Straight out of their rousing sets at SXSW, The Cocktail Slippers release their second effort on Wicked Cool Records, but it's anything but sophomoric. Admittedly, there's no shortage of great garage acts from Scandinavia, but St. Valentine's Day Massacre hits a few different chords. "Sentenced to Love" is a tight song with cool keys and a strong beat, but there's something more with the girl group harmonies and the the vocal stretches of "aye yaye yayes" more well known of male vocalists make it a lot of fun. "You Do Run" has a catchy chorus that you can't help thinking of "Da Doo Run Run", but that was probably intentional. It's a straighter song, but again oh, those great harmonies and impressively tight rock beat. The title track "St. Valentine's Day Massacre' sounds better the second time around within the larger context of a full length album and has a groovy organ throughout. The rock guard comes down on songs like "Don't Ever Leave Me" and "I Got A Crush On You, both sweet, full on '60s girl group homages with all the vulnerability of an original, but definitely cooler with some melodic guitars and vintage organ.
"Anything You Want" is probably the best description of The Cocktail Slippers overall sound: A tight, garage rock band with an affinity of 60's girl group pop. Although one could say that combining both is a standard for modern garage rock, other bands have not really embraced the girl group ethos like they do. Instead, other acts that are all or mostly female play rock 'n' roll or garage rock with a female lead or take a more assertive, rock 'n' roll approach. Therefore, The Cocktail Slippers take is pretty refreshing. A standout on the album is "Round and Round" with a mixture of Pat Benatar's energy from some of her earlier work mixed with, you guessed, vocal harmonies.
Although there are countless excellent all female rock and garage acts out there that might rock harder or have deeper soul roots, The Cocktail Slippers might have a leg up in breaking into the mainstream with their girl group derived songs. However, they still rock. Every song on St. Valentine's Day Massacre is proof of that. The songs not only rock, but they're really good. The mix of simpler pop songs with a stronger beat and a really tight sound are pretty unique. Although many are going to fall either more towards the rock side while others might lean towards the pop song side, a lot of people will be happier in the overall cohesiveness of having both. Even the simplicity of the final track "Heard You Got A Thing For Me" with it's simple vocal pop and "Leader Of The Pack" sensibility cuts into a deeper, less pop oriented keyboard solo that's more '60s rock.
Many of you are familiar with "The Medway Sound", but let me just start off by saying that Medway is a conglomeration of a bunch of towns in Kent that eventually merged as a result of population growth and sprawl. Oh, what a beautiful name to call it! The conumeration is named after the River Medway, which had a long standing reputation as a waterway for factory runoff until it's cleanup in the last few decades. To call music "The Medway Sound" is ignorant. It would be like combining Manchester and Liverpool into one general area. In fact, those two towns are 35 miles apart from each other, which is less than the distance from Canterbury to Chatham, both of which are considered part of Medway. Geography lesson aside, as much as many Americans need it, Medway rocks. From The Pretty Things to Mickey and The Milkshakes and beyond. The "sound"? NME calls it "music should be immediate." Not much to go on there. One could just say that the bands that are considered to be "The Medway Sound" make garage rock that's equally r & b as it is punk with a raw, freakbeat delivery. A somewhat silent genius of Medway is Graham Day, formerly of The Mighty Caesars, The Prisoners, The Solar Flares, as well as producer for The Len Price 3 and Jarvis Humby. His recent project is Graham Day & The Gaolers with Woggles and Bongolian member Dan Elektro as well as a revolving bass lineup including fellow Woggles axeman Buzz Hagstrom and former Buff Medways Johny Barker. Their new offering Triple Distillled is a collection of agressive rawness and perfect harmonies that leaves one wondering why they haven't heard them.
Although many of us occasionally lament being older, the opening "Glad I'm Not Young" is garage punk fury that both bludgeons the ears and strikes a good chord with "I don't have to identify with anything". Besides, Dan Elektro's drumming is furious and pounding throughout. Another tune for identification is the great vocal harmony backed up "A Better Man" that confronts the conundrum that men have about being complimentary or being honest with "If you're talking shit, then I'll agree." Other notables not only the sitar flecked, persuasive invitation "Pass That Whiskey", but also the catchy, organ infused "Begging You", which is one of the few times any of us will seriously consider singing along to a song with the words "My baby". There's also the apt opening "I"m standing in the rain and I'm really pissed off" on the hard hitting "I Wanna Smoke", one of the louder tracks on an overall collection of superbly loud tracks that could easily be an anthem. Another notable is "Something About You Girl", but we'll take a pause on so we don't give away its secret. With all the work Graham Day has done, the most polite way of telling people not to ask for him to play 'hits' with the slightly jangly, Rolling Stones "Monkey Man" hinted "Just A Song".
Like its title, the sound of Graham Day & The Gaolers can best be summarized as Triple Distilled. That can be exemplified in "If There's One Thing I Can Do" with Graham's smooth vocals and infectious choruses, chunky, raw guitar chords, Dan's drumming, which sounds more like a driving force that punctuates frequently instead of just providing a beat, and Johny's high noted and quite noticable bass. Although Triple Distilled has nothing less than every single song being great, other standouts include the slightly dark surf sound of "Lost Without My Dignity" and the common sense but searing volume of "Go To Sleep", a strong suggestion of exactly what you should do at some point after going out (instead of loitering around at parties).
There's no shortage of well known talent engaging in side projects to fill in the time inbetween their better known bands, but Graham Day & The Gaolers are a fulfillment of so many of our wishes since not only is Graham a legendary talent who's created something with his new band as another outlet to make an important contribution to garage rock, but for Woggles fans, it gives them another slice of perfection to enjoy before the next Woggles album. Additionally, Dan's work on Triple Distilled is so up front that it will give many who already love The Woggles a greater appreciation for his talent.
Damaged Goods Records does not have a USA distribution yet. However, Triple Distilled is more than worth the extra pounds (dollars) layed down. Don't let this one pass you by or you're really going to miss out on a possible favorite new band. Graham Day & The Gaolers are touring Europe this May. We'll also have to work on getting this raw, trashy but melodic garage rock supergroup to broaden their live potential.
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 Goodnight Oslo Yep Roc Records
Robyn Hitchcock is a walking contradiction. He's a channel of psychedelic weirdness with bits of Erickson, Barrett, and even Lennon, but his music always seemed to rock a little harder and go to more places. Lyrically, one might call him an evolutionary mystic with his songs about everything from bees to prawns as allusions to the human condition, but other songs of his are blatantly forward like "Uncorrected Personality Traits." In over 20 albums, Robyn is the King of Weird while simultaneously emotionally stable. That of itself is a rock 'n' roll contradiction. On his third release with friends The Venus 3, the slight CCR feel of the opening "What You Is" is a little shocking for such a grammatically correct guy. He gives us the moral with "It doesn't matter what you is, it's what you are." And if you miss the bees, "Is Your Head Here?" offers a few along with tentacles and various surprises. Singing "Bop bop" hasn't been heard in a while, but the slightly distorted "Saturday Groover" is a result of Beach Boys harmonies and "Day Tripper". With added guitar distortion and horns, let's just say it grooves in many ways.
"I'm Falling" takes on territory familiar to Robyn Hitchcock fans in its emotional tone in losing one's self when falling in love and all the the doubt and difference that lies within, but has an almost gospel fervor in both the chorus "Take it away" and the vocal refrains. Goodnight Oslo flirts with country and slide guitar on "Hurry For The Sky" with success that sounds vintage. "Sixteen Years" follows up backstepping in sound with a harmonica as well as "Sixteen years and all I got was high", but also is a slight departure to his Dylan influences and earlier since it's a sad, bluesy track. Simultaneously, Peter Buck's jangling guitar is conspicuous throught to add some welcome complexity. This mood become uplifted with "Up To Our Nex", which is bright with horns and strings. Musically, there are a lot of sounds that one tries to pick out that somehow combine in a great harmony such as banjos and various strings, but builds into a heavier rock song with guitar and Bill Rieflin's sharp drumming. In some way, maybe Robyn's long exile as a folky, wise troubadour resulted in putting a lot more instrumentation on his recordings.
If one's familiar with Gertrude Stein's statement "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle", "Intricate Thing" brings up those contradictions pretty well. Instead of love needed, it's an "intricate thing" with "all kinds of needs that you don't know you're needing" to "little drops of blood that you don't know you're bleeding." The opening sounds a little shallow, but it really delves in to everything behind an intimate relationship that and results in one of the most truthful and obvious songs about love without being a love song. The ending title track is simply a thing to behold. I never thought I'd talk about cellos and rock 'n' roll at the same time, but it's use on "Goodnight Oslo" is an effective draw that pulls one into the song from the very beginning. Additionally, one can't help but appreciate "I've got special powers that render me invisible to everyone buy you." Despite the deeper, moody feel of this track, the cello duplicates the human voice so much that it's naturally good to hear, but the string arrangements meld themselves in high volume with even louder guitars that communicate well the last statement "They're waiting for the dark that never comes."
Instead of walking the familiar tightrope that many of his influences have between genius and insanity, Robyn Hitchcock occupies a more solid space of the odd lyricist with more to say than most of us could fill in our heads that's either flecked with animal and psychedelic overtones or blunt directness. He once summed it up in saying that like everyone else, he wonders about the human condition and is just as afraid of the outcome as the rest of us. As a result, his version of pop both musically and lyrically embody the human condition in all its foils and triumphs. Likewise, the human condition cannot be simplified. As a result, Robyn Hitchock's music isn't, either. It's great to hear him once again with a band that somehow fits his vision. Peter Buck, Bill Rieflin, and Scott McGaughey as The Venus 3 are all stellar performers that envelope Robyn's ideas and visions in a way that compliments but never stays in the back. It's great to hear him with a great band again.
Tour Dates:
FR 04.03.09 - Austin, TX SA 04.04.09 - Dallas, TX MO 04.06.09 - Nashville, TN TU 04.07.09 - Atlanta, GA WE 04.08.09 - Carrboro, NC TH 04.09.09 - Washington, DC FR 04.10.09 - Philadelphia, PA
Although Psych Ward was released in Europe a almost a year ago on Germany's Screaming Apple Records, this release that has garnered so much praise both far and wide overseas is out on Wicked Cool Records and easily available in The States. Recorded at legendary Circo Perrotti Studios in Gijon, Spain by Jorge Explosion, who recorded Pittsburgh legends The Cynics latest offering Here We Are as well as releases from Billy Childish, Los Immediatos, and The Dee Rangers to name a few, Psych Ward is almost a purist's delight of '60s garage punk. Fuzz, psychedelic Farfisa, zombie howls, harmony vocals, you name it, it's here. In fact, Us Americans are now kind of late in our discovery of The Urges and their debut Psych Ward. Reviews from all over have hailed them as mistaken for a '60s garage punk band, leaders of the new generation of psych/punk, to the missing link between '60s garage punk and '80s Paisley Underground. Then again, that last reference is over two decades old. Since then, garage rock, garage punk, and many psych tinged manifestations on it have emerged with bands that are both backwards in their influences but forwards in their sound. However, The Urges sound like all of those things combined and fans leaning towards every angle are going to pick up on it.
The opening "Jenny Jenny" is a raw '60s Brit Beat number with lyrics that bear an eerie resemblance to "If I Ain't Got You" by The Len Price 3 - "Without you I'm just a ghost of myself" although with a bit more of a louder garage rock twang. However, theirs came out well before The Len Price 3. One might pick up traces of The Chocolate Watchband or The 13th Floor Elevators on "I Gotta Wait," but there are simultaneous traces of raw guitar much like early Stones and The Downliners Sect. The following track "You Don't Look So Good" lines up well next to The Wheels but adds more fuzz guitar, a stronger beat, and great harmonies. The Urges manage to break out some great surf guitar and a pretty strong Chesterfield Kings style farfisa melody, but the overall feels is still older and louder. "You're Gonna Find Out" is a tripped out mix of The Remains and even a touch of early Cynics. This sounds like an awful lot of "sound like" to stomach, but if you take parts of all of your favorite bands and put them together into one, The Urges could be it. "The 13th Floor" could be mistaken for a '60s garage psych classic, but somehow it's also a deeper rock lament that's both psychedelic but without some of the forgettable experimentation of early garage psych. One could guess that this what it sounds like when a garage punk tries something psychedelic. It's more urgent, compact, louder, and much more focused. "Salvaje" is a fuzzed out stomp that unmistakably could be The Mummies and throws in some great, ghouly Cramps laughs. Among the more straightforward songs is "So Uptight," which sounds a little too much like "Stepping Stone," only much better. "The Urges Theme" is a muted reverb, dark, surfy, echo laden song with some truly impressive tremolo and building beats.
I'm finding it really hard not to talk about every song on Psych Ward. Every song is packed with something great. One might hear The Seeds influence on "Out of Time" while others will hear traces of Mickey & The Milkshakes and The Electric Prunes. That's actually a fine example. Take your pick of something really good and you'll hear some of it, no matter what decade of the garage spectrum you lean towards. "Curse It All" is an all out surf romp that seems to cross territory into fast paced Irish pub and Russian drinking music. The guitar is fast and all out impressive, and the beat holds time with it just as frenetically. The last track is "Psych Ward." It's just as impressive as the rest, but heavier on the Electric Prunes styled delerium and the only "psychedelic" studio effect on the whole album thrown in at the end.
One could look at The UrgesPsych Ward in two different ways. Before I start on the negative, I need to use the disclaimer that those who can do music do it, but those who don't succeed critique. One can easily narrow The Urges as a band who listened to their parents' record collection and all volumes of Nuggets religiously and studied them to come out with a sound that has all those influences without allegiance to a single one. As a result, It's great music, although not original. I beg to differ. As I've said before, don't listen to rock 'n' roll if you want to hear something original. It's rock 'n' roll! It's basic. Guitar, bass, and drums. The real truth is that great rock 'n' roll never gets old. If one combines great parts of 60's garage rock, garage psych, garage punk, zombie films, surf music, Paisley Underground, and everything else that's been out afterwards that's worthy of one or more of those labels and is good, it would sound like The Urges, but it's definitely original. Psych Ward has the fuzz of garage, the faster, sharper guitar of surf, the psych garage of Farfisa, but the youth, focus, and volume of garage punk. '60s garage purists, mod music fans, surf afficionados, psych rockers who want some good vocal harmony or melodic embellishment on guitar, and garage punks who want to hear loud wails and basic chords will hear ALL of those things in each song. In the end, you'll hear at least one thing you like in every single song; one thing that reminds you of another band that you really, really like, but different from them at the same time. This band sounds both like seasoned '60s garage staples AND loud, snotty punks with attitude. According to their bios, they had little to no musical experience. After listening to Psych Ward, one would find that really hard to believe. It's that fucking good.
Pysch Ward is essential garage rock perfection. Nothing else. In fact, the best way to appreciate it is with the the package deal of vinyl with the full length cd + bonus tracks for only $15. You can't beat that. Among them is "Don't Lead Me On", a slow tempo song that's full of guitar exchanges from Glen and Gary that range from almost delicate psychedelia to loud surf, intense vocal melodies, and Ross's bass that keeps the tune more deeply. It's a damn good vibe, but what's most noticable is the kind of airy sound that either has a vintage analog tape hiss or just the sound of a big room with a lot of empty space. It's pretty special. The other extra track is "Around and Around," a tune with a splendid garage punk beat, plenty of vox guitar sounds, and a little bit of fuzz to send it on. Since every track on the original release is great beyond belief, the extra tracks are essential. There's no slip ups or filler to be found with The Urges. These guys are the real thing.
SXSW Appearances
The Urges are putting down roots in Austin, Texas for a full seven days next week. There are plenty of opportunities to catch one of today's best rock 'n' roll acts. You should see them at least twice. You don't have any excuses.
Mar 16 2009 8:00p.m. Hole In The Wall w/Black Nite Crash & Lower Heaven Austin, Texas Mar 17 2009 8:00p.m. The Red Scoot Inn w/ Choo Choo and Teen Sensations Austin, Texas Mar 18 2009 4:00p.m. Sonny’s Vintage w/The Hall Monitors, The She Creatures, Broadfield Marchers, and friends Austin, Texas Mar 19 2009 1:00p.m. Blue Velvet Vintage Day Party Austin, Texas Mar 20 2009 1:00p.m. SXSW Antones - LSUG/Wicked Cool showcase Austin, Texas Mar 20 2009 3:00p.m SXSW - BD Riley’s (Full Irish Breakfast) Austin, Texas Mar 20 2009 8:00p.m SXSW Red Eyed Fly - LSUG/Wicked Cool showcase Austin, Texas Mar 21 2009 6:00p.m. Spider House Café w/The Higher State & The Woggles etc Austin, Texas Mar 22 2009 8:00p.m. The Fuzz Club w/The Cynics & The Higher State Austin, Texas
Budapest's The Moog are the newest teen sensation out of Hungary. Well, the only teen sensation out of Hungary, for that matter. Short, sweet songs created out of early punk, synthy new wave, and a little indie rock become popular music that's still good music. "Your Sweet Neck" is about as current as one can be with it's vampire theme, so it's no wonder that goth kids are among their growing legions of fans, despite that it's a catchy, Cars like synth tune that's beat and hooks are about as far beyond the self indulgent themes and slower tempos of most goth rock, but maybe the appeal is Tonyo's seductive, low voice. "Everybody Wants" is a little '80s and a little modern indie with clever guitar hooks and a catchy chorus that causes one to envision Sold For Tomorrow as beginning to take root among the disaffected high school youth that still value art and literature. Definitely a thing for the geeks! The teenage angst bend to a lot of Sold For Tomorrow is temporarily shed on the super clap and say "yeah" along song "I Don't Want You Now", and it's probably the 'funnest' song on the release. Was that a Moog at the end?
The first single off the album, "I Like You" is catchy, but seems to aim more for young romance or better stated, obsession with its repetitive chorus, but the refrain "I do not know what I should do" adds a little more character and has some well filled drumming from Gergo that gives it some added depth that will cause a better listen. "If I Died" definitely has a Moog and gives the song a straight out of '80s American new wave bend, but with lyrics "Oh, and there's nothing left for me to live or die for, so I think I lock every door behind me and throw away the keys 'cause it would not impress me" speaks volumes for their appeal to the doom and gloom". Wait, the chorus of "If I loved, if I cried, if I died" is really fun! I guess one could say the appeal of The Moog is that the music is fun, early new wave and punk based, but the juxtaposition of gloomy and/or teenage angst expands their appeal. I'm wondering how the brooding, black dressed crowd will deal with a live show with so many people smiling, pogoing and singing along? Another standout is "Survive". It's got a fast, near hardcore punk beat that suits it's theme of telling some sad (probably goth girl, again) to stop blaming others and pay attention to their own actions.
A particular appeal of Sold For Tomorrow is that it has both a musical depth and simultaneous simplicity. "Xanax Youth" is a great example of that. Drums and Csabi's bass have a clarity and wholeness, but Adi adds guitar that is both melodic and slightly hooked while also relying on a chord progression that channels early Joy Division. The lyrics? Imagery that's straight out of the book of The Cure, but instead of taking their route of abandoning sharper hooks for somber but good melodies, the song has a really good buildup and eventual climax of drums and feedback which only serves to summarize that The Moog is a rock 'n' roll band that's harder to place. The bonus song "Hit Song" empasizes The Moog's contradictions further as a song of longing but acceptance of a breakup, only it sounds so happy it's beat!
Being not so easily categorized can either be a blessing or a curse. Too often, music fans put their tastes in a pidgeonhole by taking a narrow view of it and only putting bands in that narrow, little space. In truth, great bands have musical connections who are in turn also great, but not necessarily in the same way. If one loves great rock 'n' roll, then they see those connections, although they don't necessarily have to love them. Are The Byrds a garage rock band? No. Are The Sonics a psych/garage band? No. However, many of us share an interest for bands that fall under both influences. How is surf music with it's emphasis on notes instead of straight chords related to garage rock? Musically, one could say it isn't. Therein lies the appeal of The Moog. They're a lot of fun musically. Great beats, catchy hooks, the occasional Moog itself finds its way in and gives the music a quirky, new wave feel at times. The other side is lyrically, they're kind of goth with darker themes, heavy imagery, and plenty of teenage angst. Their influences lean just as heavily on The Ramones as they do to bands from Manchester, UK in the early '80s and the following Batcave crowd which spawned the goth scene. These oppositions are sharp, but The Moog have taken them to create something entirely new that sounds familiar without sounding too much like anyone, so they fit perfectly in with what so many of us seek when we hear new music. We want somthing that has a past in great bands, but we appreciate it more when it still is original. Otherwise, we'd be listening to the same thing. If one's in the latter category, then one's too old for rock 'n' roll.
"Everybody Wants"
"I Don't Want You Now"
SXSW Appearances
Mar 19 2009 4:00p.m. Unofficial SXSW free day show Blue Velvet Vintage Clothing 217 W North Loop Blvd 78751 Mar 19 2009 8:00p.m. SXSW Mar 20 2009 8:30p.m. SXSW Official show Club 115 115 San Jacinto 78701
Muck and The Mires UPCOMING RELEASE: IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESS TIME Hypnotic Dirty Water Records
Muck and The Mires gave us a little teaser last year for their upcoming Kim Fowley produced release, Hypnotic. The long wait will finally end on April 9th. It's been too long! The opening "Doreen" somehow sounds much better now. Drummer Jessie Best kicks up a sweet, loud beat while Evan "Muck" Shore throws in superb, unadelterated chords on his Muckenbacker while gravelling jubilantly. Throw in some tasty little high and low riffs from Brian Mire, a few handclaps, John Quincy Mire's groovy bass and solo time, and you're in rock 'n' roll high school were it's all about girls and fun. Great start, isn't it? "Treat Her Right" is a little alien at first with it's country tone, but it grows on you after a while. "I'd Do It Over Again" takes a '60s surf/spy approach with a slower beat that brings to mind wet, warm nights and hot rods.
Later tracks like "Hang All Over Me" cements in Muck and The Mires signature vintage sound of early '60s Hamburg with two raw guitars and a basic rock 'n' roll approach that echoes the celebratory revolution of rock 'n' roll in those days; a time when The Beatles thrived on playing nasty tunes live every night and the newly shorned Monks made the town their own monastery by squeezing in faster beats and an organ, thereby perfecting The Hamburg Sound. In fact, "Hang All Over Me" has the group singing in unison a nice organ in it! A great track is the Kinks influenced "Crush on Me", which has smoother vocals and a melody reminiscent of "Tired Of Waiting" that builds, moves, and will shake anyone as well as any structures within earshot. "That Poor Little Girl" still sounds fresh and new, but "Hypnotic" takes on a new identity in its second run. It somehow sounds a little louder and definitely persuasive with its Harrison-like plucks and two chords for a melody. "Hamburg Time" is a loud homage to the previously mentioned birthplaces of loud rock 'n' roll that will leave everyone else wanting to set their clocks to "Hamburg Time," but "Mata Hari" throws The Rat Pack out of the tiki bar to replace them with some British Invasion and a slinky sitar. It's rock 'n' roll that brings to mind wild nights among tiki torches and hula dancers in celebration of the ended day's wave riding. The British Invasion models and shapes the sound of many acts today, but Muck and The Mires make it a lot more special by reviving The Hamburg Scene when the bands that played were a lot rougher and more fun than their later incarnations and subsequent counterparts.
Kim Fowley declared "Cocoa Beach" to be a big hit for the Summer of '08 when he went into the studio with them a while back. It's got a great ocean rhythm, beach music harmonies, and some astounding drumming, but whether it's by heritage or the age demographic of Florida, my image and memories bring up visiting Aunt Sadie and Uncle Morty in Boca more than a hot vacation. Although "lying on the beach all day" would be ideal, many who visit end up playing a lot more shuffleboard. I can't fault anyone for that, though. In fact, I need to get down there if Cocoa Beach is as groovy as Muck tells us. The closing track "Gone, Gone, Gone" is a standout with feedback and volume. It's a good ending by kicking things up just a little.
Fowley had a vision of recording Muck and The Mires in the style or feel of With The Beatles. Although The Beatles are so familiar that everyone likes them, but a large portion amonth them lack the ability to hear great new music, so they've dissected, overanalyzed, and written endless, over repeated tomes on their genius to the point where we all know about it and have been furiously shaking off the weight of The Beatles for a good part of our lives, if one listens to a song like "I Saw Her Standing There" and rediscovers the rock 'n' roll simplicity of it in the catchy lyrics, the happy beat, the elated tone in the screams, and the eventual realization that it still has what we all are looking for: Simple, fun rock 'n' roll, then go farther back and dig "The Hamburg Sound" with The Monks, one could only conclude that Hypnotic is the answer to our modern dilemnas of politics and the economy. We've got fun, loud rock 'n' roll that's not complicated or overdone. Things have been pretty tough for everyone lately. It's time to get out there, go to a show, and shake, rattle, roll, and shimmy one's self back to into a time when things were fun and the world carried a lot of hope and promise. Not only can Hypnotic take us there, but it reminds us that like back then, things are changing all around us and while we remain apprehensive about the future, the world is opening up again, which is exactly what one feels when they discover rock 'n' roll. It's time to have some fun!
"Hamburg Time"
"Crush on Me"
Both videos courtesy of rfgenerator-March 6, 2009 from Vincent's Bar in Worcester, MA.
SXSW Appearances
Mar 20 2009 11:00p.m. With THE NEW YORK DOLLS 504 Trinity St. 78701
The Parties are a mod band that plays two 12-string electric guitars. That's the best description. Not psychedelic, not mod, not Byrds influenced. All of the above. They call it Maximum Jangle. What one finds on their debut Can't Come Down is a lot of songs all built around their sound that do, in fact, touch on late '60s garage, mod, early psych, '60s LA folk rock, The Paisley Undergound, and modern psych with older twists. Although that covers a lot of musical territory, one notices the most that their sound is their own with a combination of eras and influences led by vocal/12-string, left handed Vox Phantom wizard Jeremy Powers. "Love For Sale" floats like an '80s psych anthem, complete with an effect laden intro, almost choral opening vocals, a deep, melodic bass from Rex Paddyhag, a catchy guitar melody intro, and definitely 'trippy' guitar to compliment the melody that send it into melodic psychedelia, although with plenty of feedback. It hooks and pulls one right in. Tripped out, raw guitar, psychedelic pop much like not only modern influences like The Asteroid #4 and The High Dials, but also nods to The Rain Parade and The Church. Then the higher harmonic pitch of the refrain "She did it again" sends one into The Stratosphere. "Breaking Hearts" leans towards a more basic approach, but the jangle has a lot more feedback than the classic Rickenbacker 'tinny' sound. It's got this early Who sense of rawness and the occasional Keith Moonish drumrolls from John Morgan, but instead of Maximum R & B, we get Maximum Jangle! "Cold Life" has a more "classic" 12-string Rick sound, but the song introduces us to guitarist Sarah Mehlfield, who's Velvet(y) Underground tone combines with LA folk and Burt Bacharach coolness to create a fully electrified folk experience (Sarah has since departed). "Yours and Mine" probably comes the closest to classic jingle jangle in tempo, but it also has a great, live sound with a tambourine taking a central role. The title track takes an echoed, smooth approach with a full sound air that feels like a late, inebriated evening where the music fills the room like The Mama's & The Papa's if they had mixed sweet harmonies with a lot more guitar and "All Tomorrow's Parties".
After deeper, introspective tones, "Radio" is a more chord driven psych number which provide an upbeat, rock lift that's accentuated with a good amount of fuzz and still retains a '60s innocence and simplicity. The select number of people that I've turned on to The Parties were turned on by "Velvet Love Affair," which has a slight '60s country rock/folk tinge that reminds one of The Stone Pony's interpretation of Mike Nesmith's a different drum. Although all the tracks on Can't Come Down move around a dual 12-string sound, "Waterfall" goes into '80s Paisly Underground interspersed with the louder, mod revival powerpop. One sees one of the forumulas in The Parties of airy psychedelic melodies twisted with feedback, fuzz, and even folk. These seem to come together in "Gotta Get Out", a slow, modish song that would have been at home on Quadrophenia, especially with the words "I've got my head in the clouds, all for the chance of impressing a girl" that could only make one think of Jimmy's identity crisis "Cut My Hair".
With the mix of feebacked early psych and folk rock played as more lush, layered but still fuzzed out songs on most of "Can't Come Down", the title track comes as a little bit of a shock as a full jangly powerpop song that although it's my favorite track, it's definitely a standout compared to most of the album. What's even more shocking is the slide guitar intro of the ending "Much Better", but this one somehow just puts a lump in one's throat with Everly Brothers like harmonies. Additionally, it's a chord based rock song that somehow combines a faster melody with a slower but groovy rhythm over it. It's another song that makes one stop and marvel at how special The Parties are.
The Parties make jangly psych rock that's too fuzzy to be powerpop, but there's a range of musical styles from airy psychedelic, electric folk, and jangly fuzz that might leave most listeners unsure of what to call them. Truthfully, a great band either does the same thing over and over and does it brilliantly every time, or they challenge themselves and their fans by using their own, original sound to take bigger jumps from without transforming into something less exciting than they were. The latter can be said about The Parties. Every song has strong points, whether it's in a deep, folky simplicity, trippy electric psych, or just rock 'n' roll with a maximum jangle, The Parties have their own voice that lies in their sound. Once one hears a few tracks, they'll recognize the remaining tracks as distinctive and sounding more like The Parties, a band that invented Maximum Jangle!
"Gotta Get Out"
SXSW Appearances
Mar 21 2009 3:00p.m. The International Psychout! SXSW Day Party Austin, Texas Mar 21 2009 8:00p.m. SXSW Showcase - B. D. Riley’s Irish Pub Austin, Texas
