, as in the cascading "Say Yes! to M!ch!gan." Its title is a reference to the campaign adopted by the state in the 1980s and serves as the centerpiece as well as Stevens' attachment and amour for the state he is from. Musically, Stevens often plays his Jim O'Rourke and Stereolab cards, riffing along with complex polyphony in building loops and dynamics, but he also frequently imports lightly strummed guitars and stark banjo picking to break up the album and give it a rustic northern folk aesthetic. Stevens comfortably handles nearly every instrument on the album — an impressive task that includes various keyboards, woodwinds, guitars, and percussions — but also enlisted the help of Megan, Elin, and Daniel Smith from the Danielson Famile to help out with vocal duties, and the outcome is a haunting and hypnotic studio opus certainly worth getting lost in.

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Lovedrug - Pretend Your Alive

2005-12-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

With the deal inked, and with the full backing of their new label, Lovedrug began preparations for the July debut of "Pretend You’re Alive". The band hit the road hard in both the spring and summer, visiting the west coast for the first time and gaining national touring exposure with label mates Copeland in May, the Braid reunion tour in June, and the national Mewithoutyou and Noise Ratchet run in July. With the highly anticipated bow of Pretend You’re Alive set for July 27, 2004, the close of July will see Lovedrug play a handful of release shows in regional strongholds, supporting key markets within Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Illinois. Another national tour with Copeland is slated for August, with a headlining college run and other tours in the works for the fall…

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Pendulum - Hold Your Colour

2005-12-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

'Hold Your Colour' is set to follow suit when it drops; straight from the huge cinematic introduction, the album takes you on a action packed ride from anthems to emotional journeys and everything in between. From furious dancefloors bombs 'Slam', 'Hold Your Colour' and the massive 'Tarantula' featuring the vocal talents of MC Spyda and Tenor Fly, to smooth soulful rollouts 'Plasticworld' and 'Streamline'. From breakbeat monsters 'Fasten Your Seatbelts' and 'Out Here', to the latin-rock electro fuelled funk of 'Girl In The Fire' -- this long player takes listeners on a trip through genre bending territory.

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The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers

2005-12-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yet if The Magic Numbers is judged against the standards of second-tier '60s folk-pop — forget the Beatles and Beach Boys or even the Mamas & the Papas or Donovan or Lovin' Spoonful, but against legions of soundalikes like Rose Garden — the group's music is not as well written or melodic or as interesting, nor does it hold up well to late-'90s indie pop from Belle & Sebastian to Elliott Smith, and it lacks the conviction of freak folk, since their aw-shucks, lovey-dovey pose feels contrived. Nevetheless, the quartet is much easier to listen to than Devendra Banhart — sunny tunes and smooth surfaces do indeed help — and they have a certain veneer of mature, classy respectability that means this can appeal to everyone from baby boomers to echo boomers. It all glides by easily enough on its surface, but dig a little deeper and The Magic Numbers reveals itself to be not just a crashing bore, but an irritating one since it not only lacks one song with an undeniable, memorable hook, but the self-satsified vibe of the band combined with Stodart's reedy whine makes the Magic Numbers feel not just less real than the groups they're allegedly an antidote to, but more disingenuous as well.

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Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll

2005-12-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

The optimism of that statement is infectious and hard to argue with, though I'm perfectly aware of the large pile of empty Brit-hype firecrackers that went off with a barely a whimper Stateside. Given their reliance on dry English humour (yes, two u's) and lack of a timely U.S. distribution deal, it's unlikely Art Brut will fare well as well with North American listeners as fellow countrymen Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and the Futureheads. But then, just a year ago, it seemed unlikely that any of those bands would find fans in the States at all, let alone enough to spark yet another small-scale British invasion-- and all told, it's not hard to imagine their dagger-sharp guitar lines and pop-fueled bash carving its own niche in those other bands' wake if given the opportunity. The only thing to do is start a letter-writing campaign, suffer the import prices, and hope Art Brut's got enough in their tank for another album or two. I can't wait to hear "Recorded a Sophomore Album!"

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Dropkick Murphys - Boys on the Docks EP

2005-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Reissue of the hard the hard to find 6 track debut EP, originally released in Cyclone Records in 1997. Tracks, 'Boys On The Docks', 'Never Alone', 'In The Streets Of Boston', 'Caps And Bottles', 'Euro Trash' and 'Front Seat'. Standard jewel case.

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Gwar - War Party

2005-12-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

When Gwar toured the United States in support of War Party in 2004, it was evident that thrash metal's most over-the-top parody band had no intention of becoming any less offensive; on-stage, they had a laugh at the expense of everyone from Lacey Peterson to Osama bin Laden to Ronald Reagan. Of course, anyone who actually bothers to be offended by Gwar misses the point — they were always an exercise in satire, shock value and dark humor, and ultimately, their concerts and albums are goofy rather than genuinely disturbing. Some Gwar releases are stronger than others; at times, their studio recordings haven't been as memorable as their infamous live shows. But War Party is one of Gwar's more consistent efforts; in fact, it's almost in a class with 1990's excellent Scumdogs of the Universe. While this 2004 release doesn't break any new ground for the thrash veterans, Gwar's performances are consistently tight, focused and inspired; the songs are hooky, and the lyrics are clever (at least if you have a taste for sick, demented humor). Tunes like "Bring Back the Bomb," "You Can't Kill Terror" and "The Reaganator" are full of political references, but it would be a mistake to think of anything on this CD as serious political commentary — Gwar's love of horror, sci-fi, gore and sleaze always keeps things tongue-in-cheek, and any references to political figures are strictly for entertainment value. Musically, Gwar hasn't become any less heavy, but for all its forcefulness, War Party is relatively melodic — especially in comparison to all the ferocious, skull-crushing metalcore, death metal and black metal discs that came out in 2004. Longtime Gwar fans will be glad to know that while War Party doesn't reinvent the wheel, it is a respectable addition to their blood-soaked catalog.

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Gwar - Scumdogs of the Universe

2005-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

With Scumdogs of the Universe, Gwar gave its followers exactly what they wanted: brutally aggressive guitars, abrasive vocals and gross, perverted lyrics. As twisted as songs like "Maggots," "Vlad the Impaler," and "Slaughterama" are, Gwar is never genuinely scary, but rather humorous and goofy. One of the most amusing tracks is the opener, "The Salaminizer," which finds thrash's equivalent of Spinal Tap doing a takeoff on N.W.A's gangsta rap anthem "Gangsta Gangsta." The whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek, and in fact, Gwar never intended to be anything more than a parody of thrash and death metal. But ironically, some headbangers actually took it seriously and exalted Oderous & Co. as the ultimate thrash band. Outrageously entertaining, Scumdogs is Gwar's crowning achievement.

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Park Ave.- When Jamie Went To London...We Broke Up.

2005-12-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Park Ave.'s only release (and posthumous at that), When Jamie Went to London...We Broke Up, is an endearing document of a five friends with enough presence of mind to lay down the tracks they had written over a two-year stint spent together before their impending breakup, brought on by guitarist/vocalist Jamie Williams' plan to move to London (hence the record's title). The feeling that When Jamie Went to London... was just an aural scrapbook for the members of the band is immediate, but there is an underlying sadness to it as if the band were already rooted in the nostalgia of itself, already mourning the end which had yet to come. Perhaps this is reading into the roots of the emotional feel too much, considering the overdose of moody intentions Conor Oberst would later inject into the popular underground under his Bright Eyes moniker, but there is certainly an element of unrest commingling with the deadpan indie pop naïvety which streaks through the album. Musically, When Jamie Went to London... is engaging throughout, complex enough to note that perhaps Park Ave.'s greatest strength was playing just beyond their means, creating the tension of the possibility it will all come undone at any second, but unlike similarly described bands like the Velvet Underground, Pavement, and the Sex Pistols, Park Ave. never seem to aggressively wrangle it back in, but instead just kind of hang out carelessly on the edge. The biggest downfall of When Jamie Went to London... is that the vocals are often hard to deal with, occasionally being dramatically off-key like a drunken karaoke session. Many bands have been able to sidestep this problem by putting a bit of confidence behind a lousy vocal take, but here almost every instance is unsure. It must be considered, however, that all the members of Park Ave. were very young (late teens/early twenties) when the recording was made, and that still, the overall combination is not dragged down by this setback because, and precisely because, of its forthright sincerity. In fact, it's admirable what they made: a home-recorded album where the songwriting is toiled over, but without any pretense, and certainly without intentions of being critically dissected by anyone but their friends. Because this comes across so strongly, the album remains charming and lovable in spite of any flaws and holds ground as a true folk album in the sense that its purpose was nothing more than entertainment for the five group members involved in its creation.

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Animal Collection - Sung Tongs

2005-12-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

On Sung Tongs, their first record distributed by FatCat, the two-man Animal Collective come on like sun-scorched acid eaters gathered around the campfire, strumming and grinning while they weave their material out of cyclical singalongs and tight harmonies. Surprisingly, both for fans as well as new additions, that marks a much more accessible sound for a group that had previously probed the outer limits of prog and psychedelia. (Still, back to basics is the right place for a collective that released three albums in 2003.) Immediately called to mind here are the Holy Modal Rounders and, to a lesser extent, the Incredible String Band. While Animal Collective certainly don't share the intimate knowledge of folk music or the expert musicianship of the Holy Modals or the ISB, they do understand the importance of repetition in reaching altered states, and they indulge in many naturalistic post-production enhancements to get there. "Leaf House" and "Who Could Win a Rabbit" open the record with a cozy atmosphere created from soaring harmonies and Beach Boys-type bungalow percussion. From there, with only a few exceptions, Sung Tongs devolves into the loosest of jam sessions, a midsummer night's dream of pixilated picking in similar company with the lengthy mid-album interlude ("Green Typewriters") during the Olivia Tremor Control's Dusk at Cubist Castle. Although the duo didn't record nearly enough material to justify checking out quite so soon, Sung Tongs is a striking record, a breath of fresh air within experimentalist indie rock.

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I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business - S/T

2005-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ace Enders of The Early November has created a side project where he expresses his talents through acoustic songs and a wide range of other styles as he uses everything from organs to strings on this first release from I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business. Enders is a very talented singer/song writer and has shined through on that in his band The Early November. On this side project release Enders bends and shapes his musical talent in something raw and very original. I have been a huge fan of The Early November and their style of music and you can in no doubt feel the same good things from Enders through this project as well as The Early November. This release brings us fifteen tracks (some of them unnamed) of acoustic and inspirational music. If you aren't a fan of The Early November this is still worth a listen and I believe you will enjoy it greatly. Enders has expressed his talents to the fullest on this release. Not only are the acoustic parts alone very well done but with the addition of the strings, organ, and even bongos here and there this album has a good variety of style. Lyrically all these songs stand out in ways I think lots of people can relate too. Enders has always been good at using self expressing in his songs and I hope he continues this wonderful writing in the future. I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business has the most raw and original sound I have heard in a long time. This is a must have for 2004.

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Sky Corvair - Unsafe at Any Speed

2005-12-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

A purely incredible, and unfortunately rare, album of pure genius. The Sky Corvair began in Chicago, IL as a side project in 1994 for members of CaP'n Jazz (Tim Kinsella), Braid (Bob Nanna) and Gauge. The band disseminated when Kinsella left to focus on C'n'J, rumors are now trickling around about a reunion, or a repressing of the disc. The music is very much like what you would expect a cross between CaP'n Jazz and Braid to sound like — jangly, moving melodies, with patented, adolescent, Kinsella vocals, a bit of screaming and abstract lyrics. From the angry, desperate "Ethyl," to the awkward and passionate "Congratulations, I'm Late,"' to the piano-ridden and altogether moving "Iris Is Aching for a Day," this album will fulfill all expectations of Braid and CaP'n Jazz fans. Probably one of the most overlooked emo albums ever pressed — and it is most definitely an outstanding and beautiful work of musical art.

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Magnolia Electric Company - What Comes After the Blues

2005-12-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Following quickly from the live Trials & Errors is What Comes After the Blues, the studio debut of Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Co. And what comes after that comparatively boisterous live set is a record of quiet fire, fueled by an electric/acoustic guitar dynamic and the determined waver in Molina's vocals, which have strengthened considerably since Songs: Ohia. Strengthened yes, but Molina hasn't lost that melancholy tinge. On What Comes After he's a man resigned to what he must do, yet unable to remove from his voice a wavering mix of fear, anger, and regret. "Now the world was empty on the day when they made it," he sings over the ramble of opener "Dark Don't Hide It." "And heaven needed some place to throw all the sh*t." But as down as he is on human darkness, the track softens at the touch of harmonies from Jennie Benford of Jim &amp;amp; Jennie & the Pinetops. (Benford takes the lead for the weary folk lament "Night Shift Lullaby.") "Leave the City" is his goodbye to Chicago, his adopted home and, with Steve Albini, where the album was recorded. A winnowing trumpet joins its shuffling country-rock rhythm, and Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" drifts in the margins of Molina's bittersweet self-examination. The full band really makes its mark on "Hard to Love a Man," where Wurlitzer, violin, and the bass' deliberate plodding put a haunting weight on Molina's Palace-ish vocal. And the violin returns on "Northstar Blues" to color its slight acoustic strums with something more than just the blues. Because the answer to What Comes After the Blues' titular suggestion seems to be a blend of ruminating melodrama, comfortable instrumentation, and threads of American musical tradition from creaky blues and mournful folk all the way to sedate indie balladry and the steady hand of classic rock radio.

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Gang Gang Dance - God's Money

2005-12-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

We are proud to present Gang Gang Dance’s much anticipated second full length release entitled God’s Money. With God’s Money Gang Gang Dance creates a modern music which reorients the palette of electronic music into an organic context, manipulating sound, rhythm and melody in an almost mercurial manner. Painstakingly recorded over the course of a year at Junkyard Audio Salvage, the band utilized whatever means were available to them to craft their sound: drums of all shapes, sizes and circuits, various keyboards and synthesizers, midi-triggering guitar scenarios, vocals reconfigured via a guitar effect pedal and even the occasional aluminum chair. Blending their hypnotic rhythms into a highly structured compositional style or soaring in the lofty heights of practiced improvisation, this recording follows in the footsteps of the bands previous output, all while marking new ground.

In between writing and recording God’s Money GGD spent the last year playing to packed houses in NYC, Europe and on the road with Animal Collective. Exploding with an energy & confidence rarely seen these days and coupling it with such a heightened level of musicianship the band has turned even the most casual of spectators into full on believers. With magazines such as The Wire, The Village Voice, I.D. & XLR8R having already run features on the band, the press is falling into the ranks of the converted.

God’s Money is the height of GGD’s uncompromising sonic pursuit which has spanned the better part of the band’s five year history. Some of this can be gleamed from previous groups the members have been in, including Cranium, Actress, Ssaab Songs & Angel Blood. Though God’s Money may be interpreted as the band’s high-water mark of sorts it is much more the raising of the tide as they continually to push the boundaries of the palette of sound itself with no sign waning.

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Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

2005-12-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

While they took their name from blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council when they started out as an R&B combo in the mid-60s, Pink Floyd's leader, guitarist Syd Barrett, soon began piloting the band through unprecedented sonic excursions typified by the title of their 1967 debut album's most celebrated track--the outsized instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive." Equally adept at composing catchy-sounding, Gothic-themed pop songs such as "See Emily Play," "The Scarecrow" and "The Gnome," Barrett seemed destined for greatness--that is, until psychedelic drugs got the best of him, and he abandoned the band to bassist Roger Waters and new guitarist David Gilmour. The rest, as they say, is history

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Stars- The Comeback EP

2005-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Torquil Campbell of Stars writes: "Nightsongs" was a loving pastiche, but a pastiche nonetheless; "The Comeback" e.p. is easily the best, most original music we've ever made; it is a reaction to the mundanity of some people's reactions to our work; and we like it very much. We love Montreal, but we are very poor and very bored with that; the only way to make a comeback is not give a shit about being made fun of! We don't give a shit! Don't make fun of us! We are very serious people! Amy and Chris are in love! Evan and Chris are in love! I hate all of them! vive la revolution douce! "KRUSH" (Amy calims this is about me making her move from Toronto to Montreal, but i think it`s about her having a crush on Sully. Whatever, it's a hook and we believe in hooks) "VIOLENT" (Let's just say that sexuality is a powerful artistic tool; Sully really sounds like he needs to get off in this song) "THE ASPIDISTRA FLIES (This is a love song for lovers and people who have hope about the world; we wanted it to be very very beautiful; Eric Hove is a genius and plays the most wonderful saxaphone) "COTE DES NEIGES" (We all wanted to write an instrumental, so I came up with the idea of a snowfall, seeing as that the sole sensory experience you have in Montreal between november and April; Cranner and Sully wanted it to sound like spiritualized; I wanted it to sound like Losaida from Joe Jackson's Body and Soul lp (there i go with that 80's obsession again!) so i wrote that theme) "THE COMEBACK" (When U first wrote this, I thought it was a character study of a washed up rock star; then I realized it was the most autobiographical song I've ever written! Maybe it's both! A band favourite).

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White Stripes, Walking With a Ghost EP

2005-12-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

The White Stripes have always shown a tasteful appreciation for the traditional construction of the single, giving their fans a healthy selection of non-album B-sides and import-only bonus tracks to hunt down. So it seems an uncharacteristic misjudgment for them to headline this brief collection with their cover of Tegan and Sara's "Walking With a Ghost", a track that seems exactly the sort of likable but inconsequential bauble tailor-made for a B-side. Produced with an impulsive haste that is fast becoming one of the duo's hallmarks, this genial cover sounds singularly unpersuasive, a performance unlikely to challenge anyone's previously held opinions about the Stripes, Tegan and Sara, walking, or ghosts.Although one can only speculate what exactly prompted Jack and Meg to cover "Walking With a Ghost", they do handle the song with a tangible affection-- despite what some Tegan and Sara connoisseurs might believe. In fact, the Stripes' version is almost reverential to fault, making it difficult to imagine a fan of the original disliking this too intensely, unless they simply object to Jack White's complexion or personal habits just on general principle. Likewise, those who find Tegan & Sara's skeletal brand of winsome Canadian pop to be unbearably trite and/or mundane will presumably remain unswayed by the White Stripes' modest Detroit upgrade.

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Gorilla Biscuits - Gorilla Biscuits

2005-12-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

The first release from hardcore legends the Gorilla Biscuits is a vital part of the band's history but still far from the classic Start Today LP issued only a year later. Recorded with noticeably less quality than the second record, this twelve song self-titled debut sees the group laying down the groundwork for the hardcore blueprint they were about to construct. The songs are all rage filled anthems that rally against drugs and bad attitudes while focusing on ideas of friendship and community, and vocalist Civ spits them out with the raw exuberance of youth. The instrumentation is a bit more metal tinged than later work, but the angsty guitars do quite a bit for stand out tracks like "No Reason Why" and "High Hopes. The record also contains two tracks that resurface on the second LP as well as two live versions of songs already represented earlier in the record. Gorilla Biscuits is certainly a call to arms, but its vision is still a bit skewed. This was the album that started one of the more influential bands in the genre, and for that it deserves a good deal of respect; at the same time it is the vision that matters more than the presentation here, and the Gorilla Biscuits proved that they were capable of much more impressive work than this disc illustrates.

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Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today

2005-12-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Vying with Minor Threat for the title of "The Godfathers of Hardcore" are Gorilla Biscuits, and Start Today is the record that demonstrates their merits. Presented with both humor and energy, this is the record that proved straightedge kids knew how to have a good time, and that they had some pretty good musical ideas as well. Focusing on the hyper rants of lead singer CIV and pushed along with loud and chunky guitar riffs by Walter Schreifel (later of Quicksand), the record sees the band tackle topics ranging from pets to friends and even to pride in the hardcore scene. It's certainly not without its politics, but the tone is surprisingly light, and CIV is clearly giving his opinion more than he is trying to convince others of anything. From the trumpets that announce the record's start, which are immediately followed by a chugging guitar chord, Gorilla Biscuits never really let up on the listener. Unlike so much of what the group influenced, there aren't a great deal of slowed down musical interludes and unintelligible screams, though the band's tasteful use of the half-time "mosh part" makes it clear where they might have steered some of their copycats wrong. Start Today is a terrific representation of the beginnings of hardcore music, and for those involved in the scene it is certainly required listening.

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Ninja High School : Young Adults Against Suicide

2005-12-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

‘Young Adults Against Suicide’ is a brazen mixture of power rap, brass and samples- perfect for parties, destroying the dance floor or looking like an idiot in your own company. While ‘It’s All Right To Fight’ might not be giving the best behavioural example - what with its oh so catchy signature line of "you’re going home in a fucking ambulance"- it is an ideal example of how rap pop should be executed – with more punch than playground brawl and better chants than can be found at the football.

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Welcome The Plague Year-Welcome The Plague Year

2005-12-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Something almost all the songs have in common on Welcome The Plague Year is their tendency to start low in volume, with some soft guitars or bass line, and then rise to epic heights, only to land (plane metaphor!) with tranquil melodies. Take "Into Twilight," seven minutes of dynamic rock music. The first 2:30 of the song is a repetitive - not in a bad way - bass line that harpoons whoever is within close enough proximity. This, coupled with some floating guitar riffs that make good use of delay effects, creates a perfect lullaby. A lullaby that, at the 2:30 mark, is shattered with intensity. The energy (the engine!) runs through a quick rhythm layered by soaring guitar melodies and double vocal combustion. While both are definitely on the higher spectrum of screams, it's cool how one singer is a male and the other female. At 5:00 through the song our flight lands softly, and "Into Twilight" ends how it begins. Although, this time the drums settle with a nice drum roll type beat. If the words "screamo" or "post hardcore" capture your eyes/ears, get this immediately. Get the split with Funeral Diner while you're at it too, which features two of the best songs of 2004 thus far. Hell, Welcome the Plague Year's three song demo was my favorite demo of 2003, so naturally I had high expectations for Welcome The Plague Year, which were thankfully accomplished. For whatever reason, this album seems to be overlooked (similar to the great customer service of United Airlines) but that's no excuse for you to do so.

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Forensics- On A Bridge Atop The Heap Of Friends Who

2005-12-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Forensics is the newest DC-Area all-star band featuring an unlikely cast of former members from such bands as Burning Airlines, Corn on Macabre, pg.99, Trial By Fire, Waifle, and Admiral among others. The results are epic. Wookie Yancey and Mike Harbin are a percussive force as the Forensics rhythm section, holding down every note with intense passion. The dynamic and complex guitar work of George Crum and Brent Eyestone takes listeners from somber, lulling melodies into searing moments of intended devastation laced with a southern heavy rock feel. Eyestone's lyrics of hope and resistance explode atop the dense and delicate chemistry that is Forensics.

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...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Worlds Apart

2005-12-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have always been an ambitious, and difficult to place, band. They're too earnest and fond of grand gestures to fit in with most of the indie rock world, but too arty and obscure to jell with most emo's heart-on-sleeve directness. On Worlds Apart, they remain hard to classify, except on their own terms. Though the band sounds as angry, regretful, and hopeful as they did when they started, this is a much more polished album than the band's breakthrough, Source Tags & Codes, and their fiery sound is tempered by nods to '70s prog and album rock. The Trail of Dead deserve some credit for attempting to work on such a grand scale — it's all too easy for this kind of big, passionate statement to fall on its face — but while Worlds Apart doesn't work entirely, enough of it is too compelling to dismiss. Granted, it doesn't have the most promising beginning: "Ode to Isis," with its Wagnerian choral vocals, pianos, violins, screaming, and crying, is equally worrying and intriguing, and "Will You Smile Again?" doesn't really take off until the six-and-a-half-minute mark. However, the next four tracks rank among the Trail of Dead's best work: despite railing against vacuous celebrities, soccer moms, indie rock, and, of course, post-9/11 fallout and the war on terrorism, the emotions behind "Worlds Apart" are timeless; along with the frustrated idealism of "The Rest Will Follow," it's one of the band's finest anthems. "The Summer of '91"'s thundering tympani rolls and slow-building majesty use Worlds Apart's massive-sounding productions and arrangements artfully; it's been a long time — possibly since Smashing Pumpkins' heyday — since a band has attempted this kind of epic-scale, orchestrated rock. Speaking of the Pumpkins, "Caterwaul"'s beautifully droning guitar grind is more than a little reminiscent of that band's best rockers. Worlds Apart's second half dives deeper into prog, with mixed results: "A Classic Arts Showcase" and "All White" both feature soulful choirs that sound like they were transplanted directly from The Wall, but while they feel tacked onto the former song, they fit — in a retro kind of way — the latter song's excesses. "To Russia My Homeland," a theatrical, string-based waltz, isn't bad at all, but it seems more suited to a soundtrack than this album. It's tempting to want to hear some of these songs, particularly "The Best" and "Lost City of Refuge," delivered in a less grandiose manner; too often, it feels like ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's undeniable power gets lost and scattered among Worlds Apart's preludes and interludes. But the band's attack on complacency extends to their own music: Worlds Apart might be a noble failure, but it would probably be worse if it just revisited previous successes.

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The Appleseed Cast - Lost Songs

2005-12-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

The songs on Lost Songs were recorded by Appleseed Cast in 1998 at a time when the indie/emo band was in an uncertain place. They were in between drummers, and soon after these nine tracks were laid down they found a new drummer and decided to set aside the songs aside and start over. Four years later the group decided to finish these "lost" songs and laid down vocals and some overdubs in May of 2002. Fans of Appleseed Cast will be very happy that the band didn't leave the vault sealed, as these are some fine recordings. "E to W" starts the record off in epic fashion with a wide-screen sound full of ringing guitars and wailing vocals. The rest of the record is not as grand, but it is a step above most run-of-the-mill emo bands plying their trade these days. Dramatic, emotional, and sonically imaginative, Lost Songs is a very solid indie rock record. Other highlights include the near-instrumental "Take," a pretty ballad with some very understated piano and heavily reverbed vocals; the alternately storming and soothing "State N W/K"; and the experimental fuzz ballad "Beach Gray." The whole record has a slightly experimental feel, probably due to the upheaval within the band. It sounds like they are working toward some heavy changes. Casual fans of Appleseed Cast may find this disc less than essential; devotees will find it positively necessary. Fans of guitar-driven indie rock may want to check it out as well.

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Help She Can't Swim Committing Social Suicide

2005-12-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

Help She Can't Swim release their new EP in December, named Committing Social Suicide.The EP is the first new material to be released since their debut album earlier this year and features four new tracks. Fantastic Plastic will be issuing the EP as a limited edition 7", with screen printed poster sleeve & badge.Help She Can't Swim are currently writing and recording for their second album which will be due for release in the spring of 2006.

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Kash - Open

2005-12-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

This Turin Italy quartet have been compared to everybody from US MAPLE to CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - and this CD sure ain't no Chef Boyardee pap for the masses, no siree! Guests: Mitch Cheney (no relation to Dick) and Steve Sostak of SWEEP THE LEG JOHNNY & STLJ/ZZZZ respectively.. "atsa one spicy meatball!" Don't forget to check on their previous Sickroom release (SIK24) which handily collects two of their Italian EPs on on disc.

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The Appleseed Cast-Mare Vitalis

2005-12-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

Much of ‘Mare Vitalis’ owes the same second-hand nod to post-punk as Boise’s Built To Spill; intricate, weaving and deeply personal, the Appleseed Cast bounce from subtle to emotionally spent, only to return from whence they came. Fused together by some stunningly haunting instrumental work, the tracks on ‘Mare Vitalis’ play like chapters in a tightly woven novel. You are immediately taken aback at the sheer heart on the surface; yet just when it seems all will be revealed, the band recedes back to the confines of a beautiful melody. They appear to reveal what you need to hear, and the delivery is one of utter conviction and originality. From the opening glimmer of "The Immortal Soul of Mundo Cani"; an eerie melodic nod to a treble-based Codeine that feeds into a stark background of waves crashing upon shores. The minimal lyrics are just enough to set the tone for what is to come. "Fishing the Sky" contains some rather quirky drums and electronic elements that build to an ultimately climactic fuzz of a fazer-thick guitars and Archers of Loaf meet Built To Spill vocals on a Sunny Day Real Estate bender. The Appleseed Cast are simply fascinating in their style; uniquely compelling and charming, it feels as though listening to this band should be something of an elitist practice only allowed a lucky few. "Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets" and "Santa Maria" reminds me of yesteryear and the sadly overlooked melancholy harmonics of late Midwest great For Against. And while the Appleseed Cast bare only the passing nods to post-punk, they do everything in their power to embody the spirit of honest and transcendental listening on ones own terms; one minute mired in the softest of sounds; noisy and resolute the next. Like many in the genre who have found the "emo" tag to be one of questionable definition, the Appleseed Cast are another in the ever growing line of bands desperate to be listened to on the merits of their music and not simply a tat count and beats per minute. With the success of Revelation Records delve into moodier settings (Elliot), it is about time for people to sit up and take notice of the great offerings of labels such as Deep Elm, Second Nature, Dim Mak, Desoto and the like.

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Dashboard Confessional - MTV Unplugged

2005-12-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

The MTV Unplugged concept was probably invented with someone like Florida singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba (a.k.a. Dashboard Confessional) in mind. Carrabba's relentlessly sad, impossibly frail acoustic songs--which effectively spawned the emo-core genre--have given alienated, cardigan-wearing guys and gals a snappy soundtrack to their pain. Dropping the heavily-inked guitarist amid his flock captures both the intimacy and awkwardness propelling Dashboard Confessional's best songs. Indeed, whether Carrabba is flying solo or is joined by a band, his MTV Unplugged--presented as a CD with an accompanying DVD--ranks as one of the most interactive sets ever; the fans know every single word to every single song and gosh darn if they don't sing their hearts out, sometimes completely hijacking the choruses. From opening number "Swiss Army Romance" through to the modern-rock hit "Screaming Infidelities," the assembled holler themselves hoarse in a glassy-eyed solidarity that would be eerie if it weren't so sweet. The sing-along aspect might be a drawback for fans searching for pristine live versions of studio recordings, but then again, Dashboard Confessional’s music is nothing if not communal.

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A String Quartet Tribute To Fall Out Boy

2005-12-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

On The String Quartet Tribute to Fall Out Boy, their powerful music is transformed by some of the best string players in the business. Gliding bows on violin, viola, and cello strings replace the manic guitars, throbbing bass, and pounding drums. Songs like Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year,take on a strange, new life while matching the originals in energy and emotion. Buy this album and you will discover another facet to Fall Out Boys intense songwriting.

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Lorene Drive - Romantic Wealth

2005-12-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

Upon listening to the opening notes of Lorene Drive, one gets the impression that the musicianship is very good and they might be onto something that is more than just screams and teen angst. However, vocalist Daniel Murillo nips that idea in the bud on "God Knows I Loved You Kid," which seems to change gears with the wind, slowing down before nailing a chorus that brings to mind an early Foo Fighters. From there it's screamo meets nu-metal, as if they're throwing genres at the wall and seeing what sticks. "Let It Go" is a tamer, focused affair that has some semblance of a hook and some strong guitar work from Stephen Fisher and Justin Smith before poking its head into Metallica's turf. Fans of "emo" punk acts like My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, and the Used would enjoy this band, particularly during the slowly evolving "A Kiss Won't Make This Better" and the ensuing rocker "A Song in the Key of Sex," which is a cross between the Exies and Jimmy Eat World. The best track of the bunch is the short and extremely snappy "Lip Service," which has no fat on it whatsoever. "Change of Occupancy" also has several good points, recalling early Sum 41 minus the sneering and somewhat snide lyrics. The more desperate Lorene Drive sound, the better they are, judging by "Some Kind of Love." But they take a nosedive with the grandstanding "For the Rest of Us," which drags on for over five minutes as a piano ballad. It's always best to quit while you're somewhat ahead, which unfortunately they don't here.

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Dead Hearts - Dead Hearts

2005-12-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Dead Hearts went through with it and wrote these songs, because the energetic hardcore that this band from Buffalo, New York plays is a real adrenaline rush. Sure, it’s been done before, like the lyrics say, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not good music. Heartfelt and intense hardcore is what Dead Hearts is all about and with these eight songs they give it all. They borrowed elements of their style from The Suicide File and Bane and used that to write some pretty cool tunes. So if you like your hardcore rocking and intense Dead Hearts is your band.

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Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Harder

2005-12-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Camera Obscura have no doubt worn out their copy of If You're Feeling Sinister by now. Yes, their fellow Glasgow residents Belle & Sebastian are a huge influence on the group; the two share a similar musical sound, a similarly literate lyrical slant, and a similar overall approach. Look at it as homage or coincidence, but be sure to look past the surface because what you will find is enough to charm your socks off. Underachievers Please Try Harder is a stunningly unassuming, tender, sweet, melodic, and memorable record. Tracyanne Campbell's vocals are pure and honeyed, never veering into sappiness or out of tune. The band manages the rare feat of sounding full and rich without jamming every possible frequency with sound. It also throws in loads of imaginative little hooks that keep things lively. The songwriting is very nice, occasionally reaching the level of their idols' work. "A Sisters Social Agony" is angelic doo wop with lovely tinkling bells, "Teenager" is a sparse ballad with wonderfully cutting lyrics, and the quietly epic "Books Written for Girls" features Campbell's most aching vocal and sounds like the best track Everything but the Girl never recorded. Elsewhere the band takes trips into country ("Before You Cry" with co-lead vocals by John Henderson and Campbell), acoustic folk balladry ("Your Picture"), and good old indie pop (the driving "Number One Son") while never failing to achieve anything less than excellence. A necessary addition to the collection of Belle & Sebastian fans, indie pop fans, and music lovers, Underachievers Please Try Harder is an early contender for a best-of-2004 list. [The U.S. edition contains two tracks that the original Spanish release did not ("I Don't Want to See You" and "Footloose and Fancy Free") and a video for "Teenager."]

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Camera Obscura - Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi

2005-12-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

You really can't discuss Camera Obscura without mentioning Belle & Sebastian. Their Stuart Murdoch produces Camera Obscura's debut, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi; both groups hail from the part of Scotland where Felt, Donovan, the Pastels, and Heavenly are gods; and they both write smart, sweet indie pop songs with hearts on sleeve and tears on eyelash. Stop right there if you are thinking that Camera Obscura are copyists, though. Stop and listen because there is much to love about the band. First off are Tracyanne Campbell's remarkably sweet and rich vocals; she sings most of the leads (though John Henderson chimes in on leads and harmonies time to time) and has the kind of voice that will melt anyone who had a thing for Tracey Thorn. The songs are hooky and simple, based on classic indie pop chord changes and lovingly spiced with all sorts of sonic candy like chirping horns, gentle organ fills, handclaps, twangy-guitar solos, and swooning strings. The girl group-inspired "Eighties Fan" is undoubtedly the highlight, but almost any other tune would fit in swimmingly on an indie pop highlights mixtape. In fact, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi makes a strong case for Camera Obscura as one of the best indie pop bands to come down to the pike since, well, Belle & Sebastian.

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