Archive for November 2009
Episode 1219 is up
November 23, 2009Gemma Ray “Lights Out Zoltar!”
November 22, 2009Sugar’s sister? No, Gemma Ray is just some bird from London, as Americans refer to the British when they want to sound British.
The songs are enjoyable enough. They’re harmless to listen to in that you could be in the minivan on the way to the farmer’s market, where the combined pollution created by your driving there and the farmer driving there in his big-ol’ trailer for 120 miles more than offsets that those pomegranates are “organic.”
“Fist of a Flower” is the best song ever. I am a sucker for repeated lyrics mixed right after each other. You know those commercials where they show cake batter being poured into a pan and how it goes back and forth over each other, making a little cake batter mountain? That is what this song does. I want to lick the beater! This isn’t as ethereal as the Cocteau Twins, but if they ever took guitar seriously, they would make a song like this. And then when they toured, Gemma Ray could open for them. Well, I’m glad that that’s settled.
“1952” is a duet with some dude, and he is also pretty good. This track is a little darker than the others, but again, the vocals make it work, and how. It’s quite remarkable.
If you want more of a Kate Bush-meets-Alannah Myles feel go for “Dig Me a River.” I prefer the tracks that emphasize her singing, so I will take the strangely named “If You Want to Rock and Roll.” This song doesn’t rock because it’s too good for that.
I’m sold. I’d like another serving of Gemma Ray, posthaste.
Girls in Trouble “Girls in Trouble”
November 22, 2009What’s my style here, “Self-Titled”? I can’t remember, and I am not going to look it up. This is a band of a woman and several men, not girls, and perhaps they are not in trouble, either. The songwriting will get better, and it’s especially questionable in “Marble Floor.” But the synths make it better. It’s worth a shot.
Like a lot of debut albums, you hear the potential here and there, and if you’re rooting for them like I am, you hope they pick the right aspects to emulate as they mature as an act. The faster tracks definitely sound more natural for these guys. “Mountain/When My Father Came Back” speeds right along, and all the musical accompaniment fits together well with the vocals. It seems that on the slower tracks that the same components are there, but they don’t work together to become anything greater than the sum of their parts.
A lot of these songs have slashes in the titles. Kordell Stewart would be proud. “Hunter/The Bee Lays Her Honey” is one such song and reminds me of Barbara Manning. Maybe it’s two separate songs, because this one clocks in at 5:36.
“Who Sent the Heat” has nice strings as well, or at least I think they’re strings. I don’t know where the angus is.
So the album is okay. There is potential here, and it remains to be seen what happens next. I wish them the best, though.
Hindi Guns “Do or Die”
November 22, 2009This reminds me of that mid-90s Stone Roses/Oasis sound. The songs are a lot shorter, though, which is just a product of modern society, of course. “Sugar Drone” is a splendid way to start the album. “Loaded Gun” sounds like a serious version of Supergrass. I guess the sound is pretty clear cut.
“Blue of Noon” is another track that stands out. It has fun guitar. This whole album really goes well with a bowl of Cocoa Krispies and reduced fat milk, which you only bought because CVS sucks and ran out of the fat free.
The album ends with “Rock Bottom,” which has a ’60s early Rolling Stones feel to it, or perhaps the Doors without the organ. Can’t you picture them with shirts and ties and “long” hair when you hear this song? I know I can.
With all the wise-ass British guitar and harmonies you would expect from this type of band, you get just about what you’re expecting to from Hindi Guns. I worry that they would be boring live, but in the studio, this band can help you relive your Sega Genesis-playing past.
Today's featured shit 