The dawn of Strange Change Machine is approaching! Follow the link and sign up for the fan club to get a free download version of the new Grip Weeds album, which will be available as a free download VERY soon! All you need to do is enter your email address!
The Grip Weeds
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Crank In The Summer With Thunderbolt Patterson
Thunderbolt Patterson
The LP Is Dead
No Fun Records
The seemingly endless cycle of snowstorms, icestorms, and being stuck indoors has finally come to an end. The sun is peaking out and warming the pavement all over the country. What does that mean? It's time for some top down, wind in your hair, rock 'n' roll! It's time for Thunderbolt Patterson's new album The LP Is Dead and it's loud, power chord hooks that are too good to sit inside with. If you know "Rockaway Beach", then you'll dig into "Almost Summer" on the way there with Ramonesish guitars and Beach Boys harmonies.
Leave it to an original NY '70s punk to take things backwards to its simplest elements. Chords, hooks, loud, fun, take the top down, simple punk powerpop, with some exceptional drumming on tracks like "Dynamo" with the accompaniment "Remember being parked outside your house, and I spilled a 40 all over your blouse." Ahhh, memories! Don't worry, the act is not being glorified. "Dynamo" is more about Patterson making fun of himself.
The title track is a catchy sing-a-long lament (??) about short term attention spans and the devaluation of media. We've heard the theme. Nothing new, but this version's a lot more fun! The follow up "On and On" is the same: catchy, but with some groovy, soul keyboards. Ok, this isn't rocket science, but we need simple fun. We need loud, simple, fun sing alongs again. However, this album is too much fun to hear in the background. The songs make you want to stomp your feet, crank it up, go outside, and throw/crash a party. "Getting Out" rocks in the way that makes you pick up the air guitar and throw out Guitar Hero (I sincerely hope none of you own that).
If The LP Is Dead with its throw back to simplicity (and this review, for that matter) come across as an "I remember the good old days" moan, consider the fact that great rock 'n' roll for the past 40 years has been deconstruction. Garage, punk, and the flavors that came out of it were created out of stripping things down and going back to the beginning. The good shit always steps into the future by looking backwards, but who else but the drummer for The Dictators to remind us that this is supposed to be fun, and what's fun without a party anthem? How about "When you could use a little leverage, all you need is one beverage" from "One Beverage."
11 tracks of loud punk/powerpop with solid guitar and drum punches. Some occasional wailing metal solos for your hesher buddies on "On The Tip", but your pals will also be singing along until they realize you caught them. The closing "Four Pair" nearly approaches Southern Rawk in its guitarosity.
Tracks like "Hand Grenade Around My Heart" should not be listened to in confined spaces like airplanes. The LP Is Dead is too much fun to listen to in closed quarters. Either wait until the party or vacation starts unless you're heading down the highway with the top down.
This is essential Spring/Summer listening.
The LP Is Dead is available from your local indie record store and directly from the only label that rocks enough to have Thunderbolt, No Fun Records.
Friday, February 26, 2010
South by Southwest 2010 and Why the Corporate Music Industry Still Sucks
SXSW 2010 approaches. It’s just like last year. A bunch of bands both old and new, a bunch of conferences with catchy titles such as “Social Networks and the Future for Musicians”, which echoes the last 6 years or so of a music industry that makes their money off of artists and are bitching, moaning, kicking, and screaming that they’re not making as much money as the used to, a bunch of parties that are also for “industry only”, which means that bands play to those who might talk about them or want to be involved with them, but nothing usually comes out of it since the same people are often attending the conference as their personal vacation and would rather see the ever growing number of well known acts admitted to SXSW. So what do you end up with? A corporate party where the current and once well known get to be seen again. Occasionally, some new act will have this great buzz and people will come to see them, but for the most part, new, unsigned, and indie label acts are overlooked. I can say this from nine years of experience now. I’ve attended plenty of SXSW showcases. The lines are around the corner for the well known acts, while the smaller acts and indie label showcases rarely reach capacity. At the same time, venues that choose not to be official SXSW participants, whether bars, independent businesses, and the like are often targeted by the fire department while the official venues are left alone at the encouragement of SXSW organizers.
How many problems can one pick out in this scenario? Too many, but this is the tip of the iceberg. The music industry, whether labels, media outlets, and others involved have been losing money and struggling with electronic media and the resulting free music and illegal pirating and sharing for a while now. As a result, new acts are less likely to get noticed and even less likely to get a good offer if someone wants them. As a result, the industry arrives at SXSW and gravitates towards the safer, larger act venues where they can chat with their own while the music’s playing. I’ve witnessed new acts in the midst of not being hard by the overwhelming chatter of the “Don’t you know who I am?” crowd countless times during the official showcases.
The private, badge and invite only day shows are much worse. I’ve attended my fair share of those, too. They’re mostly little parties that often have very promising acts, but because they’re industry only, little attention is paid to the music since they’re more of a social gathering. As great as a new act can be, there’s something fundamentally missing at shows for mostly industry people: The music fans! Face it, the “industry” is failing and forever trying to curtail how music is heard and distributed. As a result, bands are better off playing to their real audience since those people are the ones that are going to discover them, tell friends about them, buy their merchandise, follow their activities on social networks, but most of all, will find excitement and inspiration from music that affects them. Industry types are often too busy, too jaded, or simply ignore them by not paying attention during a performance or just not seeing them in favor of seeing someone well known. Whatever got many people into the music business to begin with has been long forgotten that dollar signs have greater value than the power of rock ‘n’ roll.
As an alternative to the little club that the corporate music industry is during SXSW, what would happen if these small parties were left open to the independents? The bloggers, amateur photographers, and those who still get excited about it? What would a journalist from a large print media outlet have to say if they saw a crowd of those gathered, reacting and interacting with a new act on some warm March day at a small, outdoor party? How would record label execs react if they witnessed genuine responses from those who they would actually end up profiting from? The answer is obvious, the solution even more. It’s the music fans that matter most, not the industry designed to make money off of the talents of the acts.
Honestly, what would happen if journalists, label reps, etc., were the minority at a performance with a sea of enthusiastic fans? They would have a much better idea of a band’s potential based on the crowd response as opposed to mostly industry attendance, sizing up the profitability of a band based on their sound alone. The same people would also have the opportunity to talk to the fans and find out what moves them, what they’re looking for, and most importantly, what the music means to them. It isn’t rocket science. The music biz is smart enough to know that they’re best off when they have a product that means something to people, so why not find out an act’s potential based on the response of those who would potentially buy their products? This isn’t exactly a new idea, either. Plenty of acts, including well known veterans of many different genre’s within “alternative” music do this every year. The Stems will play a free day show to a crowd a few times bigger than the one that shows up to their showcase, The Cynics will practically play anywhere and as often as they can, Michael’s voice willing, Muck & The Mires inquire about playing unofficial parties and plan on doing them well in advance, new acts get referrals and ask about doing those shows based on word from those they knew who did them before, etc. These acts could simply hang out, rest, party, and play only to industry people who can supposedly help them. Instead, they make a priority of being seen, heard as often as possible, and to meet as many as possible that are NOT part of the music business.
What happens at SXSW doesn’t stay at SXSW. The events reverberate. As much as the industry sits in their meetings, round tables, keynotes, private parties, and the like to talk about new paradigms and then get out to see popular acts that they can see more often in places like New York and L.A, it’s those that get out to play at and attend the unofficial, free gatherings that have the new paradigm. These acts meet their audience and play at unlikely places where they connect with them. They find out what their music means to those who show up to see them, they interact, try new things, sometimes have some backline related adversity and shine through it, making their performance greater. If those free shows have newer, related acts that are added to the bill that would likely not be for an official showcase, the newer acts benefit more than they would playing a private party in a tent, a regional showcase, or a small, official showcase at a club while so many people are out seeing bigger acts since they’re seen by more potential fans who are more likely to be discouraged from venturing downtown to deal with the mayhem. Quite often, those that see the bands at day shows end up choosing to go and see them again that week at an official showcase. This is the new paradigm! Bands have figured out what matters: Their fans and the independents that are going to talk about them, review their music and post their photos. These acts end up with a more dedicated following, which is something that’s very hard to come by given the fickle mindedness of popular music.
This is what SXSW used to be about: Discovering new talent. Despite good intentions, the official festival has become so popular that this objective is drowned out by the popular acts, corporate sponsorships, and exclusivity to only those who can pay more, which is really the antithesis of the rock ‘n’ roll ethos. Rock ‘N’ Roll is about rebellion, loud music, and the pure excitement of discovering something new or hearing something already known in a different light. It’s the crowd response and the connection the band makes to an audience, not the “Who’s Who” yearbook of the big players and movers, which are exactly those same people that SXSW caters to. At the same time, the organizers of SXSW in the least turn a blind eye to those that venture into playing for the fans, consider it a turf war by attempting to shut down those venues who choose not to be part of their club for the week, or at worst, turn it into a little high school game by telling acts that if they deviate by playing non official events, especially at the same time as the official showcases, that they’re not going to cut them a break by accepting them when they’re on their way downhill in the future.
I’m not claiming that SXSW and the organizers themselves are an evil entity. SXSW started out with great intentions. For better and worse, they were very, very successful. Money can change one’s objectives and there are often compromises that come to fruition as a result of greater notoriety and interest, but the result is that a large part of the soul is lost. SXSW is a huge deal. Bands from around the world come to play and get noticed by industry people, which can often help them gain a wider audience, but with the growing popularity, larger, corporate entities became involved since it was a pie that they wanted a piece of. In wanting to become a bigger event, the organizers give increasingly priority to the corporate world ever year. Unfortunately, the festival is more of a corporate schmoozefest for out of towners instead of an even where people go with the objective of hearing or seeing new things and getting challenged at the promise of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s too bad. There are so many new, indie acts out there that are making music that is better than their predecessors by ripping it off and building on top of it, which is really the way that great rock ‘n’ roll is made.
Furthermore, the music business relies on the small, independent outlets to get the word out about new acts. Social networks like myspace and others present this bombardment of music and no filter. It’s the bloggers, small print papers, and others that act as the filter by reaching out to acts, writing about them, and having a more personal forum to communicate about them. The corporate media outlets, labels, radio, and MTV and its affiliated networks have not been the tastemakers for quite some time, and even more so since there’s so much more music out there that’s readily accessible. Many people in the industry do recognize this, but one only finds out at chance meetings. SXSW has absolutely NO outlets for those that take the music seriously enough to contribute to it but don’t make a career out of it. There are no chances for sessions with larger entities that could encourage them or those that could help them gain a wider audience, which is purely needed since blogs like Pop Matters have a growing audience who reads their work and reaches a much more dedicated following.
By choice of SXSW, the budding journalists who are changing the industry don’t have access to the same tools and resources that the larger outlets take for granted, photographers have even less access to contribute by taking live shots even though many, many bands end up using photos made by fans to promote themselves. In conclusion, the very people that SXSW originally envisioned promoting and helping are excluded. New bands and those that are the most important to their success: the fans and independent bloggers, writers, photographers, and the like are shut out by choice of SXSW in favor of corporations, labels, and sponsors willing to throw enough cash into SXSW’s pockets to turn the festival into a snobby private school. If what matters the most is the music itself, they’d find ways to open the doors up a little by allowing better access to independent outlets and accept more new acts to play the official showcases. Labels, bands, and larger media outlets could communicate with their fans with contests or invites to smaller day parties where those who attend them would have a stronger emotional connection to the music and might walk away afterwards with their own rock ‘n’ roll story. Those memories are what make rock ‘n’ roll so great to everyone who loves it. It’s those memories of rare opportunities and performances, where something great happened, that make the music so important.
Unless SXSW and the industry at large can allow the influx of new ideas and new people without the same resources as the big ones by loosening the reigns a little bit on the exclusivity, the SXSW music festival is a velvet rope that allows only the popular people or those with deeper pockets in. That’s an exclusive disco. That’s not rock ‘n’ roll.
How many problems can one pick out in this scenario? Too many, but this is the tip of the iceberg. The music industry, whether labels, media outlets, and others involved have been losing money and struggling with electronic media and the resulting free music and illegal pirating and sharing for a while now. As a result, new acts are less likely to get noticed and even less likely to get a good offer if someone wants them. As a result, the industry arrives at SXSW and gravitates towards the safer, larger act venues where they can chat with their own while the music’s playing. I’ve witnessed new acts in the midst of not being hard by the overwhelming chatter of the “Don’t you know who I am?” crowd countless times during the official showcases.
The private, badge and invite only day shows are much worse. I’ve attended my fair share of those, too. They’re mostly little parties that often have very promising acts, but because they’re industry only, little attention is paid to the music since they’re more of a social gathering. As great as a new act can be, there’s something fundamentally missing at shows for mostly industry people: The music fans! Face it, the “industry” is failing and forever trying to curtail how music is heard and distributed. As a result, bands are better off playing to their real audience since those people are the ones that are going to discover them, tell friends about them, buy their merchandise, follow their activities on social networks, but most of all, will find excitement and inspiration from music that affects them. Industry types are often too busy, too jaded, or simply ignore them by not paying attention during a performance or just not seeing them in favor of seeing someone well known. Whatever got many people into the music business to begin with has been long forgotten that dollar signs have greater value than the power of rock ‘n’ roll.
As an alternative to the little club that the corporate music industry is during SXSW, what would happen if these small parties were left open to the independents? The bloggers, amateur photographers, and those who still get excited about it? What would a journalist from a large print media outlet have to say if they saw a crowd of those gathered, reacting and interacting with a new act on some warm March day at a small, outdoor party? How would record label execs react if they witnessed genuine responses from those who they would actually end up profiting from? The answer is obvious, the solution even more. It’s the music fans that matter most, not the industry designed to make money off of the talents of the acts.
Honestly, what would happen if journalists, label reps, etc., were the minority at a performance with a sea of enthusiastic fans? They would have a much better idea of a band’s potential based on the crowd response as opposed to mostly industry attendance, sizing up the profitability of a band based on their sound alone. The same people would also have the opportunity to talk to the fans and find out what moves them, what they’re looking for, and most importantly, what the music means to them. It isn’t rocket science. The music biz is smart enough to know that they’re best off when they have a product that means something to people, so why not find out an act’s potential based on the response of those who would potentially buy their products? This isn’t exactly a new idea, either. Plenty of acts, including well known veterans of many different genre’s within “alternative” music do this every year. The Stems will play a free day show to a crowd a few times bigger than the one that shows up to their showcase, The Cynics will practically play anywhere and as often as they can, Michael’s voice willing, Muck & The Mires inquire about playing unofficial parties and plan on doing them well in advance, new acts get referrals and ask about doing those shows based on word from those they knew who did them before, etc. These acts could simply hang out, rest, party, and play only to industry people who can supposedly help them. Instead, they make a priority of being seen, heard as often as possible, and to meet as many as possible that are NOT part of the music business.
What happens at SXSW doesn’t stay at SXSW. The events reverberate. As much as the industry sits in their meetings, round tables, keynotes, private parties, and the like to talk about new paradigms and then get out to see popular acts that they can see more often in places like New York and L.A, it’s those that get out to play at and attend the unofficial, free gatherings that have the new paradigm. These acts meet their audience and play at unlikely places where they connect with them. They find out what their music means to those who show up to see them, they interact, try new things, sometimes have some backline related adversity and shine through it, making their performance greater. If those free shows have newer, related acts that are added to the bill that would likely not be for an official showcase, the newer acts benefit more than they would playing a private party in a tent, a regional showcase, or a small, official showcase at a club while so many people are out seeing bigger acts since they’re seen by more potential fans who are more likely to be discouraged from venturing downtown to deal with the mayhem. Quite often, those that see the bands at day shows end up choosing to go and see them again that week at an official showcase. This is the new paradigm! Bands have figured out what matters: Their fans and the independents that are going to talk about them, review their music and post their photos. These acts end up with a more dedicated following, which is something that’s very hard to come by given the fickle mindedness of popular music.
This is what SXSW used to be about: Discovering new talent. Despite good intentions, the official festival has become so popular that this objective is drowned out by the popular acts, corporate sponsorships, and exclusivity to only those who can pay more, which is really the antithesis of the rock ‘n’ roll ethos. Rock ‘N’ Roll is about rebellion, loud music, and the pure excitement of discovering something new or hearing something already known in a different light. It’s the crowd response and the connection the band makes to an audience, not the “Who’s Who” yearbook of the big players and movers, which are exactly those same people that SXSW caters to. At the same time, the organizers of SXSW in the least turn a blind eye to those that venture into playing for the fans, consider it a turf war by attempting to shut down those venues who choose not to be part of their club for the week, or at worst, turn it into a little high school game by telling acts that if they deviate by playing non official events, especially at the same time as the official showcases, that they’re not going to cut them a break by accepting them when they’re on their way downhill in the future.
I’m not claiming that SXSW and the organizers themselves are an evil entity. SXSW started out with great intentions. For better and worse, they were very, very successful. Money can change one’s objectives and there are often compromises that come to fruition as a result of greater notoriety and interest, but the result is that a large part of the soul is lost. SXSW is a huge deal. Bands from around the world come to play and get noticed by industry people, which can often help them gain a wider audience, but with the growing popularity, larger, corporate entities became involved since it was a pie that they wanted a piece of. In wanting to become a bigger event, the organizers give increasingly priority to the corporate world ever year. Unfortunately, the festival is more of a corporate schmoozefest for out of towners instead of an even where people go with the objective of hearing or seeing new things and getting challenged at the promise of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s too bad. There are so many new, indie acts out there that are making music that is better than their predecessors by ripping it off and building on top of it, which is really the way that great rock ‘n’ roll is made.
Furthermore, the music business relies on the small, independent outlets to get the word out about new acts. Social networks like myspace and others present this bombardment of music and no filter. It’s the bloggers, small print papers, and others that act as the filter by reaching out to acts, writing about them, and having a more personal forum to communicate about them. The corporate media outlets, labels, radio, and MTV and its affiliated networks have not been the tastemakers for quite some time, and even more so since there’s so much more music out there that’s readily accessible. Many people in the industry do recognize this, but one only finds out at chance meetings. SXSW has absolutely NO outlets for those that take the music seriously enough to contribute to it but don’t make a career out of it. There are no chances for sessions with larger entities that could encourage them or those that could help them gain a wider audience, which is purely needed since blogs like Pop Matters have a growing audience who reads their work and reaches a much more dedicated following.
By choice of SXSW, the budding journalists who are changing the industry don’t have access to the same tools and resources that the larger outlets take for granted, photographers have even less access to contribute by taking live shots even though many, many bands end up using photos made by fans to promote themselves. In conclusion, the very people that SXSW originally envisioned promoting and helping are excluded. New bands and those that are the most important to their success: the fans and independent bloggers, writers, photographers, and the like are shut out by choice of SXSW in favor of corporations, labels, and sponsors willing to throw enough cash into SXSW’s pockets to turn the festival into a snobby private school. If what matters the most is the music itself, they’d find ways to open the doors up a little by allowing better access to independent outlets and accept more new acts to play the official showcases. Labels, bands, and larger media outlets could communicate with their fans with contests or invites to smaller day parties where those who attend them would have a stronger emotional connection to the music and might walk away afterwards with their own rock ‘n’ roll story. Those memories are what make rock ‘n’ roll so great to everyone who loves it. It’s those memories of rare opportunities and performances, where something great happened, that make the music so important.
Unless SXSW and the industry at large can allow the influx of new ideas and new people without the same resources as the big ones by loosening the reigns a little bit on the exclusivity, the SXSW music festival is a velvet rope that allows only the popular people or those with deeper pockets in. That’s an exclusive disco. That’s not rock ‘n’ roll.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Take Communion with The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Communion
Sweden knows rock ‘n roll. Name a bad rock band from Sweden. They’re few and far in between. The Soundtrack of Our Lives (TSOOL) are this superpsychedelic rock burst from there. A big sound, plenty of odd musical and lyrical happenings, and a vast array of anthemic songs with different tempos on their double release of Communion.
By nature, TSOOL are required to be a psychedelic band since they’re a six piece. A lot of it is still power chord, rock based, but one gets a lot of layers to go through that accompany those chords. The opening “Towers of Babel On” is a slow buildup that turns into an invitation - “Come on to The Towers of Babel On”, but like many of their songs, it’s a double entendre in referring to sites of both biblical chaos and complex civilization. However, many of their song titles have a similar wit in title such as “Pineal Gland Hotel”, “MENSA’s Marauders”, and others.
Usually, different genres communicate their own emotions and are fairly limited in their scope of topics. Although there isn’t hat much to choose from, TSOOL is successful at combining ideas into ironies on songs like “Ra 88”, which is the periodical chart assignment for Radium, a metal that’s bright white, turns black once exposed to air, and is highly radioactive. On one hand, the metaphor is used to describe freedom of expression - “Radium’s burnin’ inside of me, brilliant white that I’m bound to set free” while having to confront the ultimate destruction that anger brings - “Radium’s bad for my century, something I cannot deny when I’m free.” This is a modern lesson on anger and how one feels good to let it out, but how it can consume everything around it, much like someone can be mad over the state of one’s life or the world, but that emotion can ultimately nurture negativity. Naturally, this is communicated through a song that is nearly cathartic in rock volume.
In many ways, TSOOL take on the chaos of modern life and neuroses with most of their songs that can poke fun at the dysfunction of everyday life. It’s almost as if Robyn Hitchock’s “Uncorrected Personality Traits” is elaborated on to describe most adults as needing a good therapist in songs like “Distorted Child.” They take it a step further by describing how it leads to alienation in much darker songs like “Second LIfe Replay”, a soft description of emotional suicide with a realization that one’s still alive, stuck in their own head, and will be around the next day to live again.
Alienation and detachment reaches a climax on the first album with a cover of “Fly” by Nick Drake. The song takes the sense of fading that his soft voice and simple melodies communicated so well, but TSOOL turns it into a building rock song that’s somehow more intense but also adds complimenting melodies that give a sense of hope. The arrangements gives one a sense that TSOOL have a sound comparison to if Nick Drake sat in with The Who for The Lighthouse Sessions. The songs have both the sonic power and the attention to arrangements that Pete Townshend perfected, but possess a lot of careful and simple subtleties like Drake.
Communion as a double album can seem a little disconnected. The first album is powerful that one finds themselves more involved. The second album broadens musically with slower tempo but still engaging music such as the instrumental “Digitarian Riverbank” and more folksy oriented songs like “Flipside.” Honestly, it was hard to listen to the second album until recently, which is bad for a timely review after holding on to Communion, but it’s also like discovering a second great album. The songs carry on with the same depth as the first album but often have simpler, American rock approaches such as “Lost Prophets in Vain”. One even gets a pure ‘70s Who blast on “Reconnecting The Dots” with added sitars.
Two albums is a lot of material. Communion has its share of moments where one is anticipating something greater, but the songs seem to flow and are good, but don’t quite live up to the others. Nevertheless, the majority of the songs are always full of brilliant, loud, melodic and introspective rock. Despite a really artful approach and the range of tempos and instrumentation, Communion RAWKS, only it might encourage more attention for the times when certain songs don’t reach out and grab you. Especially attention grabbling is the almost early ‘90s Manchester, easy feel of “Utopia”, which breaks into a louder tempo change that adds a hard rock angst.
Communion has 25 songs. It’s a lot to go through, but it’s a great thing to go back and find new songs that one finally “gets” at different times. It’s heavily melodic, but rarely dull. The songs are both beautiful, angry, and uplifting. There are competing dualities between the more elaborate and the simple, both illustrated in the louder and softer songs. Surprisingly, the album remains cohesive. It’s definitely challenging, but never goes strays into territory that removes the songs from rock and simpler origins. Summarily, if one loves Who’s Next and can relate to the power and melody of the songs and how they stand up to time as great rock songs, Communion is the next progression. Quite amazing.
Flipside
Communion
Sweden knows rock ‘n roll. Name a bad rock band from Sweden. They’re few and far in between. The Soundtrack of Our Lives (TSOOL) are this superpsychedelic rock burst from there. A big sound, plenty of odd musical and lyrical happenings, and a vast array of anthemic songs with different tempos on their double release of Communion.
By nature, TSOOL are required to be a psychedelic band since they’re a six piece. A lot of it is still power chord, rock based, but one gets a lot of layers to go through that accompany those chords. The opening “Towers of Babel On” is a slow buildup that turns into an invitation - “Come on to The Towers of Babel On”, but like many of their songs, it’s a double entendre in referring to sites of both biblical chaos and complex civilization. However, many of their song titles have a similar wit in title such as “Pineal Gland Hotel”, “MENSA’s Marauders”, and others.
Usually, different genres communicate their own emotions and are fairly limited in their scope of topics. Although there isn’t hat much to choose from, TSOOL is successful at combining ideas into ironies on songs like “Ra 88”, which is the periodical chart assignment for Radium, a metal that’s bright white, turns black once exposed to air, and is highly radioactive. On one hand, the metaphor is used to describe freedom of expression - “Radium’s burnin’ inside of me, brilliant white that I’m bound to set free” while having to confront the ultimate destruction that anger brings - “Radium’s bad for my century, something I cannot deny when I’m free.” This is a modern lesson on anger and how one feels good to let it out, but how it can consume everything around it, much like someone can be mad over the state of one’s life or the world, but that emotion can ultimately nurture negativity. Naturally, this is communicated through a song that is nearly cathartic in rock volume.
In many ways, TSOOL take on the chaos of modern life and neuroses with most of their songs that can poke fun at the dysfunction of everyday life. It’s almost as if Robyn Hitchock’s “Uncorrected Personality Traits” is elaborated on to describe most adults as needing a good therapist in songs like “Distorted Child.” They take it a step further by describing how it leads to alienation in much darker songs like “Second LIfe Replay”, a soft description of emotional suicide with a realization that one’s still alive, stuck in their own head, and will be around the next day to live again.
Alienation and detachment reaches a climax on the first album with a cover of “Fly” by Nick Drake. The song takes the sense of fading that his soft voice and simple melodies communicated so well, but TSOOL turns it into a building rock song that’s somehow more intense but also adds complimenting melodies that give a sense of hope. The arrangements gives one a sense that TSOOL have a sound comparison to if Nick Drake sat in with The Who for The Lighthouse Sessions. The songs have both the sonic power and the attention to arrangements that Pete Townshend perfected, but possess a lot of careful and simple subtleties like Drake.
Communion as a double album can seem a little disconnected. The first album is powerful that one finds themselves more involved. The second album broadens musically with slower tempo but still engaging music such as the instrumental “Digitarian Riverbank” and more folksy oriented songs like “Flipside.” Honestly, it was hard to listen to the second album until recently, which is bad for a timely review after holding on to Communion, but it’s also like discovering a second great album. The songs carry on with the same depth as the first album but often have simpler, American rock approaches such as “Lost Prophets in Vain”. One even gets a pure ‘70s Who blast on “Reconnecting The Dots” with added sitars.
Two albums is a lot of material. Communion has its share of moments where one is anticipating something greater, but the songs seem to flow and are good, but don’t quite live up to the others. Nevertheless, the majority of the songs are always full of brilliant, loud, melodic and introspective rock. Despite a really artful approach and the range of tempos and instrumentation, Communion RAWKS, only it might encourage more attention for the times when certain songs don’t reach out and grab you. Especially attention grabbling is the almost early ‘90s Manchester, easy feel of “Utopia”, which breaks into a louder tempo change that adds a hard rock angst.
Communion has 25 songs. It’s a lot to go through, but it’s a great thing to go back and find new songs that one finally “gets” at different times. It’s heavily melodic, but rarely dull. The songs are both beautiful, angry, and uplifting. There are competing dualities between the more elaborate and the simple, both illustrated in the louder and softer songs. Surprisingly, the album remains cohesive. It’s definitely challenging, but never goes strays into territory that removes the songs from rock and simpler origins. Summarily, if one loves Who’s Next and can relate to the power and melody of the songs and how they stand up to time as great rock songs, Communion is the next progression. Quite amazing.
Flipside
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Love Me Nots Get Groovy on Upsidedown Insideout!
The Love Me Nots
Upsidedown Insideout
AtomicAGoGo/MayCauseDizziness/BadReputation
I've always been a big fan of The Love Me Nots. Great, loud, surfy guitars, steady, pounding beats, and a female lead vocalist who sizzles with every word. On top of that, every song is memorable and steeped in surf, garage, and Detroit R&B, but they have their own mod image that's retro and still all ther own. This band has always been an incredible package. They've more or less mastered the whole garage thing by digging up those influences that create garage rock and playing them so well with their own, unforgettable mark. The problem is, how does one top that? One word: Change. Let's face it. Garage rock is enduring and once one becomes a fan, they steep up all the influences that created it and added to it, but the mix of Northern Soul, Motown, R&B, fuzz, surf, '60s punk, and early psychedelia can sound a little redundant even to the most broad minded and music knowledgeable junkie, so it gets harder to create something new and different out of that. In comes the third release from Phoenix's The Love Me Nots. In form of familiarity with the new, long time producer and collaborator Jim Diamond worked the keys and added some extra playing, but instead of going to Ghetto Recorders for laying down the tracks, Jim flew out to Phoenix and sat in with them at Flying Blanket Recording for the new album. New drummer Bob Hoag also took on the role of pre-mastering.
The red hot cover instantly suggests a new direction for the band. Although the simplicity of their other album covers are there, the upside down silhouette of go-go boots with a red background indicate something a little bit modern in reminding one of the opening credits for the popular, mid century period TV program "Madmen." The first track, "Do What You Do" is equal parts guitar and Farfisa sharing lead and melody, but Michael Johny Walker plays longer, more "lead guitar" type riffs that suggest a more hard rock than surf base and Nicole's vocals have a slight background at times that suggest The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Still incredibly cool '60s mod, but maybe with a little bit of a broader appealing twist. The following "Karen (Get Yourself Out)" is a manifesto for vintage organ with guitar taking a more melodic role, although there's still a few solos that expand the appeal outside of the garage rock world. The song is also a crowd pleaser that's known to really get the crowd going at their shows. Perhaps the biggest shock is "You Don't Know a Thing About Me" with a sweet acoustic guitar base, super heavy keys, and electric that combines into something straight out of The Paisley Undergound movement, only bluesier.
Nicole Laurenne's power and presence have always taken front and center, but Kyle Rose Stokes' added vocals on songs like "You're Bringing Me Down" and "He's What I Want" give a stronger gender balance. Upsidedown Insideout overall has a greater melodic approach than their earlier work, but still has heavy garage and speedy beats such as "Take Pity." It also has songs like "The Kinda Love I Got" that are more of a straightforward, super charged guitar pop that pushes towards broader appealing rock. "Fire and Pride" is definitely soul in its sweet, sad melody punctuated by deeper, bluesy desperation and surf riffs, but brings to mind another new theme that runs throughout the whole album: No matter the volume or tempo of the songs, all of them have this incredible grooviness, even with my personal surprise for the lyric "I don't like paisley" on "Not That Kind of Girl" still rocks my world.
I've listened to this album multiple times over the past 6 months or so, appreciating its new sound while still trying to grapple with the fact that it has a new pop appeal while still steeped in everything that makes The LMNs a great band: Great, loud guitars, sweeping organ, an intense beat, and a vocal delivery that's tough, sexy, and desperate at times. Perhaps what's really telling about Upsidedown Insideout is that it never gets too familiar. Even with repeated plays, one hears something new or appreciates something a little more with each listen, such as Nicole's Farfisa solo on "Rosie" that floods one's ears, or the almost classic blues sound of "Undone."
Upsidedown Insideout is The Love Me Nots doing the kind of rock that they're known for. It's strong, loud, and has that sense of heat that they're known for, but it's definitely a new direction for them. It's musically recognizable, but full of surprises. Their previous releases are too and incredibly well done, but this release offers more melody and grooves that embellish their simplicity and break a lot of new ground. It's more than a great effort. It's an incredible album that one never gets tired of hearing.
Upsidedown Insideout is available from numerous outlets including Atomic A Go Go and Get Hip Recordings.
Upsidedown Insideout
AtomicAGoGo/MayCauseDizziness/BadReputation
I've always been a big fan of The Love Me Nots. Great, loud, surfy guitars, steady, pounding beats, and a female lead vocalist who sizzles with every word. On top of that, every song is memorable and steeped in surf, garage, and Detroit R&B, but they have their own mod image that's retro and still all ther own. This band has always been an incredible package. They've more or less mastered the whole garage thing by digging up those influences that create garage rock and playing them so well with their own, unforgettable mark. The problem is, how does one top that? One word: Change. Let's face it. Garage rock is enduring and once one becomes a fan, they steep up all the influences that created it and added to it, but the mix of Northern Soul, Motown, R&B, fuzz, surf, '60s punk, and early psychedelia can sound a little redundant even to the most broad minded and music knowledgeable junkie, so it gets harder to create something new and different out of that. In comes the third release from Phoenix's The Love Me Nots. In form of familiarity with the new, long time producer and collaborator Jim Diamond worked the keys and added some extra playing, but instead of going to Ghetto Recorders for laying down the tracks, Jim flew out to Phoenix and sat in with them at Flying Blanket Recording for the new album. New drummer Bob Hoag also took on the role of pre-mastering.
The red hot cover instantly suggests a new direction for the band. Although the simplicity of their other album covers are there, the upside down silhouette of go-go boots with a red background indicate something a little bit modern in reminding one of the opening credits for the popular, mid century period TV program "Madmen." The first track, "Do What You Do" is equal parts guitar and Farfisa sharing lead and melody, but Michael Johny Walker plays longer, more "lead guitar" type riffs that suggest a more hard rock than surf base and Nicole's vocals have a slight background at times that suggest The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Still incredibly cool '60s mod, but maybe with a little bit of a broader appealing twist. The following "Karen (Get Yourself Out)" is a manifesto for vintage organ with guitar taking a more melodic role, although there's still a few solos that expand the appeal outside of the garage rock world. The song is also a crowd pleaser that's known to really get the crowd going at their shows. Perhaps the biggest shock is "You Don't Know a Thing About Me" with a sweet acoustic guitar base, super heavy keys, and electric that combines into something straight out of The Paisley Undergound movement, only bluesier.
Nicole Laurenne's power and presence have always taken front and center, but Kyle Rose Stokes' added vocals on songs like "You're Bringing Me Down" and "He's What I Want" give a stronger gender balance. Upsidedown Insideout overall has a greater melodic approach than their earlier work, but still has heavy garage and speedy beats such as "Take Pity." It also has songs like "The Kinda Love I Got" that are more of a straightforward, super charged guitar pop that pushes towards broader appealing rock. "Fire and Pride" is definitely soul in its sweet, sad melody punctuated by deeper, bluesy desperation and surf riffs, but brings to mind another new theme that runs throughout the whole album: No matter the volume or tempo of the songs, all of them have this incredible grooviness, even with my personal surprise for the lyric "I don't like paisley" on "Not That Kind of Girl" still rocks my world.
I've listened to this album multiple times over the past 6 months or so, appreciating its new sound while still trying to grapple with the fact that it has a new pop appeal while still steeped in everything that makes The LMNs a great band: Great, loud guitars, sweeping organ, an intense beat, and a vocal delivery that's tough, sexy, and desperate at times. Perhaps what's really telling about Upsidedown Insideout is that it never gets too familiar. Even with repeated plays, one hears something new or appreciates something a little more with each listen, such as Nicole's Farfisa solo on "Rosie" that floods one's ears, or the almost classic blues sound of "Undone."
Upsidedown Insideout is The Love Me Nots doing the kind of rock that they're known for. It's strong, loud, and has that sense of heat that they're known for, but it's definitely a new direction for them. It's musically recognizable, but full of surprises. Their previous releases are too and incredibly well done, but this release offers more melody and grooves that embellish their simplicity and break a lot of new ground. It's more than a great effort. It's an incredible album that one never gets tired of hearing.
Upsidedown Insideout is available from numerous outlets including Atomic A Go Go and Get Hip Recordings.
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Morning After Girls: Alone
The Morning After Girls
alone
Unsigned
I love rock 'n' roll. I like it simple. Three chords driven by a beat and some occasional harmonies from either guitar and/or vocals is all you need. However, every now and then a deviation from that comes along that makes me expand my paradigm. Most of us like at least some psychedelic music as it relates to early garage rock, but psych has taken so many twists, turns, and different beats that we tend to be very selective in the bands we like within that labeling. Hailing from from Australia, Tanzania, and New York City, The Morning After Girls take psychedelic rock on some familiar roads and then end up at very new places. I'm not sure if that description gives Alone enough justice. In many ways, this is completely new.
The opening "A New Silence" is a short drone of feedback. Not much to hook into, but goes right into the acoustic intro of "The Best Explanation", a song with beautiful soft vocal harmonies and explosions of celestial psych guitar and feedback that goes from complexity to simplicity and back again. It's a little sonically overwhelming, but carries a sharp, colorful lysergic quality that sounds both beautiful and confrontational. The following "The General Public" takes the paisley underground revival and turns it on its head by adding the Revolver influenced side of '80s Britpop in its dance beat, but with an emphasis on rawness instead of cleaner production that characterized much of the music from that era. The title track "Alone" continues in this vein closer to the early '90s Manchester psych of The Stone Roses or some of the Stonesier material from Primal Scream or The Verve, but the only strong commonality it has in its structure. The vocal harmonies are softer and much more memorable, but the guitar is both melodic and filled with feedback, which makes it more attention getting than what's commonly called "Shoegazer."
Like the title itself, "Death Processions" is a little on the brooding side with it's goth rock tone, but not quite dark psychedelia with wah guitar and noise. Nevertheless, it's another song that demands multiple listenings because one hears something different that they can't quite place their head around every time they hear it. In a slight continuance of the theme, "You Need To Die" matches only in title. The production, backing guitar melodies, and overall theme suggest more of the mid era Who/psych rock of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but takes more risks. "Who Is They" also continues in this melodic mold, but like many other tracks on Alone, the combination of the harsh and the exquisite in vocals and guitars take one on familiar roads to places they've never been. On a personal note, this track amazed me to the point that I often had to pause it and take a break in order to absorb what I just heard.
"Part Of Your Nature" is probably the most straightforward tracks as an acoustic song, but also has vintage sounding loops (sound moving back and forth) and a harmonic, Edge like guitar climax that carries the song to its conclusion. "To Be Your Loss" has a lush, shimmering quality and a higher pitched vocal that more or less defines shoegazer music, but vocal contrast and guitar driven melody leaves a lot more enjoyment in its abrasive quality and volume.
"There's A Taking" catches one off guard given all the guitar hooks one has up to this point. It feels like a short, intense foray into Syd Barrett's mind in the mid '60s as he began to slip away. None of us have ever been there nor is anyone really qualified to say that, but it feels detached and somehow hints at accurate mental perception. I'm not really sure if there's a better way to describe it, but I think the interpretation is best left open. "Still Falling" has the complex but engaging sound of modern era The Chuch, only one also hears the folky simplicity of "Jane Says" for a song that is so beautiful that I felt a lump in my throat after the first few listens. However, this becomes the norm for Alone after repeated listens.
The lengthy, ending tome of "Tomorrow's Time" passes closely to the country tinged psychedelia of former labelmates The Asteroid #4, but the first 5 minutes are the bulk of the song followed by silence until the echoed noise of the last one and a half minutes.
On their new release, psychedelic rock is encapsulated and compressed from all the different revival eras into something that tends to explode outwards, expand, then contract. It's heavy, melodic, harmonic, abrasive, confrontational, never stays in the same place, but never strays into meandering or a background, which is really the essence of good psychedelic rock. It remains rock. It's exciting, different, goes in different directions, but never sounding like an aimless experiment.
As a major proponent of the three chord rock ethos, one has to move their feet and dance to call it good rock 'n' roll. There are notable deviations, but that's really it. Every now and then, something comes along that demands one to think twice. After all, if one cites bands like The Byrds, Love, VU, and a growing list of other acts that drew upon early psych and garage rock to reinterpret it, the idea grows and is no longer as cut and dry. Certain things come along that demand attention beyond the simple mindset. The new release from The Morning After Girls is not just a prime example of this, but truly phenomenal.
Alone is currently available exclusively on iTunes for the USA.
The General Public
alone
Unsigned
I love rock 'n' roll. I like it simple. Three chords driven by a beat and some occasional harmonies from either guitar and/or vocals is all you need. However, every now and then a deviation from that comes along that makes me expand my paradigm. Most of us like at least some psychedelic music as it relates to early garage rock, but psych has taken so many twists, turns, and different beats that we tend to be very selective in the bands we like within that labeling. Hailing from from Australia, Tanzania, and New York City, The Morning After Girls take psychedelic rock on some familiar roads and then end up at very new places. I'm not sure if that description gives Alone enough justice. In many ways, this is completely new.
The opening "A New Silence" is a short drone of feedback. Not much to hook into, but goes right into the acoustic intro of "The Best Explanation", a song with beautiful soft vocal harmonies and explosions of celestial psych guitar and feedback that goes from complexity to simplicity and back again. It's a little sonically overwhelming, but carries a sharp, colorful lysergic quality that sounds both beautiful and confrontational. The following "The General Public" takes the paisley underground revival and turns it on its head by adding the Revolver influenced side of '80s Britpop in its dance beat, but with an emphasis on rawness instead of cleaner production that characterized much of the music from that era. The title track "Alone" continues in this vein closer to the early '90s Manchester psych of The Stone Roses or some of the Stonesier material from Primal Scream or The Verve, but the only strong commonality it has in its structure. The vocal harmonies are softer and much more memorable, but the guitar is both melodic and filled with feedback, which makes it more attention getting than what's commonly called "Shoegazer."
Like the title itself, "Death Processions" is a little on the brooding side with it's goth rock tone, but not quite dark psychedelia with wah guitar and noise. Nevertheless, it's another song that demands multiple listenings because one hears something different that they can't quite place their head around every time they hear it. In a slight continuance of the theme, "You Need To Die" matches only in title. The production, backing guitar melodies, and overall theme suggest more of the mid era Who/psych rock of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but takes more risks. "Who Is They" also continues in this melodic mold, but like many other tracks on Alone, the combination of the harsh and the exquisite in vocals and guitars take one on familiar roads to places they've never been. On a personal note, this track amazed me to the point that I often had to pause it and take a break in order to absorb what I just heard.
"Part Of Your Nature" is probably the most straightforward tracks as an acoustic song, but also has vintage sounding loops (sound moving back and forth) and a harmonic, Edge like guitar climax that carries the song to its conclusion. "To Be Your Loss" has a lush, shimmering quality and a higher pitched vocal that more or less defines shoegazer music, but vocal contrast and guitar driven melody leaves a lot more enjoyment in its abrasive quality and volume.
"There's A Taking" catches one off guard given all the guitar hooks one has up to this point. It feels like a short, intense foray into Syd Barrett's mind in the mid '60s as he began to slip away. None of us have ever been there nor is anyone really qualified to say that, but it feels detached and somehow hints at accurate mental perception. I'm not really sure if there's a better way to describe it, but I think the interpretation is best left open. "Still Falling" has the complex but engaging sound of modern era The Chuch, only one also hears the folky simplicity of "Jane Says" for a song that is so beautiful that I felt a lump in my throat after the first few listens. However, this becomes the norm for Alone after repeated listens.
The lengthy, ending tome of "Tomorrow's Time" passes closely to the country tinged psychedelia of former labelmates The Asteroid #4, but the first 5 minutes are the bulk of the song followed by silence until the echoed noise of the last one and a half minutes.
On their new release, psychedelic rock is encapsulated and compressed from all the different revival eras into something that tends to explode outwards, expand, then contract. It's heavy, melodic, harmonic, abrasive, confrontational, never stays in the same place, but never strays into meandering or a background, which is really the essence of good psychedelic rock. It remains rock. It's exciting, different, goes in different directions, but never sounding like an aimless experiment.
As a major proponent of the three chord rock ethos, one has to move their feet and dance to call it good rock 'n' roll. There are notable deviations, but that's really it. Every now and then, something comes along that demands one to think twice. After all, if one cites bands like The Byrds, Love, VU, and a growing list of other acts that drew upon early psych and garage rock to reinterpret it, the idea grows and is no longer as cut and dry. Certain things come along that demand attention beyond the simple mindset. The new release from The Morning After Girls is not just a prime example of this, but truly phenomenal.
Alone is currently available exclusively on iTunes for the USA.
The General Public
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Moog
Razzmatazz Orfeum
Musick Recordings
You Raised A Vampire, Side B The Passion Of Lovers (Bauhaus, featuring David J) Artwork by Gris Grimly
After a long hiatus and especially since 'tis the season, there's nothing like sinking your teeth into something from Hungary, the home (He ruled what is now Romania, but was born in Hungary) of a bloodsucker that doesn't need to be named. To boot, The Moog even live up to their birthright with "You Raised A Vampire", the first single from their latest release Razzmatazz Orfeum, with the bonus of a Bauhaus cover with David J as a guest!
The Moog lie off the beaten path of garage and psych in their Cars and obviously Moog infused take on goth rock, which in its present, more encompassing form of goth music, has incorporated earlier musical styles and thus, is not really rock 'n' roll, but in its early form, goth rock was the inevitable growth off of garage (Bauhaus even covered The Strangeloves classic "Nighttime", found on Nuggets: Volume I), Velvet Underground, and the early glam of Bowie and T.Rex. On their latest release, The Moog stay close to the "rock" part. The opening track "This Is Horror" provides a heavy Moog (of course) intro that reminds me of the little known Tones On Tail classic song "Performance" with its added guitar screeches announcing something big about to happen. It switches into a more '80s dark Britpop song with a strong melody and strong vocals from lead vox Tonyo, but the melodic diversions are a bit surprising. The followup "Panic" is a bit hard to pin down. However, like many of their progenitors such as Bauhaus, the combination of melody, searing guitars, and changing beats that still keep a basic but not constant structure is a sure trademark of the post punk ethos of breaking things down and starting up again.
"You Raised A Vampire" is a take on hunger caused by deprivation. Surprisingly, it's very upbeat and strange in The Moog's own way with its simplicity and faster beat. As one quickly learns with these guys, there's a lot more to them than what one immediately senses. A fast tempo, great, simple chords that seem to speed up, and some underlying "gothiness" to lend energy to your angst. "When I See You" is an immediate reminder of Weezer's "The Sweater Song", but an awful lot more fun with lyrics like "Just want me, just need me, just say that I'm your baby, I haunt you then kill you, When I see you I go, Woohoowhooo!" If anything, you'll want to put the fun back in funeral!
"Lost Day" puts a smile on the face of every late Joy Division and early New Order fan with a bass driven melody and a clean, melodic guitar coupled with a great vocal range that communicates longing and vulnerability not unlike Peter Hook. This is definitely an album highlight. The following "Joyclad Armies" shows off some heavier chops, but The Moog's unique combinations and musical refrains tend to be uncategorizable in the rock milleu, although still engaging and unmistakably theirs. "Sphinx" even gets heavier with a dominating and neverending tribal beat that keeps one listening. "Heart and Soul" is another great listen for fans of post punk Britpop in its Smithslike isolation, but Tonyo's falsetto is both amazing and a little alarming.
As someone with a broad musical background but a strong tendency towards certain definitions of great rock 'n' roll that lie in its r & b simplicity, the occasional infusion of jingly jangly guitar and sometimes, wonderful vocal harmonies but still having a tendency towards a definition of great rock 'n' roll as music that essentially gets one to dance, move, and have fun, The Moog present a challenge to it. They have those elements, but they bring a younger voice (and definitely spirit) with later post punk, dark Britpop, and goth influences that present a picture that's a little more complex than my original focus. The Moog could do a teenage vampire movie soundtrack on their own and hook everyone in that age group in. They're young and thus, could easily be categorized somewhere in the emo camp, but a genuine listen to Razzmatazz Orfeum gives a lot more surprises than a quick and easy classification that most bands their age have and stick to. The music has its simplicity, becomes elaborate, and like great rock 'n' roll, has very little in fillers or dull moments, although they packed a lot into the album that needs an explanation from a broader background. Despite the young appeal, the approach is very firm and never boring or predictable.
The album review would not be complete without a very honorable mention to the b-side from the "You Raised A Vampire" single, a cover of the Bauhaus classic "The Passion of Lovers" with a slight melodic guitar in line with the romanticism of early Mission UK and guest David J's detached vocals thematically fit the song and its original cover of a praying mantis being devoured. In fact, it's better than the version I recently saw Peter Murphy do live. Finally, the artwork on the gold vinyl 7inch by Chris Grimly is incredible.
You Raised a Vampire
Here's a new video for "When I see You" shot in Los Angeles at The Bob Baker Puppet Theater
Razzmatazz Orfeum
Musick Recordings
You Raised A Vampire, Side B The Passion Of Lovers (Bauhaus, featuring David J) Artwork by Gris Grimly
After a long hiatus and especially since 'tis the season, there's nothing like sinking your teeth into something from Hungary, the home (He ruled what is now Romania, but was born in Hungary) of a bloodsucker that doesn't need to be named. To boot, The Moog even live up to their birthright with "You Raised A Vampire", the first single from their latest release Razzmatazz Orfeum, with the bonus of a Bauhaus cover with David J as a guest!
The Moog lie off the beaten path of garage and psych in their Cars and obviously Moog infused take on goth rock, which in its present, more encompassing form of goth music, has incorporated earlier musical styles and thus, is not really rock 'n' roll, but in its early form, goth rock was the inevitable growth off of garage (Bauhaus even covered The Strangeloves classic "Nighttime", found on Nuggets: Volume I), Velvet Underground, and the early glam of Bowie and T.Rex. On their latest release, The Moog stay close to the "rock" part. The opening track "This Is Horror" provides a heavy Moog (of course) intro that reminds me of the little known Tones On Tail classic song "Performance" with its added guitar screeches announcing something big about to happen. It switches into a more '80s dark Britpop song with a strong melody and strong vocals from lead vox Tonyo, but the melodic diversions are a bit surprising. The followup "Panic" is a bit hard to pin down. However, like many of their progenitors such as Bauhaus, the combination of melody, searing guitars, and changing beats that still keep a basic but not constant structure is a sure trademark of the post punk ethos of breaking things down and starting up again.
"You Raised A Vampire" is a take on hunger caused by deprivation. Surprisingly, it's very upbeat and strange in The Moog's own way with its simplicity and faster beat. As one quickly learns with these guys, there's a lot more to them than what one immediately senses. A fast tempo, great, simple chords that seem to speed up, and some underlying "gothiness" to lend energy to your angst. "When I See You" is an immediate reminder of Weezer's "The Sweater Song", but an awful lot more fun with lyrics like "Just want me, just need me, just say that I'm your baby, I haunt you then kill you, When I see you I go, Woohoowhooo!" If anything, you'll want to put the fun back in funeral!
"Lost Day" puts a smile on the face of every late Joy Division and early New Order fan with a bass driven melody and a clean, melodic guitar coupled with a great vocal range that communicates longing and vulnerability not unlike Peter Hook. This is definitely an album highlight. The following "Joyclad Armies" shows off some heavier chops, but The Moog's unique combinations and musical refrains tend to be uncategorizable in the rock milleu, although still engaging and unmistakably theirs. "Sphinx" even gets heavier with a dominating and neverending tribal beat that keeps one listening. "Heart and Soul" is another great listen for fans of post punk Britpop in its Smithslike isolation, but Tonyo's falsetto is both amazing and a little alarming.
As someone with a broad musical background but a strong tendency towards certain definitions of great rock 'n' roll that lie in its r & b simplicity, the occasional infusion of jingly jangly guitar and sometimes, wonderful vocal harmonies but still having a tendency towards a definition of great rock 'n' roll as music that essentially gets one to dance, move, and have fun, The Moog present a challenge to it. They have those elements, but they bring a younger voice (and definitely spirit) with later post punk, dark Britpop, and goth influences that present a picture that's a little more complex than my original focus. The Moog could do a teenage vampire movie soundtrack on their own and hook everyone in that age group in. They're young and thus, could easily be categorized somewhere in the emo camp, but a genuine listen to Razzmatazz Orfeum gives a lot more surprises than a quick and easy classification that most bands their age have and stick to. The music has its simplicity, becomes elaborate, and like great rock 'n' roll, has very little in fillers or dull moments, although they packed a lot into the album that needs an explanation from a broader background. Despite the young appeal, the approach is very firm and never boring or predictable.
The album review would not be complete without a very honorable mention to the b-side from the "You Raised A Vampire" single, a cover of the Bauhaus classic "The Passion of Lovers" with a slight melodic guitar in line with the romanticism of early Mission UK and guest David J's detached vocals thematically fit the song and its original cover of a praying mantis being devoured. In fact, it's better than the version I recently saw Peter Murphy do live. Finally, the artwork on the gold vinyl 7inch by Chris Grimly is incredible.
You Raised a Vampire
Here's a new video for "When I see You" shot in Los Angeles at The Bob Baker Puppet Theater
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