Published by Scott August 31st, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
This EP barely registers with me. It’s as if my aural pleasure receptors have been coated with teflon and the charms, or lack thereof, of Toronto’s indie-rockin’ Tokyo Police Club slide right off into the surrounding cloud of white noise. Big bouncing bass lines, wiry eighth note guitar, and the occasional screaming through a bullhorn vocals- I neither like it nor despise it. I push play and it’s just kind of there.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme. There are some details that I appreciate, like the ringing lead guitar on “Nature of the Experiment” and the handclaps and main riff on the strongest track, “Citizens of Tomorrow.” (Those handclaps had my brain working overtime tying to come up with the song that I’d heard that same effect on before- Guvner’s “Wounded Birds and Vampires Own the Edge” on their fine album, Spectral Worship.) And I swear that’s Colin Meloy singing the first verse of the otherwise Strokes-y “Cheer It On.” Still, the predominant feeling A Lesson In Crime inspires is shoulder shrugging ambivalence.
Mixtape track- Citizens of Tomorrow
Freebies- No downloads, but you can stream the entire EP at the Tokyo Police Club site.
Published by Scott August 30th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Interpol is certainly a reasonable reference point for Snowden, but that specific comparison is also shorthand for the current wave of post-punk descendants. This Atlanta four piece shoves its way into that crowd on their first full length, Anti-Anti. Featuring bottom heavy sonic noir constructions with inventive, danceable beats and wicked cool effects driven guitar, it’s an incredibly satisfying album. Kind of gives me the same feeling I get from the sound of throwing rotten peaches against the side of our rusty old tin shed- that explosive, exhilarating bang.
I’ve been playing this almost exclusively for a week now and I’m still amazed by the way singer Jordan Jeffares pulls off the incredible feat of delivering his melodic monotone in slow motion. As a kooky challenge, try singing along to “My Murmuring Darling” and you’ll see what I mean. But most of the songs are tightly wound dance punk anthems and there are a slew of keepers, including the sublime title track, the menacing “Like Bullets,” and the jittery “Counterfeit Rules.”
The more I listen to Anti-Anti, the more I like it. And I liked it a whole lot to begin with.
Mixtape tracks- Like Bullets, Anti-Anti, Filler Is Wasted, Counterfeit Rules
Freebies- You can download “Anti-Anti” and stream three others from the band’s official site. They also generously offer five-sixths of their self titled EP.
Published by James August 29th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
The challenge is trying to label this album as it is so many things at once. Dog Problems is a delightful pastiche of sounds and colors that evoke Queen, Joe Jackson, The Beatles, Tahiti 80, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, even a touch of Black Twig Pickers, and waves of Power Pop crunch. Listening is like having a crate of some of the best vinyl dumped on your head, it pulls from every direction but manages to weave together a series of songs that reflect a knack for tight compositions and even tighter playing.
The album opens quietly but quickly slips into “I’m Actual”, a breezy orchestral pop number replete with string flourishes and a swollen brass section where Nate Ruess slyly implores that “We take the next hour and talk about me”; fleshing out the track a lazy accordion riff playing off a clarinet lick that never fails to make me think of the The Quadratics. The track is a good example of the band’s compositional prowess as it is a dense arrangement that features shifting dynamics and voicings every couple of bars creating great swells of sound that roll and crash around the lead vocals.
“Time Bomb” is by far the most dynamic track on the album and my personal favorite. Opening with a blast of Freddie Mercury it soars into a sing-a-long (or shout-a-long, whichever works best for you) chorus that instantly has me acting a complete fool drawn in by the wiggling piano line and foot stomping hand clapping rhythm section. Many of the songs here do just that being driven by The Format’s blend of Chamber Pop and Power Pop with equal doses of tongue-in-cheek winks to the past–look for one to Counting Crows 1993 Mr. Jones, one of my least favorite songs ever but damn funny in this context. When they dip into more Pop territory such as “Oceans” or the anthemic ending to “If Work Permits” the band proves that they can strip things back and just layout hooks thus proving that the Atlantic is incredibly shortsighted.
Dog Problems is a captivating album and one that is easily vying for the top of my Best of 2006 list. You can listen to two tracks off the album over at MySpace or grab “Compromise” at their website. Whatever you do, sit up and take notice as this album shouldn’t be missed. You can snag it over at eMusic.
Published by Scott August 27th, 2006
in Meta-Chatter and Concert.
We went to Orange Twin today so my kids could participate in Elf Power’s video for Pancake Mountain. It was a lot of fun. I knew in advance that the band wasn’t actually going to perform live. Instead they lip synced to “Peel Back the Moon, Beware!” from their latest album, Back to the Web. Most of it took place on the little stage pictured above, but there were also scenes of the kids and band streaming out of an Air Stream trailer, riding on this three-wheeled cart type thing, and sloshing around at the swimming hole. And if you’ve never seen the show, Andrew Rieger is dressed as the character Captain Perfect.
It was funny because director/producer Scott Stuckey seemed to have a “that’s good enough” attitude and was very open to suggestions. For example, after the first take Andrew noticed that it didn’t seem right for the kids to still be rocking out for the last part of the song because it slows down considerably. So they came up with having the kids sit down and sway back and forth for the last verse and then pretend to go to sleep at the very end. I can’t wait to see how it’s all put together!
Published by Scott August 25th, 2006
in Meta-Chatter.
I’ve begun sifting through my mp3 player, culling my favorite tracks from albums and jettisoning the rest. That probably sounds like the obvious thing to do but I must admit to being somewhat of an album freak. I usually have to hear a work in its entirety so that I can appreciate the artist’s statement as a whole and listen to each song in context. Or something like that.
Lately I’ve come to the realization that I have an obscene amount of music and only twenty-four hours in a day, a significant portion of which is spent working and sleeping. I pick up a few albums each week and there is so much that only gets a cursory listen before being cast aside in favor of the next one. I’ve decided I need to pare down to select tracks so that I can enjoy a greater quantity and variety of the choice stuff I really want to hear.
Of course there are some albums that are stellar from start to finish, so I can have my cake and eat it too in those instances. I’ve left myself an out in case I fall off the wagon. So far Slanted and Enchanted, Marquee Moon, and The Modern Lovers have made the cut in their entirety. Most albums are chopped down to one to three tracks though.
My ultimate goal, the Holy Grail of this effort, is to cram my 30 GB player full of just my personal favorites so that I can press random- that’s right! I said it- and leave it all to very controlled chance. I just can’t bring myself to do it until I finish the weed out because I’m fairly certain that the first hundred or so songs would turn out to be of the ponderous ten minute quiet-builds-to-a-roar post-rock variety. And that wouldn’t be much fun.
Okay, so maybe you can bump the descriptor from that phrase, “album freak.”
Published by Scott August 24th, 2006
in Free Tracks, Album, Review and 2006.
I’ve read some very nice things about Zeno Beach, the first new album by Radio Birdman in almost thirty years. “The punk legends from down under go above and beyond your typical reunion album,” spouts Jack Rabid in the eMusic review. AMG proclaims, “Simply put, Zeno Beach is better, far better, than anyone had the right to expect.” Being familiar with their classic 1978 album, Radios Appear, and intrigued by such enthusiastic reviews, I didn’t hesitate to download the new one when it showed up on eMusic the other day.
I’m a little sorry to say that I can’t join in with the others to heap more praise on this belated effort. I want to believe but my honest assessment is that it’s nothing more than a decent album. Oh sure, the Birdmen sound inspired and offer up a solid hard rock platter. The guitar tandem of Deniz Tek and Chris Masuak churn out tasty riffs and blazing solos and Rob Younger’s vocals in particular are a highlight, expertly conveying a host of moods, from rawk sleaze to bitter regret to earnest longing. The problem is there’s just not much that sticks or demands to be heard repeatedly. The bright moments are countered by long stretches of generic dullness. To be perfectly blunt, if Zeno Beach were put out by an unknown band instead of one revered for its brief but scintillating past, it’s unlikely that it would show up as more than a tiny blip on the rock and roll radar of 2006.
Mixtape track- “Subterfuge”
Freebies- “You Just Make It Worse” at the Yep Roc site.
Published by Scott August 23rd, 2006
in Meta-Chatter.
As I mentioned in the comments section the other day, The Day Jobs posted that Elf Power will be filming their appearance for an upcoming episode of Pancake Mountain this weekend at the Orange Twin Conservation Community in Athens. I sent the band a message asking for more info and quickly got a response:
Hey
bring those spastic dancing fools on out!…we’re going to start filming at 3pm so get there around 230 if you can….andrew
—————– Original Message —————–
From: Scott
Date: Aug 21, 2006 4:40 PM
Hi Elf Power!
Could you please give me some more information about the upcoming Pancake Mountain taping at Orange Twin? We don’t actually live in Athens but we’re close by and love both Elf Power and Pancake Mountain. I have 7 year old twin boys (w/red hair - orange twins!) and a 2 year old daughter. They are spastic dancing fools! I’ve been out there for the last two Orange Twin fests so I know where to go.
Thanks,
Scott
Looks like we’ll be checking out an Elf Power Dance Party! We’re definitely excited. I have no idea what they’re going to play but I had the kids “dancing” to select EP tunes last night.
