Reviews and stuff
So, most of you readers know about my secret life as a cretin/critic of rock n' roll. And if you don't, well, shit, I guess the secret's out now. Anyway, these reviews are mainly found online on www.thedelimagazine.com and www.soundcheckmagazine.com*, and soon to be www.amplifiermagazine.com.
Necessarily, I check out a lot of music. Mostly, it's not stuff that I already love that I get to write odes to (although, sometimes, yes, yes it is, and when that happens it's pretty effin' sweet), in fact most of it is editors sending me the kind of albums that you might find in the $5 bins at your local Virgin/Tower/Sam Ashe (not that the latter even really exist anymore).
That's not saying it's all shit. Not at all. It's just that there's such a glut of talent and so much rampant mismanagement in the music business that an album even making into my hot little hands is a small miracle in itself.
If you're curious about the scope and quality of what I review, then check out below. I would never expect anyone to read all my reviews, especially since I am obviously not the most laconic of writers, but I will give you a brief survey of what I've reviewed in 2007 by only including my favorite sentence of said review. Got it? O.K. Here goes, in no particular order:
Patrick Park - Everyone's in Everyone - Alienation rarely sounds as inviting as it does in this album.
Apollo Sunshine - Apollo Sunshine - It’s going to be hard for me to be objective about a band that makes a song with the lyrics “now if that grass looks fun to roll in/ than [sic] roll in that FUCKINGRASS [sic]” and lists ‘weed’ as one of their influences.
Aquaduct - Or Give Me Death - In actuality, as the creative force behind Aqueduct David Terry does create most of his beats and melodies in his bedroom, but they come off with all the energy and wit of the underdogs at a high school battle of the bands contest.
Arbor Day - Braver Than Today - Arbor Day sounds exactly like you would expect a band to sound that formed partially thanks to an earnest discussion of the Beach Boys.
White Rabbits - Fort Nightly - In fact, after White Rabbits’ victorious finale, one concertgoer was heard saying, “fuck it, we can go home now. Why would they open for anyone? They’re fucking incredible!”
Bear Colony - We Came Here To Die - Perhaps by virtue of their many members, Bear Colony cannot help but rock out on songs like “Shark” and “Suffocation”, and on those tracks especially Griffin’s croon-to-scream vocals sound so much like Billy Corgan’s that the whole album could have been outtakes from Adore.
Benji Cossa - Between the Blue and the Green - ...is full of low-fi pop pearls that are perfect for summer listening.
Benzos - Branches - This album is too fucking boring to listen to.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum - So, is it wrong to presume this album to be full of sunshine and rainbows, maybe even slightly tinged with the macabre of a Grimm’s fairy tale? Turns out I was way off base on that one.
Tokyo Police Club - A Lesson in Crime - Most of the songs are frantic without being punk, electronic without being repetitive, and pop without being slick.
Miho Hatori - Ecdysis - Hatori keeps much of the same production values of Cibo Matto’s work, crafting beats from samplers and working towards a futuristic lounge sound that is more ethereal than far-out.
O'Death - Head Home - O’Death is a hybrid of insane drumming, lightning banjo and fiddle playing, screaming back-up vocals, and Appalachian inspiration.
Stephanie's Id - Grus Americanus - Alt-rock, soul, pop, funk – yes, you read that right, they’re all represented in the span of one album.
Stereofan- You Can't Go Home Again - And by ‘epic’ I mean the ability to switch between country influences on “Angry Man”, and “Swingman”, and lush, orchestral pop on “Cross the Bowery”, “Silver Girl” and the title track.
The Good The Bad and The Queen - The Good The Bad and The Queen - However, Albarn’s creative imperative to create an album devoted to the cultural landscape of his London, particularly the neighborhoods of West London, drove the Britpopper to involve others who could add to the diversity he was trying to reflect.
Hot Chip - The Warning - Their vast musical spectrum means their original songs turn whole genres on their heads (please see: “Tchaparian” for a gasp-inducing take on sexy R n’ B tunes, or “The Warning”, which has the boys posturing as a gang that “will break your legs/snap off your head”).
The Postage Stamps - This Ugly Arrangement - Amid tendencies toward psychedelic noodling on guitars and keyboards, Jordan Walsh’s breathy Ben Gibbard-like lead vocals, and sometimes fanciful flourishes of horns, songs spiral out into a delicate atmospheric ether and often end up vaporized themselves.
The Twilight Sad - The Twilight Sad is the most wussy band name ever. Seriously, the guys from Matchbook Romance are kicking themselves for not coming up with it first. [oh, p.s. "wussy" was originally "pussy".]
Tomahawk - Annonymous - Leave it to three of the sickest rockers around today to reintroduce us to the dark side of the reservation. The songs on Anonymous are all reinterpretations of pre-existing music from various Native American tribes.
*Oooohh, a little (more) self-promotion here, I just saw that Soundcheck has published my Matt and Kim feature, which I was really pleased with (Except they changed the title! I hate that!). Buster, you're totally in it, man!
