It’s a six-track EP. Apparently all the recordings are live, but I hear no audience. It must be like the Joel Shit Show featuring Joel Shit. “I’m a Pilot” leads off and sounds like a Talking Heads song. “Finish Line” is next, and also sounds like a Talking Heads song. See the pattern? There is also a woman who does backing vocals. I’m sure David Byrne has shared the mic before too. This is definitely a classic “you already know whether you like them” band.
“A Minor Place” is a Bonnie “Prince” Billy cover. Who am I to disagree? These are all songs from their full-length “Reservoir,” incidentally. This one is a little slower. I guess they have to do a cover if they want to sing a ballad.
From a songwriting perspective, it seems that the titles of the tracks show up in the lyrics early on. It’s very convenient if you happen to be using Windows Media Player on your work computer instead of iTunes on your MacBook because you’re doing a bunch of complicated file transfers with external hard drives in the other room, and you’re afraid to move anything, because you know how those Seagate drives are. All I have to do is listen and say “yep, that’s ‘Comets’ playing now.”
“Ghosts” is the classic “let’s end the EP on a quiet note” track. It still sounds like David Byrne, of course, but it’s the most modern of the tracks. Musically it sounds like a slow Rilo Kiley number, such as “85.” The band sounds like they’re really into this one. I bet they love to play it, well, live.
Archive for the ‘KSCU’ Category
Fanfarlo “Live EP”
December 6, 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.
Drink Up Buttercup “Even Think”
November 8, 2009It’s a single with two B-sides. “Even Think” is short and has a lot of keyboard in it. It reminds me of “Kubota Tractor” by Run for Cover Lovers. “Heavy Hand” is the longest track and will be great for Flaming Lips fans. “Why Cant I Touch It” is slightly cheerier but still has the same harmony and psychedelics that the other tracks had. I am the only person to have ever listened to this record sober, and that’s why this review is so short.
Lissy Trullie “Self-Taught Learner”
November 8, 2009This reeks of being from Los Angeles. The cover art is an ass. Let’s see. Nope. New York City. Well, this review is off to a great start. I’m already grasping at straws here because there isn’t much for me to write about. This album seems uninspired and reminds me of Bettie Serveert’s later efforts, after Carol van Dyk’s voice was shot from all those cigarettes.
The musical accompaniment is your standard rock-and-roll fare, getting slightly upbeat in “Money.” This is an enjoyable track and stands out from the rest. “Don’t to Do” is a Ting Tings reject with bass that belongs in a Cars song. Actually it comes together alright, but it’s not very inspiring.
“Just a Friend” is a Biz Markie cover, although they butcher the lyrics here and there. Most importantly, they never say “oh, snap!” which for most Americans was the first time they ever heard the phrase. Any good rendition of “Just a Friend” is measured on the strength of “oh, snap!” At any rate, this version is a ballad and could be what breaks her. Generation Y thinks this song is a classic, and they will be all over this like Alien Ant Farm’s cover of “Smooth Criminal.”
Otherwise, this album gives me little reason to care. Maybe if you’re into that Velvet Underground sound.
The Corner Laughers “Ultraviolet Garden”
November 8, 2009This album reminds me of a Whopper with no mayonnaise. Finally, a sandwich with all the individual ingredients that make for a delicious sandwich with none of the crap that will cause me an untimely death. The thing is, nobody actually likes the taste of mayonnaise, but they put up with it because of it’s caulking nature, apparently. And this band is in need of some serious caulk.
I know nothing about The Corner Laughers, but if this is their first effort, then it’s quite wonderful, really. All the tracks are a little different, and they all try different things. The Britpop angle of “The Commonest Manifesto” is amazing. And the lush, Lush-like sound of “Stonewords” is another winner. And similar to all the other condiments of a Whopper (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, ketchup), this band is full of exotic instruments, including ukuleles, glockenspiels, accordions and meow!
The classic piano of “Half a Mile” transforms Karla Kane’s voice into Beth Sorrentino’s. What this also does, unfortunately is make the guitar seem unnecessary, but that’s nobody’s fault. At this point, however, there is now lettuce all over the floor of your car.
“Dark Horse” is another track that puts it all together fairly well. The male backing vocals complement the sad love story that seems to be spelled out, not that I can ever figure out the lyrics in anything. “Thunderbird” has a bit more mainstream appeal. My neck is sore from agreeing so much.
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies “EP II”
November 1, 2009Guess what? It’s an EP. “Grass Is Glowing” is up first and reminds me of a less-sassy Sahara Hotnights. That’s fine. Maybe they’re young still, like Smoosh, or Ciara. “What’s Going on in Your World” has a very British feel to it, like early Doors, only, of course, with female vocals.
“Applesweet” has more of an early 2000s feel, along the lines of The Softies or Heavenly. In fact, if you grab an old Pipettes track from before they signed with a major, they sounded like this too, compelte with organ. This is what I expected the whole album to sound like, but I’m not exactly disappointed. The other tracks are awesome as well.
“Sunshine in Space” takes it a step further with the keyboard and reminds me of the Icicles, although the singing rocks a little bit more. “Technicolor Electric” is more psychedelic than the others.
Musically, the tracks are on the simpler side. It’s one step from being polished, and that might be the point. All the ingredients are there, and you can’t help but root the band along. If they release a full-length next, you can bet that they’ll be putting it all together.
Manic Street Preachers “Journal for Plague Lovers”
November 1, 2009This is kind of a neat album. For those of you who didn’t know, Richey Edwards disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle in 1995, and Manic Street Preachers has been a fraction of its former self ever since (literally). Well, all the songs in this 13-track effort were written by Edwards. How does that happen? Well, in what was some awesome foreshadowing to the unaware, he left a book of poetry with the band’s bassist, Nicky Wire. To complete this bizarre situation, Edwards should now emerge from the shadows and sue, saying he never wanted the prose to see the light of day, let alone be made into a record.
So how does it sound? Like old Manic Street Preachers. Nothing here is a surprise. “Me and Stephen Hawking” is a good example of the fun that can be had on this album. I really like the guitar. It reminds me of what the Posies were doing back then.
I’m also a fan of “Marlon J.D.,” so much so that I wish it had its own page on Facebook. “Pretension/Repulsion” sounds like a Scorpions song. Really. “William’s Last Words” sounds like a Lou Reed song.
A Fine Frenzy “Bomb in a Birdcage”
November 1, 2009More Apple-and-now-Droid advertising music. Just like Chairlift, Orba Squara, Mozella and countless others, it’s the kind of cheery winter music you listen to because it’s too cold to go outside. It’s a dream come true that such music is so popular these days, and I am not looking forward to the “what were we thinking” mentality that will no doubt haunt us sometime next decade, the same way we reflect on emo today.
“What I Wouldn’t Do” and “New Heights” are about what you’d expect and are more fine renditions of this subgenre. “Blow Away” has a little more pep to it and perhaps shows some evolution. I guess it’s hard to say, because some would classify this all as Rilo Kiley retread, but like with anything you can get as granular as you want.
“Happier” sounds like an old Paula Cole song. That’s tragically unhip.
And it goes on. The songs all sound a little different but have the same underlying theme of iPod music. I’m very happy with this record because it stays in my comfort zone but still manages to skirt the edges of what I want to hear in an album. Cheers to them.
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