Month: April 2008 (Page 2 of 7)

It’s about time someone got the old formula of fast, loud metal right. Sure, bands like Mastadon and the Sword are great, but all that stuff about whales and mythical beasts can get old after a while. Sometimes you just want to listen to songs about screwing, fighting, and drinking – and that’s when you should listen to American Speedway. Offering nonstop, balls-out thrash with some punk thrown in for good measure, this Philly band delivers the goods on their debut album, Ship of Fools. This is music to listen to while you downing a bottle of whiskey and punching a hippie in the face. Song about sex? Check. Songs about fast cars? Check. Songs about illicit drugs and alcohol? Double check, via the one-two punch of “Drinkin’ and Drivin’” and “Cocaine.” This is not a record you let your kids listen to if you’re trying to instill in them a sense of responsible drinking and a “Just Say No” drug policy. However, if you’re a drunken mess who sees hardcore drugs as a perfect cure to a hangover, then congratulations – you just found the soundtrack to your life. Ten songs, 30 minutes, no bullshit. Someone call Lemmy, we just found the opening act for Motorhead’s next tour. (LABEL: Prophase Music 2008)

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As much as you might think you miss Elliott Smith, Peasant’s Damien DeRose misses him more, and made a record to prove it. On the Ground, DeRose’s second album under the Peasant name, so faithfully captures Smith’s acoustic melancholy – DeRose also does a mean impression of Smith’s butterfly tenor – that it borders on necrophilia. Thankfully, DeRose is nowhere near as depressed as Smith was, so while his songs may seem sad, they’re not bleak. Indeed, there is a dash of Shins-style whimsy sprinkled throughout the proceedings that keep the album from venturing into downer territory. The end result is an album that’s pretty, but slight. If it contained more songs like “Stop for Her,” which could easily pass for a bonus track from Smith’s Figure 8, we’d be talking about something truly special. (LABEL: Paper Garden 2008)

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When married actors work together on a project, the end result is often unwatchable (“Shanghai Surprise,” “Eyes Wide Shut”). This might explain why Christian progressive and pop classicist Derek Webb and his wife Sandra McCracken released 13 albums between them before daring to record something together; they’re too smart to fall into that trap. However, one listen to their first joint venture, an EP simply titled Ampersand, will make one want to slap them silly for not working together sooner. Webb may have the higher profile, but McCracken is this EP’s star. Her song “When the Summer’s Gone” is the best song Sheryl Crow never wrote, “Watch Your Mouth” is as good as – or better than – the material on Webb’s superb 2007 album The Ringing Bell, and the two do a sublime cover of BobDylan’s “If Not for You.” The couple’s status as best kept secret is officially on notice. (LABEL: Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken 2008)

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Just when you thought you’d finally gotten their songs out of your head, New Zealand’s “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo” Flight of the Conchords strikes back with a full-length album to hold fans over until the return of their eponymous hit HBO series. Though this is actually their third album to date – a live CD (Folk the World Tour) was released in 2002 and a six-song EP (The Distant Future) sneaked into stores last year – the self-titled disc is the duo’s first official studio album. Most of the songs that appear in the 15-track collection have been available in some format before, and though several (like the 80s rap-inspired “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros”) actually lose some of their comedic bite without visuals to go along with the lyrics, others are just as effective without them. “The Prince of Parties” (a Bollywood meets the Beatles pop-rock tune) is the perfect example of a song that, while hilarious when viewed in the context of a drug-induced fantasy, is still something you wouldn’t mind listening to while driving around town. The same goes for many others, including the pop ballad “Leggy Blonde,” the synthesizer-heavy “Robots,” and a glam rock homage to David Bowie. It’s too bad, then, that there are still a few stinkers on the disc; especially when personal favorites like “I’m Not Crying,” “If You’re Into It” and “Frodo (Don’t Wear the Ring)” didn’t make the final cut. Still, the Conchords remain one of the freshest acts in the entertainment industry (whether it’s as comedians or musicians), and as long as they continue to crank out quality material, we’ll be around to spread the good word. (LABEL: SubPop 2008)

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nelo (rhymes with “hello,” spelled all lowercase, says the one-sheet) is a young band from Athens, Georgia by way of Austin, Texas. And while these kids were in high school a decade ago, they managed to endear themselves to that Dave Matthews-meets-Sister Hazel brand of Southeastern jam rock, a sound they still bring to the table in 2008. But while many bands have tried to emulate that sound, it’s not always this easy to find one that does it well. nelo does that with decent songs and outstanding musicianship. Plus, lead singer Reid Umstattd can positively belt this stuff out. In all, nelo has put together a really nice debut that is tailor made for AAA radio. Most of it is jangly pop/rock, but some of the best tracks are the slower ones, such as “On Top of Love,” “Alright,” and “Please.” This band might blend in with a lot of other artists, but if they keep writing material this solid, they could wind up on tour for the next twenty years. (LABEL: Justice Records 2008)

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