No Eyed Bird

Teenage brothers Jordan and Jamie make up this alt-rock duo, Future Future from New Jersey. This EP release by the same name combines Jordan’s vocals and production with Jamie’s drumming, and it embodies the attention to the noisy melodic elements and embracing of electronics that characterize 2000s alternative rock. Somehow, this stuff reminds me of Muse (if the band decided to go with a noisier, faster sound). Track 1 “Television Glow” is characterized by danceable drumbeats and Jordan’s powerful vocals. Another notable track “My Machine” with a more electro take on alt rock. In all, the EP feels pretty short, but it’s just about the right length for these high energy rock songs. Future Future is out May 8, 2009, and is available on the duo’s MySpace.

Forget what you think you know about electronic music and enjoy something different and refreshing yet freakishly familiar. The Dino Soars offers laid back hip hop beats alongside some sugary dance tracks inspired by the hot days of disco where music wasn’t held back by genres or being typecast as ‘electronic’ ‘indie’ and therefore limited to a esoteric musical audience. For Stegosaurus Rex, every listener is equal and he offers audible appetizers in this, his first of many albums to come. Instead of releasing 4 individual EP albums, this mega CD compiles and mixes them all into something almost random at times, with wild mood swings and gentle downtime.

Listen closely to his single on the album, track #13 “Nowhere To Run” and you may notice similarities to Ladytron’s “Seventeen”, but scarier still is its connection to Crystal Castles and their track “Crimewave“. While the self-titled Crystal Castles album was released one month earlier than The Dino Soars, the single “Nowhere to Run” had been out 2 years earlier as a single. Whether or not they took any influence from the track is inconsequential in the end because the two bands are obviously contemporaries with roots following back to Ladytron, Miss Kitten, and likely Kraftwerk. When asked of the similarities between the tracks however, Steg Rex comments, “I didn’t know who Crystal Castles was 2 years ago when they friended me on Myspace, after I had released the Nowhere To Run Single.” So it is possible that Stegosaurus Rex inspires bands like Crystal Castles. Either way, each band shoots off into different directions as Rex moves into the French inspired disco house realm with amazing cuts like “Fleeting Disco Do” and “Polar”. One of my personal favorites is “Mike Myers”, inspired by Michael Myers Halloween series, its IDM leanings have me respecting Steg Rex’s wide array of musical taste. Check out the video for Nowhere to Run on Youtube.

-johnny darko

Sorry, there is no sax as the cover art alludes, but plenty o’ speedy tempo, guitar sliding NO WAVE action by this Vancouver BC trio. A-tonally amped, shouting, gorilla style drum spasmatics. The vocals are rhythmically in tune with the drums and other parts of the song rather than offering and steady melody. Check out the included liner notes for you fill typewriter typo lyrics about guns, knives and snakes on one side, and a barrage of band live show posters on the other. During the last few years Shearing Pinx have shared the stage with Gay Beast, Animal, Twin, Lightning Bolt, Health, and Leviathans to name a few. They have an upcoming tour in April of 2008 with headliners AIDS Wolf. Overall, the Pinx sound is anti dance pop music for people who still wanna dance. Powerful screams quickly become trippy instrumentals as side A ends, with side B picking off right in the middle where they leave off. Some howling guitars, play tone plucking, silly slides sonically sweet stuff from Erin Ward (guitar), Jeremy Van Wyck (drums), Nic Hughes (vox/guitar), and Nic’s own label, Isolated Now Waves.

-johnny darko

Beautiful Baltimore instrumental duo of Nathan Bell of Lungfish and Arbouretum’s David Heumann. Drifts out and outer into subconscious subspace, 10 strokes above par. Recorded in Kentucky, these men of rock envision a dustbowl full of baritone and orbital spirit guitars, the bowed banjo, and amplified kalimba. If that’s not enough for your tripp into oblivion then your momma taught you wrong, and listen for the sexy trumpet smattered all over the B-side cut Ephaphatha. Themes of flooded spaces with secret hide outs and endless network of sprawling wires like rays of the sun, Human Bell takes elements of Godspeed You Black Emperor and strips them down to the soul. Much like them, it may be difficult to remember much of the melody after even multiple spins, however like their theme, they aim isn’t set to stun. Moody and morose, most build-ups perish as they build, quite opposite of powerfully moving music. Could very well be a good theme to a slow escape, or a lukewarm flood lifting you out of your seat and into the ocean ever so gently, and then leaving you there to float away. Like the best moments in life, enjoyable during the ride, but lost forever after the moment is gone.

-johnny darko

From the word “pomegranate” came the word “grenade” for the explosive weapon, because the pockets of shrapnel reminded soldiers of the seeds on the fruit, that would one day be plucked away from the core (or be expelled by the weapon). Pomegranates lives up to its namesake to bring together both sweet and explosive music in their CD Everything Is Alive, incorporating elements of rock music that have made its influences great. Poppy and catchy, the melodies from this indie rock release will stick inside your head. Retro sounding guitars, classic drumming, and powerful vocal performances make up the release.

Some standouts include track 4 “Late Night Television” which rivals songs by The Ramones in power and melodic content. Track 6 “Appreciations” includes a vocal presentation that reminds me of Mick Jagger (although with a much better touch of dynamics). The next track “Desert Hymn” slows the release down for a bit of introspective musing on Jesus. Track 10 “Honey Moon Pie” cleverly marries together power-pop with disco, bringing the music close to the realm of avant-pop. Last but not least, track 2 “In The Kitchen” is an exposition of charming lyrics and beautiful rock arrangements.

This release is for fans of The Owls, Silversun Pickups, Call And Response, as well as Ghostly International. Just like a grenade, such a small package brings so much power.

The Scarecrow Frequency is the project of Seattle musicians John Argetsinger and Erica Sherman, combining placid melodies and vocal media appropriated from various classic sources. Claiming to be shoegaze, the music takes austerely powerful, yet mellow soundscapes and combines them with beautiful pop elements, in a way quite similar to Jesu or Eluvium (but bridging the gap between the heaviness and softness, respectively). The opening track Transponder Parallels gives a small taste of the CD with a sample of a Richard Nixon Vietnam War speech. Interspersed throughout the release are various quotes about America, with a bittersweet and nervous look backwards. The tone of the music fits in with this theme of nostalgic remorse, wrapped up in commentary about the nation. And yet through some of the brighter melodies, a sense of determination may be felt.

A formidable release of American shoegaze/avant-pop, this CD will feel at home with fans of shoegaze in general.

The Scarecrow Frequency - Ivory Skeletons Of Dark Horses

Lucrecia released the digital EP Like Being Home in summer of 2007 from the Colombian label Series Media. Charming lyrics coupled with muted electronic-acoustic sounds define the 5 tracks. Hailing from Pereira, Colombia, Lucrecia Perez puts together simple melodies that could embed itself into the being of any warm-blooded human. As a guitarist-vocalist-producer, Lucrecia is able to put together all the disparate elements of acoustic pop into a finely polished product, complete with her her own pretty voice topping the compositions.

Track 1 “Let’s Pretend” opens with claves and guitar, with percussion and other sounds slowly layering over, working up to a simple love song. Track 2 “Like Being Home” has slightly more in terms of Lucrecia’s electronic music background, with some synths layered in. Track 3 “Counting Backwards” is arguably the best track on the release, quietly driving forward with its beautiful, subtle piano and drum combo, with Lucrecia’s sweet vocals repeating the catchy little chorus. Track 4 “Changing The Weather” changes the direction of the release, toning down the energy with intricate, mellow drums playing triplets. Finally, track 5 “Millones” is a quiet, slow lullaby that closes out the EP with memory of the aural sugar of the last 20 minutes.

While Like Being Home is quite short, it is quite possibly one of the best electronic-acoustic pop releases from Colombia (it will definitely be hard to top by anyone), and is definitely worth a listen. The fact that it is a free download from Series Media means that there will be no excuses for missing this one.

Lucrecia - Counting Backwards

Bienvenidos a Miami as Will Smith would say, yet somehow this trio didn’t hear him and dumped a blown out garage band in your lap full of cute art J. K. Rowling-esk lightning bolts, robots assembled out of the remnants of The Brave Little Toaster and as promised, bunnies. Drumstick hits tap out the start of this recently made OOP 7” delivers the robotic electric side of the bunnies. Loopy varying speed vinyl sounds with vocoder vocals and rock loops like Trans Am if someone made them record on a 4-track. The 2nd track features a short punk track with snotty Vandals style lyrics about how its “not about my sweater, not about my shoes…. I’m wearing beautiful pants”. Glad to know life is so simple over in Florida. Flip this over to find subtle psych behind bass driven lo-fi garage like slower instrumental Clash meets a druggier instrumental version of The Cure. Fun times ten as the album ends with some planned or unplanned cell phone to speaker interference. With all the choices of sound directions to go in, the Bunnies leave you wondering if in the future they’d rather open up for Abe Vigoda, Moldy Peaches, or Justice.

-johnny darko

Bitcrush is a solo project of Mike Cadoo, focusing upon rock-based musical elements. Shimmer And Fade is a remastered reissue of the 2005 digital release of the same name (this time out on CD, limited to 1000 copies) and it includes 4 bonus tracks. The art references the original, but it is slightly different, being a bit cleaner.

Moving on to the music, the CD begins with dissonant, droney guitars layered over each other, signaling the album’s mood, austere and introspective, and set over sludgy, spacey rhythms. Distant and melodic, Cadoo’s music slowly explores harmonies and textures without making the music too experimental and unforgiving. Reminiscent of rock/metal-based shoegaze projects such as Jesu, Cadoo favors instrumentals over vocals, and makes sure that guitars don’t overpower the sound, using them only as a way to layer smooth, complex polyphonies over each other. The tracks also incorporate Cadoo’s previously honed skills and know-how of breakbeat rhythms and glitchy production. While most of the tracks are Warp-worthy, the real gems are (surprisingly) the tracks that sound a lot more rock than electronic. Warm and optimistic, they are listenable and easy to follow. For example, track 3 “No Bridge No Water” is a five-minute exposition of brightly melodic synths and strong alternative rock guitar riffs. More pop-structured than the other tracks, the song unabashedly skirts the line between accessibility and sophistication. Track 10 “When Swallowing Becomes Difficult” sounds like something off Ghostly International, being cute yet introspective, with a touch of bittersweet euphoria. These two tracks stand out from the others and bring to the album a bit of avant-pop energy from within a much more downtempo sound.

Bitcrush - When Swallowing Becomes Difficult (30s clip)

Yet another offering of electro from the French label Kitsune Music, German duo Jens Moelle and Ismail Tuefekci (Digitalism) adds a bit of power-pop flavor to the wider genre of electro-house with the CD album release Idealism. With Daft Punk’s experimentation of using less sample-based production in favor of more synths, Digitalism carries the ball further, using synths to replace the traditional role of guitars without being as abrasive as their predecessors. For example, track 3 “I Want, I Want” is a jangly post-punk little number, complete with that classic drumset groove, divorcing the sound from the hold of drum machines that dominates the whole electro-house genre. Track 7 “Pogo” on the other hand, sounds like a poppier Joy Division song, reminding one of The Killers with its power-pop straight rock drive, and 1/8 note basslines. The duo even manages to touch upon the sounds of 80s New Romantic with track 12 “Apollo-Gize.” However, even apart from the virtuosity of extracting the essential nostalgia of the 80s, Moelle and Tuefekci really bring that magical groove that is so necessary to disco-variations. Track 5 “Digitalism In Cairo” shows off the duo’s skills in chopping up samples, and track 14 “Jupiter Room” just lays down a humongous house groove epitomizing the electro-house style. In all, Digitalism’s release Idealism is a danceable, yet melodic piece of work.

Digitalism - Pogo (YouTube Video)

Two experimentalist groups from New Jersey collaborate in “Hear Less/ No Good Trying:” Dälek, an alternative hip hop duo comprised of MC Dälek as vocals and Oktopus in production, and Ifwhen, ex-All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors with Merc (guitar, production, vocals), Kentaro (bass), Mary MacDowell (keyboards, viola), and Yuko Sueto (optical controller).

“Hear Less (Seymour)” opens with a twang of a guitar, grinding bass, a jarring organ, and drumbeats, set in minor key. This track exudes a dark atmosphere, reminding you of original hip hop meets Phantom of the Opera. Both groups are influenced by shoegazer band My Blood Valentine and it shows in this opening track with the distortion and droning riffs during the bridge, emulating The Beatle’s psychedelic rock song “Revolution 9.” In the end, the jarring organ and bass are emphasized in a repetitive, dissonant melody that eventually dissolves with the guitar ‘twang’ heard in the beginning.

The second track “No Good Trying” opens with a heavy bass like the first track, a drum machine and acoustic guitar which emphasizes the percussionist techniques, similar to Kaki King’s “Ritual Dance” as heard in August Rush. The melting styles of Dälek and Ifwhen produce yet another song that brings about a feeling of inertia or reverse momentum. When they introduce an electric organ, it gives the song a Celtic feel. The bridge shifts from a slower tempo hip hop to a faster vibrating organ blending with keyboard and guitar, bringing in a jazzy ambience seemingly set in 3/4 time. Beginning with guitar riffs and ending with cymbals, this is another experimental track fusing sampling and shoegazing.

The third track is a Deadverse Remix of “No Good Trying.” Opening with celestial keyboard, drums and intensifying echoing vocals, the song eventually distorts the vocals to the point of incomprehensible language and dissolves completely. In the last track, the Deadverse Remix of “Hear Less” opens with lyrics sung in echoing acapella. The drums enter, as the song alternates snippets of an electric organ and a pan flute set in different beats, creating yet another psychedelic ambience.

Overall, the collaboration of these amazing experimentalist and alternative hip hop groups produce unique industrial hip-hop, effectively using their sampling and shoegazing to exude a dark atmosphere of dissonant and amorphous sounds. Yet, it only makes you want more of this fusion of alternative hip-hop and psychedelic rock.

Ebb and flow. Dissonance and Consonance. The Denouement’s full length debut Low Tide is an exercise in dualism. The Denouement is an indie rock band currently based out of Azusa, CA. While they claim to sound like Felix the Cat or King Kong, (the cartoon and movie, respectively) a more apt comparison might be a combination of the free earnestness of The Arcade Fire with the exploration of dissonance and loud/soft dynamic present on Cursive’s The Ugly Organ, and classic rock textures comparable to The Wall-era Pink Floyd. In reality, though, these comparisons simply fall short of describing the band’s sound, as they present a voice that is truly only their own.The album opens with “Addition,” a track that alternates between the calm before the storm and alarming urgency. While this kind of comparison is rarely side by side in the same song after this point, the rest of the album fulfills the varying promises made by this track and more.Every track here is a carefully woven tapestry of sound, but of course there are standouts. “Saddest Joke” drops a perfect dose of pop exactly when it is needed after slow-burner “Sleepwalking,” with singer Malachi Ward proudly proclaiming that: “my life, it doesn’t fit into a straight line.” Instrumental “12 Minutes” presents a richly textured sonic thesis. “Shake Off” mutates from ominous dirge to Cursive-inspired dance-off. Closer “Keep Hunting” bids the listener farewell from what feels like a journey along hidden path of the soul. And it truly is a path that will occupy the soul- Low Tide rides the big questions of existence, asking questions of meaning that all have pondered, but never offering the easy answers that ruin so many works of art that could be described as “issues music.” A friend described this album as “agnostic rock.” Maybe, but where The Denouement are concerned, I consider myself a believer.

Lucibel Crater is a New York 3-piece band, cranking out bits of funk and jazz elements along with some indie shoegaze. The Family Album is a 10-track exploration of eclectic elements coupled with lush instrumentals and Leah Coloff’s singing/spoken word. Oftentimes moody and mysterious, the music definitely does not drag. For example, track 6 (”Blue Stationwagon”) is a long jazzy instrumental piece, sounding like semi-improvised explorations of sound set on top of brilliantly frenetic drumming. If The Doors had known shoegaze, they might have made something like this, bringing a harder edge to “Riders On The Storm.” Track 9 “Swimmers” broods on for the first 3 minutes of the track; the guitar theme then mixes with the drums at the 3-minute mark, congealing into a catharsis of dissonantly beautiful melodies, before abruptly ending at around 5:30, shaking the listener out of its kaleidoscope of manic action. The best piece on the CD is arguably track 7, “Where You Are,” showing off Coloff’s excellent vocal talents and enveloping the listener with a haunting, repetitive melody. Perhaps not as focused as it could be, The Family Album nonetheless showcases the project’s excellent musical ideas.

The Mountain Goats have tiptoed back onto the scene with Heretic Pride, another dreamy album of hushed acoustic pop. On Heretic Pride, The Mountain Goats touch on everything from pretty girls, cryptozoology, and singer John Darnielle’s own personal history. Darnielle writes lyrics with a remarkable candor and honesty, offering glimpses into some very personal and very specific moments. His untrained vocals add an air of earnest authenticity, and as the album goes on, you begin to feel as though he is sitting on a lawn chair in your backyard, a beer in one hand, telling these stories amongst good friends from your own hometown.

Fans will be accustomed to Darnielle’s confessional style of writing, but to unfamiliar ears, his nostalgia can become overbearing at times. While much of the tracks sparkle with Darnielle’s and bassist Peter Hughes’ distinctive chemistry, songs like “San Bernardino” and “Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident” are constantly walking the line between poetic and sappy. Both songs about long-lost lovers and relationships gone wrong, the choruses hop back and forth from cute to clingy to creepy, and just when you’re ready to skip to the next track, back to cute again.

Though the Mountain Goats perform in their usual acoustic style on Heretic Pride, they are masters of mixing it up. Their sound shifts greatly from track to track, showcasing the skills they’ve honed from a decade and a half as songwriters and performers, and proving that a simple six-string can be one of the most liberating and flexible instruments around. The Goats still sound as fresh as ever, and establish on Heretic Pride that they remain a force to be a reckoned with, and a benchmark for every kid who quits their day job in pursuit of a musical career.

When one thinks of Scandinavian 5-piece bands, they usually think of The Cardigans, which is a pretty hard act to follow. However, with The Cardigans making most of their greatest songs in the 90s and waning since then, The Beatitude, a five-piece Danish band, crashes onto the scene with some fresh new tunes. Whereas The Cardigans referred back the the 1960s mod scene with its cool, calm instrumentals and cute vocals, The Beatitude refers back to the alternative rock and grunge bands of the 1980s and 1990s with its collection of loud songs. Apart from being Scandinavian and being very good at imitating retro music (yep, 90s music is “retro” now, and I hear Nirvana songs being played on classic rock stations now), the musical styles of The Beatitude and The Cardigans aren’t too similar. Instead, The Beatitude sounds like a mixture of Weezer, The Pixies, and The Breeders, with its poppy distorted guitars and hilarious lyrics. Somehow, opening track “Jump!” reminds me a bit of Morningwood’s “Nth Degree” with its loads of fun punk energy and its very listenable melodies, giving a glimpse of the sound that makes up the rest of the CD. Not obnoxiously political, The Beatitude intelligently discusses some pretty hefty philosophical arguments with tongue-in-cheek humor. For example, in track 2 “Hymn To The Hen,” singer Karin Jonch Clausen questions the view that there is uniqueness or agency in individual consciousness (aligned with Nietzsche, Althusser, Foucalt, etc) with its critique of 18th century French Enlightenment assumptions (as well as the views of Denmark’s own Soren Kierkegaard). In track 8 “Dualism Fails” the band questions the philosophical stance that the world is separated into material and spiritual worlds; in short, they argue that the spiritual world cannot exist outside of what we can see. Hegel, of course, would not be happy. However intellectual the lyrics can be, listeners can definitely enjoy the CD at a musical level as well. Other songs of note are tracks 7 and 10 (”The World Is Wrong” and “Blown Away”). “The World Is Wrong” has a good guitar melody and a nice driving beat, whereas “Blown Away” is a cover of the song by the same name originally done by The Pixies, at a much faster pace and with a cleaner sound. Throughout the whole album, The Beatitude plays some very cool music that is definitely worth a listen. The only gripe I have is that some of the lyrics are hard to hear and it would be awesome if they were included with the packaging. In any case, if you like early 90s alternative rock and grunge, this is for you!

The misguided trio who is actually a 5-piece has done it again, but this time on 12 inches of fury. Monkey Power Trio gets together once a year and spends a few days writing and recording original songs. Their 2007 release “House of the Mechanical Sun” is actually made up of 2 recording sessions from 2005 and 2006, which took place in Minneapolis and Oregon. They decided to ditch cover art and have commandeered old Beatles, Hitchcock and kids record jackets for the limited to 150 release I was fortunate to come across. As usual the bands songs are all a bit off and many from the Oregon session are accompanied by a fancy song flute. Their rap song ‘Another Year’ puts them in the indie Weird Al realm. ‘Meaty Girls’ may get a chuckle out of your gut but I still think NOFX did the fat girl praise better. I like Monkey Power Trio’s more innocent songs, like ‘Hop On The Monkey Bus”. Its like those Six Flags commercials where someone so stupid and creepy looking is dancing and flailing their arms so maniacally that you can’t help but wanna join them. Tracks like ‘Little Billy Oshin’ just plain scare me. Do they have something against Billy Ocean? I wouldn’t want that fuceker living in my foreskin! His “Jewel of the Nile” soundtrack hits were enough for me. It’s too bad this isn’t a cd, since it flows well from start to finish. Perhaps all guilty pleasures include vinyl in some way shape or form. Oh yea, “I live in the suburbs, I drive everywhere, my back always hurts and I’m losing all my hair” sounds like Happy Monkey Trio is content in Orwellian 1984.

Sweetbleeders‘ album Bzzzz. is an excellent collection of 10 songs that meander about, painting a beautiful kaleidescope of chord progressions and catchy vocal melodies, as sung by a melancholy-sounding Robin Vining. This collection of talented musicians and composers draws from influences of all sorts of genres and the members combine forces to create a musical masterpiece. Track 2 “Safety” pegs in at more than 10 minutes, evoking pleasant connections to early Radiohead with its amazing melodies and its transitions between hard and soft. Track 4 “Never Be The Same” is a nice acoustic rock song with such bittersweet feelings, painting an old human experience in a new musical way. Track 5 “If In Trouble” brings the worthy flavors of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the release with its amazing collection of instruments along with spastic transitions into movements, lined up one after another. Track 8 “Lu Nan Jen” is by far my favorite song on the release, with the music flowing in between the dreary verses and the glossily epic choruses that bring such a catharsis near the end of the album. Track 10 “Run Away” closes the album on the melancholy note that it presented early on, urging listeners to “keep on running away.” Sweetbleeders sure ran away with this album, pouring heart and soul into the composition, the instrumentation, and the varying dynamics; they bring out such bittersweet feelings by gradually shading in and out the subtle melodies.

At first glance from the CD art, I thought the music contained inside would be terrible. This is clearly an instance of “don’t judge an album by its cover,” because the tracks were loaded with some of the best tracks I have heard in a while. Filled to the brim with an eclectic mix of shoegaze and soul, peace and power, rhythm and restlessness, Marshall Star’s Cosmos is a winner. From the first track “Goodbye Truly,” I was presented with a taste of vocalist Mandy Bright’s powerful breath competing with the complex, noisy layers of post-punk sound, and I knew that there were going to be some gems on the recording. Track 4 “The Pleasure Seekers” eerily reminds me with its desolate lyrics and its heavy synth-pop beat of Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These).” Track 12, unlisted on the recording (but elsewhere as “Take Me”) is a frantically-paced mixed of dissonance and heavy drums along with Mandy’s sweet voice. The best track on the album, of course, is track 2 “Hopes And Aspirations,” which sounds a bit like Cocteau Twins, but without Elizabeth Frazer’s dull vocal performance. Instead, with the bright and layered wall of noisy melodies, we are given a chance to witness the tour de force of Mandy’s vocals coupled with a powerful marching beat. The aggressive lyrics “got my hopes and aspirations driving me insane” reflects perfectly the maddening movement of such a beautiful track. All I can hope for is for listeners to look past the artwork, and to fully immerse into this album, especially into the more manic tracks.

Luthea Salom’s album Sunbeam Surrounded By Winter is a rather agreeable excursion into light acoustic rock. Singing and playing guitar throughout the whole album, Luthea presents a generous serving of listenable music. Using simple melodies and simple lyrics, she paints a nuanced picture of what pop can be. The music in this collection is very well-mixed and mastered, and sounds nice and clear. My one gripe with this album is that the only track that truly stands out is the cover of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” (which is, in itself, quite well-done). The only other track that defines itself apart from the others is “Dragonfly.” Unfortunately, these two songs occupy tracks 2 and 3, respectively, of the CD. The end result is that the more mediocre songs drag all the way until the end. This release contains a nice collection of well-done pop acoustic, and it’s worth a listen for anyone who is a fan of this genre, but I believe out of personal taste that the single Rebel Rebel is probably a better deal.

Duo from Brooklyn, Jeremy Earl & Christian DeRoeck bring barren lo-fi indie-folk recordings alive with catchy melodies, playful lyrics as both boys sing their hick hearts out. Great line in track 5 Silence is Golden “Love takes time and time takes money. Love takes lots and lots of money.” This is a re-release of a previous 2005 cassette sold from their Fuck-It Tapes label (which also released Raccoo-oo-oon, Magik Markers, Wooden Wand). Most tracks are acoustic, and when drums are added, they are minimal. Falsetto warning! Slow tempo ballads and live recordings make each track unique like the distorted screaming vocals on God Hates The Faithless (# 7) & electric guitar whines on instrumental In The Woods (# 11).

–johnny darko

Drawing on influences from Throbbing Gristle and Joy Division, this LA based old timer band has been around since the good old ’81 and the no wave scene. Savage Republic came from the mind of Bruce Lichter, owner of IPR and also leader of the AZ band Scenic. The band has a three of its original members: Thom Fuhrmann, Greg Grunke and Ethan Port along with 3 new dudes. The band is still alive and kicking and touring too (currently touring Europe). I like how their Myspace says they sound like Godspeed and Mogwai. While some songs like ‘Song for Rikki’ have their Mogwai moments, I don’t think they are as effective at staying inside one genre, not to mention that their recording style and vocals are still rooted in Joy Division’s pot. 1938 is one of those albums that isn’t very good until it is over. The final tracks are very long instrumental sound maps of places you want to go to and will make you spin the disc again. If you like older indie-rock sound, slightly out of key guitars, the New Zealand sound and reverb ridden surf beats, then you’ll like the album.

Comet Gain is a UK (London, Brighton) male & female duet band, with British vocals. Moments of folk, Brit-Pop, and indie in the vein of Yo La Tengo but with much more punk. Heavily influenced by Dexy’s Midnight Runners and Northern Soul style. The band is Rachel Evans (vox), David Feck (guitar, vox) MJ Taylor (drums). They also have Jon Slade (bass) of Huggy Bear. Organs, violas, acoustic guitars, and female harmonies all make their way into many of the tracks. The songs are all very different making for an interesting album with songs you’ll love and ones you will hate.

This album is a reissue of two old out of print cassette releases by Kid Icarus from 1999 and 1997: The Cucumber Album, and Laughing Skeletons EP. Now a four-piece, this recording is the earlier solo acoustic guitar/vocals only, project of the bands front-man Eric Schlittler. The songs sound more like cool demos and contain only a few layers of sound with the occasional female vocal or backing electric guitar thrown in. This album features a cover of The Beatles “Norwegian Wood” and Schlittler’s pal Cassie Rose singing a Jandek cover “Spanish in Me”.

While it may be impossible for any Rollerball album to be better than their previous and my personal favorite “Long Walk For Ice Cream”, they still amazed me, creating a new mysterious and moody CD with solidly grooving jazzy tracks. The female fronted group from Portland Oregon opens up with the acid/free jazz movement ‘Never Happy’. After the noise track, ‘Art Dries’ and ‘Doc Nubbies’ bust open up the. The piano and sax beg to be in control throughout the album. ‘P. Mic’ features rare male vocals. Noir is the mood of ‘The Sky in L.A.” with world beats and a Euro-Italian vibe to it. This self titled album keeps the live recording sound alive. Trumpets are added in the track “CDS” to fill out the orchestral sound. The album end with the psych rock track ‘Water the Bark’ in vein of the Doors, full of drum solos, wah-wah pedaled organ and explosions of energy. The track is tight and caps a perfect end to an album that sounds more like a live show than a cd. Check out the Italian labels site Wallace Records.

-johnny darko

Out on Thurston Moore’s label Ecstatic Peace, James & The Quiet strips away the reverb goes vocal heavy. There aren’t any weak tracks on this album. “James & The Quiet” is heavily produced and a clean cut take compared to earlier albums such as “Harem of the Sundrum & The Witness Frog” (click to hear the track Sundrum Ladies). Strong nasal vocals by front man James Jackson Toth are reminiscent of a young Dylan, and beautifully supported by harmonic backings by Jessica Toth. This folk album has quickly become one of my favorite albums of 2007. Tracks back to back like ‘Delia’ and ‘We Must Also Love The Thieves” represent the core of the albums themes. We must love the whores and the thieves, and know the pirates heart. Toth says, with Lennon-esk lyrics right after the unstable “Delia” track. ‘Future Dream’ shows the new direction of Toth making so much of song out of simple music that if Cowboy Junkies played would bore you to death. The raw upfront vocals demand to be listened to and could captivate any audience. Much like the recent mainstream folk trend led by groups like Devendra Banhart, this track offers powerful lyrics behind repetitive music to keeping attention and wanting the song to never end. The title track ‘James & The Quiet’ comes after and goes back to an older feel of Wooden Wand with some tin-sounding vocal effects. The mesmerizing keyboards are quiet but work against the ascending bass to create a unsettling mood. Classic ending as all the instruments fade out to highlight the vocals once again. The final track ‘Wired to the Sky’ could be the song in the back of any TV show reflection montage. It starts off slow, but reveals a beautiful harmony and lovely sounding, soft-spoken words such as wonderful, beauty, and flowers. Sadly this may be the last Wooden Wand cd, but I look forward to more projects in this branch of James Toth’s career. Check out their myspace or buy this cd here from their label.

-johnny darko

You may think they’ve stumbled across Tiny Tim’s lost 4-track recordings, but really its another solo project by Washington’s Ryland Bouchard (The Robot Ate Me) highlighting quirky falsettos, a crisp clarinet and drum machine antics. Out on 5RC in 2006, “Good World” is emotionless in its delivery yet creatively full of the delightful surprises found in a magical world. Instruments come and go as all the tracks flow together. Piano, guitar and real drums drop in and out creating a complex rhythmic feel. Tracks are all short at a minute or less. Intricate album artwork illustrates many of the characters named in the track titles such as the She Owl and Djien (a man-sized spider monster). The folk album feels like a trip through an imaginary world where everything is scary but nothing is dangerous. ‘Sin Like Holy Men’ and ‘She Owl #1’ are among my favorites as they are the most playful and childlike which is the theme of the entire album. The production value of the album is excellent with layers of clarinets and harmonizing falsetto vocals. My only complaint is that the album is built like a novel, building up to its peak ¾’s way through and slowly fading out with the final 4 tracks. You can get this album directly here from their label website. Listen to the track Djien courtesy of 5RC.

-johnny darko

1. The Naughty Villain
2. The Great Society
3. Dandy in the Underworld
Punchy, pop flute violin sax melody drives the single down the fun freeway. The sixties have nothing on this UK import dish. The B-side ain’t too bad either. Octet-ed vox, plus guitars, plus the ever so clever use of silence equals audible happiness. When I hear “The Great Society”, I feel like its Christmas, Turkey Day and summer vacation all rolled into one and I’m at home starting a family band with my 2 brothers and 3 sisters (serious Brady). The 2^nd B-Side is a cover by 70’s Glam queen Marc Bolan called “Dandy in the Underworld”. They’re able to change the doo-wop feel of the song into something closer to The Ramones with the listless vocals that melt of the tongue slow like honey. Dark green vinyl cleverly matches the jackets leaf art theme.

-johnny darko

“We could have an orgy in the birdbath baby” (Soap Bopper) Perhaps Ned just suffers from an acute case of Aviant-philia, as seen in this lyric from ‘Soap Bopper’. Someone better explain to them that 99% of birds live in socially monogamous pairs. Ned is a 4-piece experimental electro-rock group out of Oakland, CA and always left unclassified in that unknown 1% other category. Since Oaktown it basically the breeding grounds for hybrid music, its no wonder this band blends sounds so well. The tracks fuse funk, pop and electronic music with new wave style vocals. While I read the band would be liked by fans of Beck, Primus and The Locust, I found their actual sound similar sound to Xiu Xiu (actually more like the pre-Xiu Xiu band IBOPA), Mr. Bungle and Santa Cruz’s Estradasphere (who also mixes their rock with electronic 8-bit/ vintage keyboard sounds).

The A-side ‘Soap Bopper’ is manic yet pulsating, regular and dynamics free. Like a Halloween dance party minus the “trying to be scary” scary sounds. It starts of with some noise and then rolls into a cool keyboard intro. Ned always seems to know the right nostalgic analog sound to stream over their simple electronic drum beat. The B-side ‘Omaha’ is an all electronic playground featuring sounds you’d normally hear from a Commodore 64. The track ends with a abstract vocal noise loop that at first sounds like a locked grove but flows to the end of the vinyl where it abruptly cuts off. (very reminiscent of Sergeant. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, era Beatles.)

Ned doesn’t make it easy to find their material.
You either have to email the band on their myspace or hunt down their first release Coloring Book on cdbaby.

-johnny darko