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When an album starts off with a line like “J.K. Rowling’s been following me around,” a person might be tempted to expect the rest of it to be heavy with “Weird Al” Yankovic-style silliness – maybe even a parody song or two. But Freddie Stevenson isn’t your average literary kingpin-referencing troubadour; in fact, the artist described in his press kit as a “Scottish Afro’d punk poet” seems to be pretty far from your average anything. He is also, as he makes clear early on, not a novelty artist. For his second full-length release, Stevenson follows in the footsteps of U.K.-bred songwriters such as Paul Brady and Mark Knopfler, venturing to Nashville to bring his songs to life with the help of a band that includes Emmylou Harris sidemen Brady Blade, Chris Donohue, and Phil Madeira. The result is a wonderfully warm collection that swings between the rocking, Rowling-tweaking opener (“Easy Now”) to poignantly heartfelt ballads like “Alibi Song” and “If An Alien Astronomer Could See Us Now.” When Stevenson is on, as he is on those tracks, he’s mesmerizing. Not everything here reaches those heights – songs such as “Brand New Heart” and “Ordinary Girl” lack the wit and spark he shows elsewhere – but overall, Stevenson’s Companions are an addictively agreeable bunch. (LABEL: Juicy Musical Creations 2008) |
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Falling somewhere between the ‘70s rockabilly of Dave Edmunds, the ‘80s Britpop of Billy Bragg, and the modern twang rock of Steve Earle, Portland, Oregon’s Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags deliver their sophomore release, All the Great Aviators Agree, in an altogether boring package. With mostly upbeat and half-spirited tales of drinking, drowning, loving and losing, Barr takes us from Duluth (“Fall Hard”) to Rome (“Heart of Rome”) and across his “Mexican Blanket,” where he offers, “What a man will kill for is not always subject to the depth of love he feels for the things that he protects.” Pretty deep, huh? Well, only until he “drank all the wine and killed all the roses” during a “Dirty Old Waltz.” Barr and his Drags have the gruff barroom bravado of Merle Haggard and the early Stones down pat, but as the album wears on, the songs fail to support their many classic influences. It’s not hard to understand why finding any background information on these guys was almost impossible. (LABEL: Monkey Barr Music 2008) |
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To give U.S. fans a taste of blatantly British rock band the Wombats, their label is releasing this six-song EP as a prelude to a full-length later this summer. If you’re a fan of wiseass acts from the other side of the pond such as the Fratellis, Mando Diao or the Darkness, you may find the Wombats endearing. It’s mildly hooky, in-your-face pop, and singer Matthew Murphy has a British accent so thick it almost sounds fake — that, and if you’re from North America, you’ll probably have a hard time making out the lyrics. And while these six songs try to be fun and evoke playfulness, you can’t help but feel like there’s something missing. There are hooks, to be sure, but they sound as contrived as Murphy’s exaggerated accent. The one song that does stand out is “Moving to New York,” which, if you’re a fan of ‘80s music, might remind you of Brit-pop band A.P.B. Here’s hoping the full-length has a bit more variety – and that the Wombats are more of a hoot on stage than they are coming out of computer speakers. (LABEL: KIDS in America/Bright Antenna 2008 |
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“Totally Nude,” kids.
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Every music writer is a whore on some level, and I am a shameless, “2 Girls 1 Cup” skeezer when it comes to Muse. Look at the crowd. Who gets crowds fired up like that anymore? And the thing is, you should see them when the band plays “Knights of Cydonia.” Fucking incredible, that. Filed under: Rock and Alternative and Songs and Videos and External Music and Seen Your Video Comments: None |
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NYC’s Worst Cast Ontario has a cool name, but plays rather nondescript indie rock that more or less renders the group a bit faceless in a sea of like-minded bands. Songs like “You’re Glib” sport an interesting melody to be sure, but in the end it’s hard to say if “interesting” here translates to “good” or just “annoying after a couple of minutes.” The vote is still out on that one. Other songs like “Purge” and “Go Deaf or Get Married” seem to be reaching for something distinct, but I can’t help that I heard all this nine years ago. Unfortunately, the band just sounds dated; while they’re quite capable and good at what they play, Worst Case Ontario just doesn’t seem to have the sort of overall sound that will make enough people stand up and take notice. (LABEL: Self-released 2007 |
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The cover art makes it look like a children’s book, but Hans York’s Young Amelia is actually a deftly assembled collection of beautifully unassuming folk songs. Fans of gentle vocals and open tunings, a la David Wilcox and Michael Franks, have a new friend in York – or maybe he isn’t “new” at all, having shared stages with everyone from Robert Palmer to Germany’s Ars Quittilinga Chamber Orchestra; either way, anyone with a weakness for songcraft would do well to acquaint themselves with the talented multi-instrumentalist. For Young Amelia, York and his crew flexed some old-school muscle, recording the album’s 12 tracks in a six-day stretch, often without the aid of overdubs – not that you could tell from listening to it. The songs are simple – there isn’t a single right angle or rough edge in here – but there’s comfort in their simplicity; listening to the album is like stretching out in front of a sunny window on a spring afternoon. The album probably isn’t sexy enough to grab most people’s attention, but those who find it will be very glad they did. (LABEL: Hazzazar 2008 |
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The “press” section of Erich Von Kneip’s website includes links to three articles, and two of them are in German. This is pretty depressing for an album that was released a year ago, but it’s also sort of fitting; they may have been recently recorded, but the nine originals and one cover that make up A Collection of Abject Musings have the sound and feel of long-forgotten objects from a distant and perhaps imagined past. Like Tom Waits without the frog in his throat (and with Django Reinhardt standing behind him), Von Kneip leads the listener on a fairly convincing stroll down the alley behind a 1920s saloon. His sound isn’t terribly dissimilar from Andrew Bird’s, but unlike Bird, Von Kneip never seems to be mugging. Whether this is because he isn’t as concerned with making sure you hear everything he can do – or because he just can’t do that much – isn’t important; all that matters, really, is that he’s the type of guy who knows you can’t go wrong with a one-eye-open, album-closing cover of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” He could do with more consistent original material, but hey, this is just his debut – there’s plenty of time for that. (LABEL: Bitemark 2008 |
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Scary’s debut earned raves from Pitchfork, Paste, Popmatters and, um, Perez Hilton, giving him the extra burst of chutzpah that must have been necessary to assemble the follow-up, a nutty dozen-song cycle inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s thousand-page doorstop “Against the Day.” The overall effect – at least if you don’t pay any attention to the lyrics – is akin to what Todd Rundgren getting high with Queen and the Electric Light Orchestra in the early ‘80s might have sounded like. If you do pay attention to the lyrics, on the other hand, you’re liable to waver between amused and irritated – and if you lived through the peak of prog rock’s popularity, you may end up suffering (and we do mean suffering) flashbacks. Try to boil Pynchon down to album length, and you’re bound to end up with an unwieldy mess – but whether Scary’s buckshot approach is the result of genius or attention deficit disorder is entirely an open question. The arrangements are tight and the hooks are plentiful, but you get the feeling you wouldn’t want to share an elevator with the guy. (LABEL: Black and Greene 2008 |
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The whole “these guys sound like [random band] meets [another random band]” cliché of describing new music acts is old, tired and worn out. That being said, the Flight Orchestra sound like Radiohead meets Aphex Twin…with some Grandaddy thrown in. On The Military of Fatima, the Flight Orchestra (which is really just a man by the name of David Wilson) challenges the conventions of the experimental and glitch genres, although saying that either genre has conventions is a little bit of a stretch. Still, by singing over near-random assaults of feedback, freaky bleeps and a wacky assortment of miscellaneous sounds, Wilson takes the notoriously noncommercial subgenre and almost-but-not-quite makes it commercial. His singing voice isn’t all that great, but his near-whisper vocals and limited range fit well on great tracks like “Daylight” and the hideously titled “Win One for the Endless Empire and the Neverending Day.” Unfortunately, many of the tunes that do not feature vocals are annoying pop-and-crackle messes that are either downright boring or migraine-inducing. There’s potential on The Military of Fatima, but Wilson’s going to have to either improve his singing voice, hire a professional singer, or refine those instrumental tracks just a bit more. Still, there’s something to be said for an album that almost undoubtedly took at least some of its samples from old Nintendo cartridges. (LABEL: Breathing Room Records 2008 |
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You’ve come to the right place if you want hot links to some of the latest music reviews online. Step right this way to the egress, er…I mean, the newly minted reviews! Over at delovely Bullz-Eye, Jeff Giles has reviewed the latest disc by R.E.M. entitled Accelerate. “The new record’s surprisingly good – and, even better for those kvetchy fans, it’s good in a way that hearkens strongly back to the band’s classic sides,” says Jeff about the disc. David Medsker cuts to the chase on Muse’s new release called H.A.A.R.P. “H.A.A.R.P., much like Green Day’s American Idiot 2005 tour document Bullet in a Bible, is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments that captures the band at the height of its powers.” The Black Keys have returned with Attack & Release, and Jim Washington is there to put in his two cents. Says Jim, “Attack & Release is an apt title. The Keys’ music used to grab you by the throat and rock you. On this, they let go a bit.” Switching over to Billboard, critic Sven Philipp has covered the new Rolling Stones soundtrack album, Shine a Light. “Much more dazzling than the guest list: More than 40 years into their career, the Stones sound raw and dangerously alive.” Classic critic-meister Robert Christgau writes up the new Drive-By Truckers CD entitled Brighter Than Creation’s Dark over at NPR. Says Robert, “Like the old cowpunks they are, [Patterson] Hood and his band have a soft spot for losers and total scuzzballs. They’ve also written more good songs about musicians than any competing road dogs you can name.” Carl F. Gauze of Ink 19 weighs in on Murder Mystery’s Are You Ready for the Heartache Cause Here It Comes, saying “Overall, this is a bouncy, tight band with a clean, happy sound, and the opportunity to make something of itself with its power pop love songs.” Who knew the Breeders had a new one arriving? Well, I do, and perhaps you do, too now. Head over to Rolling Stone to check out Will Hermes’ review of the new disc entitled Mountain Battles. “Steve Albini (Nirvana, PJ Harvey), among other producers, keeps things raw; indeed, the record’s primitive art punk sometimes echoes Nirvana.” Finally, over at Spin, Josh Modell discusses Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltisin’s Pershing. “This Missouri band’s music is so plainly likable that they should consider running for public office — even the off-putting name wouldn’t deter any voters who appreciate the shy prettiness of the Shins and the sweeter, least brash moments of the New Pornographers,” muses Modell. |
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Just when I was fearing the worst, America stepped up its game last night much the way the “American Idol” finalists stepped up theirs on Tuesday night. They got it right for a change. It kicked off with another awful group number, Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5.” Can someone please stick a fork in these group numbers? They are just, um, not very entertaining. That’s too nice…they are bordering on pure agony, okay? Anyway, straight to business. Michael Johns, safe. David Archuleta, safe. Carly…a moment of Ryan Seacrest making her dangle, then safe. Commercial break….and oddly enough, Syesha Mercado was in this commercial for some technical institute, and I did a double take…like maybe it was one of those “Saturday Night Live” commercials, but it was real! She is, after all, an actress when she isn’t a finalist on the biggest show in America. Then they took some callers, and the best question was when some woman asked Simon why he apologizes after criticizing someone. Simon smiled and replied “I like you!” Then the Clark Brothers performed…these kids have some mad skills on their instruments, but that singer is scary….like he was shouting the entire song. Okay, back to what we came here for….David Cook, safe, after he assured America that his hospital visit the night before was purely precautionary and that it was blown out of proportion. Dude has high blood pressure is all. Ramiel, Bottom 3. Hooray, America knows what it’s doing! Kristy Lee Cook, who held a piece of paper that said “Bottom 3,” practically willed herself there, and she was right. Wow, America, nice work. Then they did some profiles of Idol alum from Nashville, since Dolly Parton was the theme of this week. Bucky Covington, Phil Stacey and Bo Bice were each featured, and are all having nice little careers after the show. I know Carrie Underwood is a mega-star right now, but I still think Bo was ROBBED. Syesha, safe, which meant Brooke or Jason. Jason, safe, Brooke to the Bottom 3. So it was down to Ramiel, Kristy and Brooke. But first Dolly Parton performed her new single, “Jesus and Gravity.” If you don’t like Dolly Parton, there is seriously something wrong with you….she is one of the most infectiously happy performers I’ve ever seen, and she spreads that to the audience. Okay, finally the grueling hour was coming to a close. Brooke, back to safety…..holy crap, America is smart! Mrs. Mike had predicted Ramiel earlier in the hour, and she has not been wrong yet. And she’s still not wrong…Kristy, safe, Ramiel, you’re outta here. You know, she has a nice voice but this competition is heating up and she just doesn’t have the mad skills of some of the others remaining. Here are my power rankings: 1. David Cook I still like Brooke more than Carly, though America may not agree….but hey, that’s why they play the games. See you all next week… |
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Black Gasoline is the ultimate MySpace band, summed up in one sentence from the band’s MySpace bio: “With its debut album She Gave Us Magic, Black Gasoline demonstrates exactly why it has long been hailed as one of the most promising bands in Kansas.” They do have something of a Deep Purple/AC-DC/Grand Funk je ne sais quoi to ‘em–and let’s not forget that, despite those band’s shopworn licks and FM oversaturation, when they came out they were awesome. And some rock fans pine for the days when men were men, rock stars were rock stars, and guitars were loud. I, for one, give these working boys two thumbs up, and hope you do, too. Here’s a video of their song “Lady Iron Wing” from She Gave Us Magic released last November….rock on! |
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Yeah, OK, so I was 11 years old when this song came out and at the time wasn’t really aware that Mr. Frey had been in the Eagles before this. Not that it would have mattered; I remember thinking how bad this song sucked then, and it still sucks now. But sometimes we have to look to our past to not make the same mistakes now. So here is “Sexy Girl” from The Allnighter. And for some reason…this song still didn’t stop me from buying the equally sucky album it was taken from way back when. See what I mean about making mistakes?
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So after dumbass host Ryan Seacrest told America that “American Idol” was being postponed due to some writer’s strike, pulling a fairly predictable April Fool’s joke, it was on to business. For a split second though, I forgot it was April 1, and thought “Awesome, I can go back to watching the Mets/Marlins game,” but no dice. The mentor this week was Dolly Parton, and the remaining nine contestants were asked to sing something from Dolly’s catalog. This could go a few different ways for these singers, and you might expect just a few of them to do well. But what happened was that many of them stepped up their game, some in surprising fashion. Here we go…. THE GOOD David Cook came clean before his performance, saying that some of his previous arrangements (more…) |
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