MUSIC REVIEW: The Bats Pajamas from Toronto Canada are a dirt rock party mixing some booze and punk all in one no frills sleepover on their EP Totally. If you like the noisy parts of the Unsane the first track “Breaking Sabbath will resonate with you. The rest is more AM/REP in the vain of the Cows and general sick fun dripped in enough reverb that you will gladly download this Free EP! They do a great job in their single video for the track “Sarai”. This is not your regular Bollywood black and white flick. I would say more Richard Kern fantasy meets Russ Meyer go go fest with some slap stick gore-light thrown in for good measure. This is NSFW because of one nip slip but just click play and you’ll see what we mean. A whee bit cow punk on another track called “Red Scared” which we dig very much with just enough variety to not bore us to death. Thanks and enjoy!
Some other sounds similar to these sounds man: How Far We’ve Come Now MP3 by La Sera from See the Light (2012). How do buzz-band morph so quickly into other bands these days? This track is via Katy Goodman from Vivians’s Girls with a side project. Not sure why you would do another take of the same thing when what you were doing sounds the same but anyway. Lets not judge and enjoy the output. This is more like the chic band The Like. Sure to appear in your next surfer girl movie. Bath MP3 by Unsane (1991) Black Car MP3 by Black Tambourines/t (1999?)
Dearest bands,
I love you. I’ve been saying to myself and now I’m saying this out loud (again). Where the hell are all the good guitar bands!? Bands I beg you please don’t use a drum machine unless it’s a demo and you’re desperate. So for now say hello to Dot Dash and Cursive (saddle creek) who have actual musicians. These are Bands who know how to craft a song and play said instruments.
Spark> Flame > Embers > Ash by Dot Dash from D.C. sounds like early Psychedelic Furs to be up-front but this only lasts a few minutes. There are some good jangle guitar pop here. At first it’s seem a little off-kilter then I saw the light. This is not their first rodeo with lots of shows coming up. There’s are some mod elements going on here where they are also not afraid to let a whole chord fly with a Pete Townsend arm twirl. No sir. A big nod to all things that were good and fresh for alternative music in the late 1980’s. Dot Dash sound fresh.
Learn How to Fly MP3 by Dot Dash from Spark Flame Ember Ash Mack The Knife(Kurt Weill Cover) Mp3 by The Psychedelic Furs from re-leased and remastered debut (1980)
If you like these songs you may fancy a band from England called with their track called Still Young MP3 Title track by New Manhattan
I have to be honest (aren’t I always?). I’m mostly familiar with a couple older Cursive songs because they appeared on some emo comps back in the day with Brown Bike and some other crap. I will tell you though there were never any volume issues and I Am Gemini is no exception. Plenty of guitar hooks, etc. No break-out hits and it’s definitely not elevator music. This record simply rocks from beginning to end. Set on repeat. You’ll be fine.
A Birthday Bash MP3 by Cursive from I Am Gemini The Casualty MP3 by Cursive from Domestica (2000). This is emo at its most melodic.
Here’s some more tracks to add to your Emo compilation: The Red Bedroom MP3 by the San Diego band No Knife. I found this track on a Dim Mak of all things a comp called Emo Vault I. Is This Thing On_ MP3 by The Promise Ring from Nothing Feels Good. This is arguable one of three bands that started the emo genre. The melody is a little repetitive but you’ll get the point why it’s teenage anthemic. Red Letter Day MP3 by The Get Up Kids
Glen Hansard is a traveler and I’m not sure he’s ever supposed to settle down. A troubadour since I first met him playing a solo across the country promoting his band the frames in Asbury Park. I was reminded of what real musicians could be. He’s more than just a singer guitar player guy. I honestly hate the genre because all I can think about is JT and the time I fell asleep at a concert. Anyway, Glen has been in living in NY the for the past year and half working on the Broadway version of his movie Once. Yup. good enough for U2 good enough for him. Here’s a song from the Hunger Games soundtrack. His first ever solo record is coming June 19th Anti and it’s called Rhythm and Repose. He’s a personable guy. Here’s a video of him just playing without a mic at SXSW. Which is typical Glen. If you like these few ditties pick up For the Birds. You’ll be mad at yourself you waited this long. We can’t wait for this one. Sometimes performers send chills down your back and you wake-up and say to yourself. “Now, if I could only be 1/10 as good as him”. Try as you might Glen’s one of those inspiring characters. Yet, he’s humble and just puts himself out there with every performance. Part Irish charm but mostly a troubadour of life.
At first listen Aggi Doom from Scotland reminded me of the B-52’s but it was killing me for days that they really remind me of the Bush Tetras with their minimal jungle sound. Regardless their sound is raw and the type of stuff you’ll want to keep playing over and over again. Comprised of Joan Sweeney (ex- Remember Remember, The Royal We) and Hillary Van Scoy (ex Divorce). Think Evens mashed with Throwing Muses or heck download the song here and buy the 7″ from Soft Power Records and be the cool kid on the block with foreign wax.
They were funky, dark and fun. Here’s a couple by the Bush Tetras. They had bouncy rhythms and dissonant guitar riffs in the vain of Talking Heads led by female singer Cynthia Sley and lead guitarist Pat Place as an output of the original No Wave movement. Very cool stuff.
I always think of the Sonic Youth as the band with as many guitars as they had sounds, feedback and melodies all packed into this noise jam that somehow made sense together.
This is sort of pretty slick video with a flying guitar and disco lights which is miles and decades away if you compare it to the gritty videos they did in Evol era Richard Kern. I know this is his solo work but none the less always great to see and hear the caliber of musicians like him making such relevant music and actually just shooting the video himself. Humbled.
Here’s some of his earlier solo efforts: Stephanie Says (1.15.91) MP3 by Lee Ranaldo from fifteen minutes: a tribute to the velvet underground (1994) New Groove Loop MP3 from East Jesus (1994) – Sounds like a lock-n-groove to me. Fuzz_Locusts _ To Mary x2 _ Lathe MP3 from East Jesus – What insanity sounds like to a deaf person.
SINGLES: Every month we look in our inbox and wonder what sort of banal crap are we going to have to weed through now. Every once in awhile we go down the nostalgia road and try and relate with the things that are burned like ancient meaningless wall graffiti into our ears. On first listen of Sadie Dupuis’s band Speedy Ortiz we knew something was up when we heard the guitar tones. This short road led to a mecca of influences and opened right up. Not all the music we get seems to be inspired or takes a bow to something pre-dating their birth in fact we think technology makes it a bad thing and some sort of passion for listening before you create is required. Anyway, a couple things we confirmed is; yes sure she worked in a record store and loves collecting 90’s records. The two songs on this latest single have got plenty of distortion and big melodies in a Dino Jr kind of way with lyrics that are as rich as the music itself. She paints with lines like“I have a boyfriend who likes to fuck to Can” ok we like her. She’s on the sleeve. On the vocal timbre side she sounds like Tanya Donelly from Throwing Muses a little bit with her own melodic grit. I will dare to say here; this band is as close to a female fronted heavier version of Nada Surf as it gets with lots of guitar schronks that are going to make a lot of mustache-nerds wish they were hipsterer than her. Check out “side 2” here and get side one “Taylor Swift” from them which I think there may be a trademark issue with but who cares the tune is good – my vote is to change the name of the song to “Taylor Swift Jr”. They were just recently headed into the studio to record a 10″! so if these latest track are any indication of music to come we’re very excited and big fans already. The previous full length release is more hum spun but still pretty great in it’s own right in a Lou Barlow kind of way. Anyway, you get the point. Check them out.
Mar 22 Sierra Grille Northampton, MA
Mar 28 Flying Object Hadley, MA
Mar 29 Shea Stadium Brooklyn, NY
Mar 30 Wesleyan Middletown, CT
Apr 09 Great Scott Allston, MA
Other music like this: Yr Light MP3 by Black Wine from Dark Energy EP Mexican Women MP3 by Throwing Muses from House Tornado A Weirding Away MP3 by Helms Alee from Night Terror Boyfriend MP3 by Janitor Joe from Big Metal Birds (am/rep) I’m So Green MP3 by CAN from Ege Bamyasi (1972)
ALBUM REVIEW: Palace Amusements by The Brixton Riot on Modern Hymnal Records is a great throw-back to everything that is good about rock music that is missing these days from the island known as Brooklyn. These Jersey guys reminds us of the hooky parts of Jets to Brazil, Ted Leo RX and the more memorable parts of 70’s and 80’s jangly guitar punk. To help them celebrate this release you should get your ass down to Maxwells on Fri March 23rd where they will play with Lieder, Roadside Graves and yours truly Eastern Anchors for some rock schooling.
I’m not sure there is any irony in a song title like “Hipster Turns 30” when the lyrics sober you up and say ‘get a mortgage and buy a car’. In fact I’d venture to say it’s probably more fandom on the sleeve than anything else. Hard working musicians with 9-5’s doing what they must in order not to drown in the hum-drum doldrums of the working stiffs union. You can tell every note and tone here is plucked just in the right spot and amusement created out of passion. This kingdom of rock is held in the highest of regards like a well crafted champion beer with a pedigree of influences that lends itself to something so familiar you’ll be happy you visited.
These sounds remind me of that sound man: Morning New Disease MP3 by Jets To Brazil from Orange Rhyming Dictionary (1998) Sometimes MP3 by fIREHOSE from If’n (1987) Three Girl Rhumba MP3 by Wire from Pink Flag (1977) Love You More MP3 by The Buzzcocks from Singles Going Steady (1979)
ALBUM REVIEW: M. Ward is americana really. He chose to criss-cross our nation and record A Wasteland Companion with 8 different engineers and 18 musicians from Steve Shelley on percussion and Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis on organ to drop a couple names. The music here is diversely as R&Bish as it a country with a nod to some of things you may not admit you like from 70’s music. In particular on songs like “Sweetheart” that almost sounds a little like ABBA moved down to Texarcana. Then there is the very pretty japinated video single “The First time I Ran Away”… where he’s singing about voices in the storm with many layers of “ooohhhs” and a simple drum thumbing behind the melody it this creates desolate place.
The title track goes the way of being Nick Drake mystery folk acoustic inspired with fiddles fiddling in the background and ends up being pretty dark, almost as if created for a sounscape in some desolate movie where something bad is going to go down.
Sounds some what like: Way To Blue MP3 by Nick Drake (1969) Christ Jesus MP3 by Deer Tick from The Black Dirt Sessions (2010) Loveskulls MP3 from Bonnie Prince on Billy & Mariee Sioux Baby Lemonade MP3 by Syd Barrett
Here’s a couple dope brothers from Indiana in a band they call Stagnant Pools making this shoegaze rock dark and dank like Pyscho Candy. Not sure I need to say much more except we’re looking forward to hearing more of these gritty space jams. If there is not a more desolate place in the middle of the night I’ve ever driven down this is what the road sounds like.
Download: Consistency MP3 single by Stagnant Pool
They also remind me of The Sleepover Disater Disaster from Central San Joaquin, California.
Funnel Cloud MP3 by The Sleepover Disaster from Hover (2009)
Monks & Melrose
This next thing is by 17 year old prodigy Seamus Patterson calling himself Monks & Melrose. I think he’s at least heard the Lost in Translation sound track which visceral soundscape is present in his debut record called Ottowa. Check this out then go and download his whole record for free. You’ll thank me.
Download: Birds & Wings MP3 by Monks & Melrose from Ottowa
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