Ohio punk rockers turned metalheads shed more of their punk rock skin and emerge a bright and bloody hard rockin' butterfly! Hard to tell if this is 'irony rock' or not, but it hardly matters. This is high kicking, devil sign, Budweiser tallboys, T-top camaros, 7-11 parking lot, ass kicking, drug gulping, friday night party metallic rock and roll. Think Hellacopters, Drunk Horse, Grand Funk Railroad, Motorhead and this time around: AC/DC, with the simple stomping 4/4 rhythms and the snake-y noodly riffs. Meathead metal 'n' roll that's mindless and fun as hell!!
This French band is seemingly named after an '80s video game, and aptly so, 'cause that's what a lot of this sounds like. Bleepage from dusty, vintage videogame consoles, but put to use in pretty lil' micro-songs with wistful singing. Simultaneously cute and sad. The title is also apt: alien (that's the video game sounds), folk (that's the melodic element) and trash (that's the distortion), sure. Imagine, say, the melancholic folky music of AQ-fave Greg Weeks colliding with some post-DHR distorted DIY electronics. Very pretty and fucked up. One track will feature acoustic guitar strum, the next quirky Aphex Twin-ish breakbeats. Some, both. It's very personal, homemade sounding stuff, which makes sense 'cause while we called this a band up top, actually Boulder dDash is really pretty much just one guy, a French fellow named Jean-Baptiste Hanak, with additional vocals on four of the twenty tracks by someone named The Very Ape (possibly Hanak's girlfriend?) who is even more sad sounding than he is. But as sad as the singing can be, this is a fun album. There's a song about comic book hero Fillerbunny, and another is dedicated to labelmates Electronicat. Oh, and this disc includes an entire bonus album of mp3s called "The Dark Side Of Boulder dDash" that's rather more crazed and stupid, like Hanak got really drunk and tried to make some hip-hop tracks. Weird.
MPEG Download: "On The Road Again" [/audio/boulderontheroad.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "On The Road Again" [/audio/boulderontheroad.m3u]
MPEG Download: "Ur.So (feat. the Very Ape)" [/audio/boulderurso.mp3]
NOW HERE ON CD... Here's what we said about the double vinyl version (which, we should note, has 4 more tracks than they could fit on this cd):
Not to be confused with the eponymous Bourbonese Qualk album from 1987, this is an exemplary compendium of the British post-punk industrialists' first five records, including tracks from Laughing Afternoon (1983), Hope (1984), The Spike (1985), Preparing for Power (1986), and that self-titled album. During this time period, Bourbonese Qualk was the trio of Simon Crab, Julian Gilbert, and Steven Tanza. They were a band who were uniquely self-sufficient and autonomous, running their own label and forming an artist co-operative not only for their own use but also for other artists, musicians, writers, and political activists. Their wholly independent stance was also one that avoided dogma, leaving their content of their work to stand as an agent that could lead towards change instead of barking against Thatcher, the Falklands War, or the conditions that lead to the Miner's Strike of 1984.
Thus, the studio in that co-op housed a collection of what could be borrowed, what could be repurposed, and / or what could be stolen. Their sound is very much an extension of the situation they crafted for themselves, warts and all.
Much of Bourbonese Qualk's output during this time period is highly rhythmic in nature, aligning with the spirit (much more so than the sound) of a 23 Skidoo and Clock DVA. Metronomic click tracks thrust to the foreground amidst a clatter of metal bashing, detuned bass fug anti-grooves, tape manipulation, and thrashed vocal cord utterances. It's a further deconstructed abstraction of the mutant disco that Clock DVA presented on their early outlier White Souls In Black Suits. For all of their unkempt angularity and droned disorientation, they could craft numbers of dour-dub beauty akin to very lo-fi versions of The Slits or PIL instrumentals. A well-deserved anthology from this oft-forgotten band. The vinyl sports four additional tracks not found on the cd version!
It may seem like we've been dragging this out, as ALL the first four '70s albums by pioneering Japanese heavy metal popsters Bow Wow were reissued at the same time over a year ago, but we've just been reviewing 'em one at a time every few months it seems. Well that avoids Bow Wow overkill, right? As it happens, a lot of folks already bought all four together from us after we listed the first, but we still figure we should get around to reviewing 'em all individually. 'Cause we totally dig Bow Wow. Ripping, energetic hard rock action, from a young Japanese band that brought together psychedelic proto-metal (with a big Hendrix influence), glammy bubblegum pop elements (The Sweet must have been another inspiration), and a burgeoning heaviness that matched what was starting to happen in England and America, to forge some fun, frenzied boogie-metal with its own quirky charm, that on Charge also definitely expanded into bombastic, balladic power pomp rock territory, as on album-ender "Behind The Mask".
Once again, this disc is supercharged with the guitar heroics of shredder Kyoji Yamamoto, who solos most impressively, wailing away on such tracks as "Must Say 'Adieu'" like he's the Japanese counterpart to Uli Jon Roth of the Scorpions (another big Hendrix fan, and probably himself an influence on Yamamoto too). Melody is another strong aspect here, they even offer up a gentle acoustic ballad in "Fallen Leaves". But don't worry about 'em wimping out, that track is in fact followed by a song simply titled "Heavy"! And it is, in a lumbering yet soaring kind of way.
Charge originally came out in 1977, it was Bow Wow's third album, following the self-titled debut from '76 and Signal Fire from earlier in '77 (both previously reviewed by us). Like the others reissued by Rock Candy, it's been remastered and comes packaged with new liner notes in the cd booklet. Next up: 1978's Super Live...
Last list we had the Sabbathy Japanese proto-metal reissue from Blues Creation, circa '71. Now, moving a few years further into the Seventies, we present: Bow Wow! Ok, the name might not sound that heavy. But they are.
Much to Andee and Allan's excitement, the UK label Rock Candy has recently reissued the first four albums by '70s Japanese metal band Bow Wow (not to be confused with '80s new wavers Bow Wow Wow, or Bow Wow the rapper). We'd like to review 'em all eventually, but thought we'd start with this one, their 2nd, originally released in 1977. After all, it's got a song on it called "Rainbow Of Sabbath", so you know its gonna be good! Better be! And indeed, they are definitely influenced by Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Scorpions, and other classic contemporaries from the West.
The ten tracks here are packed with uptempo, flashy hard rockers. There's lumbering riffs ("Silver Lightning"), one affecting power ballad ("Still"), and plenty of ripping guitar pyrotechnics from axe hero Kyoji Yamamoto, particularly on the instrumental title track. Some of his solo six string freakouts are positively psychedelic (he was a big Hendrix fan), as are the effects that they use on the drums here! Bow Wow aren't from early enough in the '70s to be proto-metal, of course, but we could call 'em proto-NWOBHM, maybe. Though it's some young American bands of the day that they most remind us of, like Riot, Starz, and Van Halen (both Yamamoto and Eddie Van H. are known for their hammer-on technique).
This album is just bursting with electric energy, and it's not hard to believe what the liner notes here say about it being a big fave of Metallica in their formative days. Those liner notes, by the way, based on a recent interview with Yamamoto himself, are interesting and in depth, typical of Rock Candy's deluxe reissue treatment. Highly recommended rock from the land of the Rising Sun!
Get this, and if there's enough interest then we'd be stoked to also import and review their self-titled debut ('76), Charge ('77), and Super Live ('78), all also awesome.
If you're a regular reader of the AQ list, by now you know all about Bow Wow, those exuberant Japanese heavy metal rock 'n' rollers. Part poppy bubblegum boogie glam, part classic '70s hard rockin' (a la Rainbow, Sabbath, Scorpions, Aerosmith), part heavy Hendrix-inspired psych... and most of all, young, energetic, and talented; their newfangled metallisms corresponding to Western contemporaries Van Halen in foreshadowing the '80s metal explosion.
Previously, over the past year or so, we've reviewed three of the four '70s Bow Wow reissues done by the UK's Rock Candy label: 1976's self-titled debut, 1977's Signal Fire, and Charge, also from '77. Now at last we wrap up this Bow Wow series with number four, Super Live from 1978. As the title implies, it's a live album. And let's just say, Bow Wow were indeed a super live band, pulling out all the stops here in front of a rabid, screaming Japanese audience ("the cheering of the young girls you hear brings back very fond memories," Bow Wow's guitar whiz Kyoji Yamamoto is quoted as saying in the cd booklet). There's 10 tracks here, featuring mostly but not entirely songs from their studio efforts up to that point, good rockin' picks like "Jet Jive" and "Get On Our Train", often embellished upon and expanded a bit in the live context. Yes, there's a drum solo (about halfway through the lengthy wailin' instrumental "Explosion"). And for their big finale, they do a raucous cover of "Summertime Blues"!
We reviewed this last because it's chronologically the last of the reissues, also 'cause we figured folks would want the studio albums first... but, on the other hand, if you haven't yet picked up any of the Bow Wow reissues and wanted just ONE to get into the Bow Wow experience, this would be a good choice for sure, kind of a greatest hits that also highlights this band's forte, that being the sheer energy and excitement of 'em performance-wise, which is quite commanding.
Once again, a nicely done reissue, remastered, with detailed, illustrated liner notes in the cd booklet.
Here's hoping that Rock Candy will next get the rights to reissue some of Bow Wow's best stuff from the '80s, like Asian Volcano and Warning From Stardust...
If you recall, we highlighted this Japanese Seventies (proto-)metal band's second album, Signal Fire, sometime last fall, and promised more to come. Well it took a while, but here's a review of another remastered, reissue by Bow Wow! This time we're highlighting the band's self-titled debut, from 1976. We'd mentioned that shredding lead guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto was a big Jimi Hendrix fan, and you can hear that here, they even pay Jimi explicit tribute on the nearly ten minute "James In My Casket", part heavy riffing psych-out, part power ballad, and certainly one of this album's standout tracks, sounding almost like something that Far East Family Band or Far Out might have done, earlier in the '70s. Or Deep Purple, definitely. Early Scorpions are likely another inspiration.
There's also a song here called "Foxy Lady", which is NOT the Jimi Hendrix composition, oddly enough! That's one that displays the poppier, almost bubblegum side to the teenaged Bow Wow's initial sound (they weren't really metal yet, more of a rock n' roll rave up meets proto-metal, pop rockin' proposition). But even a lightweight boogie number like that is redeemed by Yamamoto's guitar prowess, and elsewhere they take the boogie to ultra energetic, metallized extremes, with speedy scorchers like "Hearts On Fire" and "Volume On".
Fun stuff, influenced by, besides Hendrix, we'd assume The Sweet! You want wailing vocals and even more wailing guitar? You got it! Yamamoto was on his way to becoming a Japanese Eddie Van Halen, or maybe Eddie was the American Yamamoto...
This has been given the typically enthusiastic Rock Candy reissue treatment (they've even added a rising sun motif to their logo on the spine), with extensive liner notes in the illustrated cd booklet - though we'd take issue with the writer's contention that Bow Wow was innovative, he doesn't give enough credit (any) to the likes of Flower Travellin' Band and Blues Creation as previous Japanese hard rock groups also on par with their Western contemporaries. But then again, maybe those bands never opened for Aerosmith like Bow Wow did.
And for the moment, we also have copies Signal Fire back in stock, as well as the yet to be reviewed Charge and Super Live, those being the other entertaining '70s Bow Wow albums reissued by Rock Candy... who we're hoping will get their hands on some of Bow Wow's '80s output as well.
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Fuzzy layers of Kranky-style moodiness with the addition of beats, hence the title. According to the band, the lp (as well as cd) will be issued by Beggar's Banquet early next year.
For fans of Jessamine, Bardo Pond, Flying Saucer Attack.
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Double cd import of totally cool remixes by the likes of Witchman (Aquarius bows down to the brilliance of Witchman), Twisted Science, Third Eye Foundation, Main, etc. Highly recommended for late night ambient listening.
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After much delay, and much demand, finally available on vinyl!!! (And we also got some other, classic Bowie lps back in today too, btw.)
Although it is impossible not to think about David Bowie's death when listening to Blackstar, to his immense credit that is most likely exactly what he wanted. Eighteen months is reported to be how long Bowie spent fighting cancer - about the length of time since the release of his previous release The Next Day - and he filled that time creating art that will live in the world long after his body. His lyrics are open to a variety of interpretations, but "Lazarus," his last single in a career that touched six decades, seems to be an honest acceptance of his own death and the creative legacy he would leave behind. From heaven Bowie consoles us, his fans, those who loved him, with the knowledge that his body of work will be raised every time his records play.
Blackstar is a phenomenal album, filled with moodily beautiful horn and synth melodies that simultaneously reference Bowie's entire career and find an individual place within it. Bowie's haunting vocals on the opening title track sound as good as anything he's ever done. Much of the album's percussion seems to initially draw from - and improve on - Earthling's drum 'n' bass worship. Blackstar, however, is much darker and less playful, more somber and purposeful. The title track is ten minutes long, and yet totally engrossing, setting the scene for the rest of the album: the frenetic energy of the rhythm section often tempered by the horns and Bowie's voice. Along with the two singles released before his death, the rock 'n' roll drama of the penultimate song "Dollar Days" is a definite highlight. Many people will want to own Blackstar because it is not only Bowie's last studio record, it is truly amazing in its own right. It would be easy to go on forever about each song, but like the man, the album is more than the sum of its parts and will speak for itself.
Anyone noticed how many 30th anniversary editions have been popping up in the last couple of years? Quite a sign of the remarkable wealth of great music that was made in the early to mid '70s. Some truly classic albums (case in point, the recent reissues of four albums by Bowie's comrade Brian Eno)! Well, here's another one, a special double-disc commemorative edition that's particularly for Bowie fanatics. While we welcome the reissue of Diamond Dogs, Bowie's album from the tail end of his flashy conceptual Ziggy Stardust period, we have to say that the bonus disc adds little to the Diamond Dogs celebratory experience. It includes a 'K-Tel Best Of' cut of the title song, a U.S. single version as well as a 2003 reworking of "Rebel Rebel", a demo track for a proposed 1984 musical, and a Bruce Springsteen cover. Definitely for completists.
First things first, a side note (not solely specific to David Bowie's new album but we'll use it as a timely example): Y'know, something that irks me to pieces is the overuse of the term "classic". It just gets tossed around like any other superlative! Doesn't a bit of time needs to pass before something can deservedly be proclaimed "classic"? And I don't wanna be told that something brand spanking new is classic, least of all on a sticker applied to the shrinkwrap. Grrrrr.
Rant aside, Heathen is Bowie's twenty-seventh studio album. Among those, there've been innumerable highs and lows. Hard to say what the score is now, but reportedly this is his return to his Low / Scary Monsters (ie, high) realm, or more generally a return to form. Interestingly it's a revisiting of one of his truly classic periods rather than yet another pursuit of the newest happenin' sounds for him to adopt and adapt. Also, notably this is his reunion with producer Tony Visconti (who co-produced many if not all of Bowie's greatest albums which certainly helps to recapture the mood and atmosphere of those amazing works), but the best thing about this album is his voice. Not trying to force it into the style of the day, he sings with an ease and aplomb that's been missing from many of his albums of the past two decades. Many songs do occasionally veer into the overwhelming sheen and excess of AOR territory - check out "5:15 The Angels Have Gone" which brought many in-store comparisons to Peter Gabriel - but they're countered by his more arty, idiosyncratic moments. There are a few odd/questionable choices made however, one of them was to cover The Pixies' "Cactus" (not to mention placing it second on the album). This track was met by a chorus of raised eyebrows and groans. He also delivers renditions of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting For You" and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "I Took a Trip (On A Space Shuttle)" here parenthetically renamed "...(On A Gemini Spaceship)" and made all super hyper-electronic beat-funky. Guests include Pete Townsend and Dave Grohl. A solid Bowie album? Perhaps. A classic? Hmmm.
Much like its predecessor Heathen, David Bowie's twenty eighth studio album Reality is another revisiting of sort to his excellent Low/Heroes/Scary Monsters period. He's once again joined forces with producer Tony Visconti with very fine results. As on Heathen, he seems very at ease -- no longer hopping on the latest trends, instead he's effectively fused the energy and spirit of the old with the composure and technology of the new. His vocals still retain their smouldering edge, and not surprisingly the production is ever so finely detailed and crafted in the most deluxe fashion. The album is pretty great as a whole, but high points include the lead-off track "New Killer Star" as well as "She'll Drive" and "Days". Plus depending on who you ask, a particular highlight or lowlight of Reality may be the second song, a cover of Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso"!!!
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Pressed on white vinyl in an edition of 500. Two Bay Area bands duke it out for the title of aggro art rock noise kings. Split release on our friendly friends at Zum and Oly WA's Thin the Herd.
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Alright, let's get the obvious outta the way... the boy (aka Alexander Chen) certainly is in static. Really! Ha ha ha! Ahem. Strummy acoustic guitar with whispery male vocals (sorta like a drowsy Billy Corrigan), all a-wash with soft organ tones and shimmery Oval-esque electronics. Very wistful, pretty and frequently quite reminiscent of LaliPuna or Ms John Soda (perhaps not so coincidentally this album was released on Alien Transistor, the new label run by The Notwist), but the sad thing is this sound has become so associated with bank, car and prescription drug commercials it's getting increasingly difficult to push the visions of floating pills, VW Bugs and men in suits from your mind. But don't let that keep you from picking this up because it's pretty darn good!
Imagine yourself awakening at a seaside villa. You've nothing to do except take a leisurely stroll down to the water's edge, the tide lapping gently at your feet. In such a sigh inducing setting, your mind's allowed to wander, to dream. Stress and clutter begone! Well geez, that sounds mighty good, doesn't it? But alas, most of us can't afford a week on the coast of Spain or Italy right now, so we'll have to settle for the shoegazerly electronic pop stylings of Violet conjure such blissful aquatic scenes. Softly sanded electronic washes, warm blanketing organ drones, smoother stringed instruments and the murmured vocals of this Boy (aka Alexander Chen) keep the tones hushed and the mood ultra mellow.
For fans of Broken Social Scene, The Notwist, and Caribou. So nice.
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Goodness, is this the Vaselines reincarnate??? I'd swear it was Eugene Kelly singing. No, wait! On second thought, it's Belle and Sebastian. Slouchy Scottish-y pop by way of Portland, OR. The breezy indie pop duo Bryce and Rachel (of the Minders) deliver delightful boy/girl harmonies and straight-up playful pop melodies. Watch the K Records kids swoon.
The Textbook Tapes contain a healthy dose of lo-fi, sci-fi ramshackle pop excursions full of youthful exuberance and experimentation. Bouncy sing-song tunes bump curiously into brief urgent spoken word segments, leisure suit organ numbers into dainty toy piano melodies. Vocals are delivered in affected dramatic tones and oddball falsetto. Although this cd is subtitled "A Musical Exploration Of The Novel, The Manikin Textbook, By Colin Jacks", in spirit it actually comes across sounding just as much like an indie tribute to the Krofft Supershow. Fun and quirky.
Yep, that's a dumb name. Yep, that's a drum machine. Yep, Boyjazz actually DO kick ass. Seriously, ya wanna rock? We've got a band for you here! They're called, uh, Boyjazz. Ignore their dumb name and enjoy their dumb rawk. This'll give you a buzz quicker than quaffing a six pack of Pabst. Boyjazz are a duo, consisting of Sexmouth and Supertouch (Adam and Aaron to their moms). Sexmouth sings and plays guitar and bass. Supertouch handles the production and the drum programming (although live, oddly enough, he plays real drums, but prefers to program them on record, which actually sounds great). The deal here is fuzzed out, distorted ROCK. Metal, punk, stoner, cock-rock. Simple, catchy riffage with a definite glam vibe (both '70s and '80s varieties of glam). The likes of Grand Funk, T-Rex, Sabbath, Kiss, Crue, are all no doubt influences, and we'd say that this oughta appeal to fans of The Darkness, Drunkhorse, and Andrew W.K. Not only does Sexmouth manage to actually pull off the rawk vocalisms required, he writes lotsa great clever/dumb lyrics. Sample song titles: "You + Me = Fight" and "Tuff Luv". One song, "Swedish Dates", is all about how they're gonna go over and tour Scandinavia and show the Hives & co. a thing or two. Might even be a true story someday. With very few of the dozen songs on this disc even reaching the three minute mark, you know they're all about dealing out the short, sweet, swift ass-kicking your rock needs require. F'n recommended, for when you're in the mood to hear a singer yelling "yeah!" and "all right!"
When this came out as a vinyl-only release earlier this year, back in May, we made it our very rockin' Record Of The Week. Now, we're happy to report that the band also has done a limited run of pro-printed cd-rs, for those of you lacking in turntable technology!
Boyjazz? Boyjazz! The name should strike fear into the heart of all posers. Not because they weren't a joke band, cuz of course they were... but in spite of that, they kicked ass on most quote-unquote real metal/hard rock bands out there. Silly name, funny lyrics, tongue-in-cheek attitude and all, damn they rocked. Great songs, super showmanship, part wiseass LA hair metal parody, part party time garage glam rock ravers in their own right, the bombastic Boyjazz couldn't be denied. The musicians in Boyjazz were tight all right, virtuoso nerds in cock rock spandex disguise, but the band's not so secret weapon was charismatic frontman Adam "Sexmouth" Hobbs, who had few peers and less shame in the live arena - and acted as if arenas were indeed where they belonged!
Or maybe you're too young to remember their 2004 album In The City Tonight? Or their US tour opening for The Fucking Champs and Zombi? Well, you're in luck, they're baaaack... sort of... with, at long last, the posthumous release of their final all analog studio recording, tracked back in 2006 but shelved 'til now. Maybe the world is finally ready. We are!
It's clear from the title Unlimited Nights & Weekends that Boyjazz didn't get much more "serious" on their long lost sophomore outing, not that they needed to, or we expected 'em to. Though, they did do it with their five member full band lineup, not as duo-with-drum-machine like on In The City Tonight. So it's more what Boyjazz were like at their peak live, including the six string shred of geeky guitar hero Eric Murriguez, and the actual drumming of Aaron "Supertouch" Levin, with songs just as instantly catchy and kick ass as any on that earlier album. So many infectious riffs and great songs here, straight up. Tracks like "Woman Come To Man", "Woman In Love", "She's Got Gold", "Danger Danger", "Pocket Unicorn", heck ALL of 'em, are gonna be stuck in our heads for the foreseeable future, and that's just after a few spins, the almost-overly-enthusiastic backing vocal choruses generally sealing the deal. Turns out, a bunch actually were already stuck in our heads somewhere, as we immediately recognized several as longtime live faves from the band, so glad they got properly recorded for posterity! Like sleazy side 2 album-ender "Booze", usually their encore as we recall... Armed with these songs, Boyjazz could time travel back to the '80s and take on all comers on the Sunset Strip for sure, though some of the jokes in the lyrics might go over the heads of those in the audience.
'Tis totally over the top boogie rawk action, with wailing vox, clever lyrix, '70s glam riffrock stomp... Boyjazz has tongues firmly in cheek, yes, but they're nonetheless doing it right, asking no quarter and none given, willing to put up or shut up (they choose the former), their goofing and spoofing dangerously close to blowing doors on the real thing, like when they make Led Zeppelin their bitch on "Treat Steamin'" or send Judas Priest running hellbent for cover when they belt out "The Monsters Are Smarter". Even power pop new wave like The Knack gets the Boyjazz treatment via "Hot On The Phone".
It's not rocket science, or maybe it is... Part T-Rex, part Tenacious D, part Turbonego; a little White Stripes, a lotta Whitesnake, Boyjazz almost make even Van Halen seem stiff & serious, uptight with stagefright. To sum up, we've got one word for you: Wooooah-whoooah-whooooah-oh-yeah!
Super limited cd-r edition, in jewel case with full color art, professionally printed. They only only brought us a handful, though if we run out we might be able to get more from 'em in after the holidays.
Remember the early 90s tweepop bands like Scotland's Heavenly (or any other Amanda Fletcher fronted band), Sacramento's Tiger Trap (or any other Rose Melberg fronted band) or Vancouver's Cub? If you do, then you're probably also familiar with this likeminded UK band. Indeed they were all part of a global sugarshock epidemic fueled by a steady diet of cute, candy-coated lo-fi pop (primarily traceable via sparkly kitty stickers and Dubble Bubble wrappers to K Records in Olympia, WA). From the crunchier, sharp-witted side of the genre's cookie jar, Boyracer could raise quite a raucous, yet non-aggressive fuzzy guitar racket, then turn around and dole out invitations to a jangly, sunshiney teddy bear picnic. On the 23-song long Happenstance, they prove they still can in abundance. Granted many of the songs are less than two minutes long, but still... Simply stated, Stewart Anderson and his band Boyracer can't be stopped! This is the first release in a string of many due to be unleashed in the next couple of months (so absurdly prolific, since they got back together in 2001, they've already released five). Ah, cuddlecore lives!
On Slumberland Records purveyors of primo pop sweetness.
Hardcore emo stylings from Boysetsfire with nods to Hot Water Music or even Jawbreaker, but if the guy from Refused were singing.
Since her band's 2004 debut album School Of Etiquette (a particular Andee and Cup fave of that year), SF cool gal and headmistress of poppy post-post-punk grrrls Boyskout Leslie Satterfield has not only moved to NY and back, but she's also assembled an entirely new lineup! And we're happy to report that the music hasn't skipped a beat. Although Boyskout's sound is usually anchored by a mopey Smiths-ian moodiness driven by reeling guitar and keyboards and distinct breathy pout of Satterfield's vocals -- even more so on this album than on the last -- they do insert a warm sunbeam here and there. Take for example the softly snappy retro-pop of "Everybody Knew". It makes for a nice, unjarring shift on the band's modus operandi. The places where it seems this album loses its focus and falters just a bit are those when it seems the creative control and vocal duties were wrested from Satterfield's usually solid grip. A particularly noticeable slip in momentum comes at the cover of Kraftwerk's "The Model" -- ably executed but a bit flat in comparison to the rest of the songs' punch. A far more effective and downright spooky cover is their take on The Beatles' "Drive My Car" (oooh, spoiler: it's the album's closing track simply listed as "Track 12"). Nonetheless, Another Life is a terrific sophomore release. Recommended!
Besides being just about the cutest band in the the Bay Area (although they've recently left SF for NY), Boyskout more importantly manage to meld elements of queer grrrl punk, new wave, pop and goth into super buzzy, catchy, hypnotic perfection.
Three distinct vocalists keep things really interesting: one a petulant pout of a voice, another closely resembles Siouxsie's dark, throaty sultriness, and the third is all Kim Gordon-ish whispery, and almost spoken. So varied and cool. The music has the propulsive new wave simplicity of Interpol, the playful purr of the Cure, and the buzzy intensity of classic punk rock, with claustrophobic minor key melodies, crunchy punchy guitars, thick circus-y Gary Numan-ish synths, and super catchy hooks EVERYWHERE. The more we listen to this the more we love it! Includes one of the songs from their febut 7". The cd also contains a video for the track "Back To Bed", a spicy, saucy romp, reflecting the song's sexy lyrics, with the band making out with each other, and rolling around in their underwear!
In anticipation of their debut full length which is due out in January (Andee and Cup have been diggin' the advance copy they kindly dropped off a month ago), Bay Area foursome Boyskout offer up a two song vinyl appetizer of darkly edgy and emotive feist-pop in many ways quite reminiscent of equally kick-ass gals The Need. Well worth checkin' out!
As we mention in our review of the White+ album, one of this week's Records Of The Week, we've been digging all sorts of kick ass underground indie rock from China, one of our favorites being this one, the latest from a group called Boyz & Girl, named literally for the gender make up of the group, and whose sound falls somewhere between the the blown out shoegaze noise of My Bloody Valentine, the angular dissonance of Sonic Youth, and the quirky post punk poppiness of the Pixies. These guys (and gal) have obviously been raised on a steady diet of classic nineties indie rock and it shows, thick billows of distorted FX heavy guitars, laconic laid back vocals, driving rhythms, heavy and psychedelic, hooks buried throughout, wild tangles of guitars expand into droned out jangle, squalls of wild guitarnoise are harnessed into lush melodic drifts, we also hear hints of the Swirlies and Polvo, the group at their best when their dreamy pop gems are swathed in thick sheets of buzzing guitar, or driven by what sounds like junkyard percussion, "He Must Be" is our current fave, dreamy, poppy, but noisy as all get out, a cloud of constantly crumbling and swirling and howling guitarnoise over some perfect jangle, sweet sad boy vox, and loose propulsive drumming.
Amidst all this fuzzed out, noise drenched indie jangle, there's also plenty of experimental weirdness, "Cannot Touch" sounds like Blonde Redhead or Deerhoof, but deconstructed into something much more minimal and skeletal, "Cursed And Cursed Again" is a brief swirl of swooping backwards high end, "The Cold, The War", is a haunting reverb drenched brooder, dark and gloom poppy, but set on a bed of crunchy noise, muted and blurred into a lush and weirdly lovely backdrop. In fact most of the songs here have strange production, and cool weird guitar parts, equal parts jangle and crunch, buzz and spaced out swirl. Fans of that classic indie rock sound, who have been hankering for some noisy, shoegazey, jangle, will flip for this!
San Francisco boasts a great history of kick ass party bands who have the ability to get a warehouse full of sweaty folks lost in pulsating sounds. From Tussle, Numbers, Dynasty Handbag, The Vanishing, Harold Ray Live In Concert, Jonas Reinhardt (in their live incarnation) - SF bands have proven you can be fun and smart at the same time. Boyz IV Men follow in this great tradition as the torch carriers for sweaty dance floor jams done so totally right. Armed with analog synths and a minimal drumkit, they blast out electro jams that feel like a less precious Ratatat or a more DIY minded Justice or Simian Mobile Disco. We love how they maintain a raw and gritty sound in the midst of their all out body moving bangers. So damn good!
The lp comes with a coupon for a digital download of the album.
2nd album (or long ep) by this guitar/drums math-rock combo, on the same label that brought us The Champs, Mechakucha, and Spaceboy. The sort of instrumental interplay favored by postrock fans into the proggier side of that genre. Cool.
This has been out for a few months now, but didn't get listed. Bozart are a two piece instrumental math-rock combo from Minneapolis. File with Don Caballero, etc. Now on Frenetic Records, who were responsible for The Champs record.
This new mini-album's got 24 more minutes of mathematical musicality from the Minneapolis/Portland based Bozart. They're just a duo of guitar and drums, playing post rock instrumentals that sometimes totally remind us of AQ-faves The Fucking Champs, though this has got lotsa quiet parts, really chop-sy *and* beautiful, and is really not so metallic throughout as those Champs fucking are. Nor are Bozart as noisy and hectic and "extreme" as some other bands you might equate them with, formula-wise, like Lightning Bolt and Crom Tech/Orthrelm. No, if those bands are Slayer these guys are Opeth. The tracks on "The Steel Bridge" almost seem to alternate between the pretty proggy ones and the epic, heavier metal compositions. There's spacey psych shoegazer stuff, sometimes repetitive like Circle doing a guitar clinic. But then there's also total epic Champsiness as well. And let's not forget the all-guitar, no drums tour de force of track two. Metal that's not so evil, these men cry real tears. This third Bozart release is a fine one.
Wow, this new album from Ms Bozulich is her darkest yet. With members of Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, Gowns, Black Ox Orkestar and Mae-Shi in attendance, Evangelista find her exorcizing all of her demons. Her wails match those of the church organ with a fraction of Diamanda Galas' tormented severity -- which taking into consideration the extremities of Ms Galas is still quite potent. They perch atop a smoldering bed of strings and unsettling sounds that are reminiscent of Nurse With Wound's creaking ship on Salt Marie Celeste. Further on in the album things simmer down to a disintegrating lullaby pace as though all emotions and energies have been spent. A broken beauty pervades. Recommended.
Want some more slow, despairing avant-country dirges from the former leader of the Geraldine Fibbers? You get seven previously unreleased live tracks here, plus two album cuts taken from Bozulich's excellent Red Headed Stranger cd -- one of which, "Can I Sleep In Your Arms" happens to feature Willie Nelson, who was responsible for the original Red Headed Stranger record back in the '70s. Now, we're not sure about the marketing theory behind this, as you'd imagine that anyone interested in the live cuts already has the studio album, but $10.98 ain't bad for 41 minutes of live material. The live tracks are recorded at various times and venues with different line-ups, all tracks but one featuring the guitar of Nels Cline, and many with melancholic strings, usually courtesy of the violin of Carla Kihlstedt. From a cover of Neil Young's "Running Dry (A Requiem For The Rockets)" to the the 13+ minute Bozulich composition "Outside Of Town" this nicely showcases Bozulich and company's knack for a dark, sorrowful blend of trad. country-folk stylings and more improv-oriented droning, noisy bits.
This came out back in the fall, and though we keep selling 'em we hadn't gotten around to listing it 'til now. But we didn't want it to slip through the cracks, so here's a little blurb on this fine record. Singer/guitarist Carla Bozulich you know from Geraldine Fibbers and her band with hubby (and AQ fave guitarist) Nels Cline, Scarnella. Nels is part of this project as well, in which Carla takes on the entire Red Headed Stranger album by C&W legend Willie Nelson. Her re-interpretation of this classic both brings a new avant/underground vibe to its downer Americana but still hews close to Nelson's vision: enough that Willie himself plays and sings on a few tracks on this record! Real real nice. I (Allan) saw Carla, Nels and co. perform songs from this (along with other tunes, including some old Geraldine Fibbers favorites) at this past year's All Tommorrow's Parties festival in LA, and it was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. Traditional country melachony and outright string drone, entrancing.
Here's the sixth album from this unmistakable, eccentric, secular musical group who have always been hard to categorize -- as a Christian band or otherwise. Br. Danielson is the newest in the line of Danielson incarnations which feature an ever-shifting cast of players anchored by mainman Daniel Smith. The Danielson Famile, Tri-Danielson and Danielsonship are the others which have indeed included a number of his other siblings. Brother Is To Son kicks off with the fiery hillbilly stomp "Things Against Stuff" then over the course of the next seven songs gradually slows to the yearning, somber "Physician Heal Yourself". Actually the latter half drew comparisons to Devendra Banhart, and similarities are palpable from the lyrical content (sometimes weighty, sometimes bizarre) to the distinctive untethered vocal delivery to the overall sense of newfound urgency. Daniel Smith once again sings in his chirpy shrill falsetto, while sister Megan provides soft backing vocals. Keep an ear out for Sufjan Stevens' pluckety pluck banjo too.
The return of these Pittsburgh heavies, the oddly named Br0wn Angel (yup, that's a zero), who deliver their swansong in the form of this epic and darkly melodic chunk of churning low-end heaviness, having recently called it a day. But what a note to go out on! And what a change from their self titled debut. That record (which is included here on the accompanying cd-r) was a sick and sinister chunk of superdistorted sludge, equal parts industrial pummel and droned out black crawl, with the band equally capable of kicking some seriously dense mathrock jams as they are churning, downtuned ultradoom. But the first track here, at least the first few minutes, displays a side of the band only hinted at on the first record. Starting with some mysterious field recordings, the band unfurl a thick sprawl of minor key buzz, and washed out melancholic heaviness, the title "You Can Find Heartbreak Anywhere" suits the sound perfectly, the vocals a weary croon, in a different context this would be some woozy dreamlike slowcore, but here, wreathed in thick, crumbling swaths of guitarnoise, squalls of feedback, and massive drum pound, it somehow makes it sound even that much more moody and malevolent. But then again, this is Br0wn Angel, so halfway through, the song splinters into a woozy start/stop, with squealing feedback, and harsh vokills, before again switching gears, and adding some chiming melodies to the proceedings, giving the sound a sort of ultra melodic Godflesh style industrial vibe, maybe Godflesh fused to Interpol, which sounds like a weird, but an AWESOME combo, especially the final salvo, where the vocals are belted out, and the song is transformed into something seriously dark and emotional.
The rest of the record is equally progressive and emotional and WEIRD, the second track is a dense slab of math metal chug and churn, a definite AmRep thing going on, but much more abject and downtuned, and like that first track, the band deftly incorporate all sorts of unlikely melody and still more clean vox. From there on out, it's a constant battle between light and dark, noise and melody, the sort of sonic tension that makes for compelling heaviness, "Days Of Vagrancy" taking those massive drums, and wreathing them in woozy, heavily effected guitars, and thick caustic bass buzz, the result more atmospheric than brutal, at times reminding us of eternal aQ faves Geronimo, that sort of almost motorik pound and mesmerizing bassline, surrounding by swirling clouds of noise and FX. "Did You Ever Need Me" is some seriously heartfelt indie rock / post rock in industrialblacknoise's clothing, stripped of the huge drums and buzzing guitars, it might pass for pure indie rock, but but instead, the sonic heft and underpinning darkness elevate Br0wn Angel's sound to something much more intense, and emotionally resonant. The last two tracks offer up more of BA's new twisted industrial / metal / gloom pop hybrid, seems like exactly the sort of thing fans of Pinkish Black and Wreck And Reference would dig big time.
Sad that this is the last we'll hear from these guys, but like we said, we couldn't have hoped for a better final missive. The lp includes a cd-r, that contains both the new record, AND the self titled debut, which we described thusly:
Br0wn Angel (yeah, that's Br0wn with a zero) hail from Pittsburgh, and offer up a heaving helping of blown out, super industrial metallic crunch, some strange hybrid of Godflesh, Author & Punisher, Big Black, and Jesu, but they add all sorts of unlikely stuff that makes this SO much more than just wannabe Streetcleaner. The opening track alone should have metaldrone obsessives in a trance, it's a blackened doomdrone raga, that finds these guys weaving a sprawling landscape of crumbling, superdistorted guitar crunch, a bit like SUNNO))) but way more melodic, infusing this blackened crawl with chiming melodies, strangely melodic seeing as they're set amidst barren fields of crumble and pound, the sound thick, gristly, but warm, and thick, and then the vocals come in, and they're quite unexpected, a monk-like chant, transforming the song into something way more ritualistic and spiritual, and we can tell you, if that first song had been stretched out to fill up both sides, we would have been pleased as punch, but instead, the band do get way more metallic and propulsive, the sound thickening into a sort of slowed down tarpit Austerity Program, thick guitars, lots of harmonics, streaks of feedback, starts and stops, ultra dynamic, sheets of guitar skree over black industrial creeps and proto industrial metal pummel, which again would have been just fine, but these guys continue to twist and tangle up their sound, occasionally launching into full on progged out math rock, but just as often slipping into some sort of super sludge death march, the interesting part is how those two sides bleed into that plodding, industrial core, creating a fucked up hybrid that is all their own.
Br0wn Angel (yeah, that's Br0wn with a zero) hail from Pittsburgh, and offer up a heaving helping of blown out, super industrial metallic crunch, some strange hybrid of Godflesh, Author & Punisher, Big Black, and Jesu, but they add all sorts of unlikely stuff that makes this SO much more than just wannabe Streetcleaner. The opening track alone should have metaldrone obsessives in a trance, it's a blackened doomdrone raga, that finds these guys weaving a sprawling landscape of crumbling, superdistorted guitar crunch, a bit like SUNNO))) but way more melodic, infusing this blackened crawl with chiming melodies, strangely melodic seeing as they're set amidst barren fields of crumble and pound, the sound thick, gristly, but warm, and thick, and then the vocals come in, and they're quite unexpected, a monk-like chant, transforming the song into something way more ritualistic and spiritual, and we can tell you, if that first song had been stretched out to fill up both sides, we would have been pleased as punch, but instead, the band do get way more metallic and propulsive, the sound thickening into a sort of slowed down tarpit Austerity Program, thick guitars, lots of harmonics, streaks of feedback, starts and stops, ultra dynamic, sheets of guitar skree over black industrial creeps and proto industrial metal pummel, which again would have been just fine, but these guys continue to twist and tangle up their sound, occasionally launching into full on progged out math rock, but just as often slipping into some sort of super sludge death march, the interesting part is how those two sides bleed into that plodding, industrial core, creating a fucked up hybrid that is all their own.
LIMITED TO 150 COPIES!!! Packaged in super swank, metallic bronze silk screened covers, each on hand numbered, and each one with a random photograph insert.
Three cheers for Billy Bragg! Uh, make that four! One for each of these reissued albums -- Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Talking With The Taxman About Poetry, The Internationale EP and the Live & Dubious EP, and this one. This reissue comes with a bonus disc of rare and previously unreleased recordings. Hip hip hooray, indeed!
(Psst, for Bragg super fans, there's the Volume One 9-disc box set which boxes the four reissues along with a bonus dvd!)
Holy smokes! It's nothing but reissue mania for Sir William of Braggville! You might recall those fine folks at Yep Roc Records' first batch of four reissues which came out early this year. Collectively known as Billy Bragg Volume 1, they included Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up With Billy Bragg, Talking With The Taxman About Poetry, The Internationale EP and the Live & Dubious EP. Super great!
Well, the autumn brings forth four more of ol' Billy's best, all splendidly remastered and rereleased. They are England, Half English, William Bloke, Worker's Playtime and this one from 1991. You may or may not recall, this is the album where Bragg pulled out the big guns for back-up -- Johnny Marr, R.E.M.s Michael Stipe and Peter Buck and Kirsty MacColl -- though he really didn't 'need' 'em!
As with the previous bunch, each one comes in a trayless digipak with new cover art and a bonus disc of rarities. Ahh, but isn't it such a bittersweet pleasure to hear them again after all these years with Bragg's early '80s socio-political commentary still ringing relevant and true today more than ever?
(Oh yeah, and if you wanna go completely Bragg wild, there's a Volume Two boxset that has all these releases and a dvd packed together with a big booklet. Let us know if you're game!)
