Author: James B. Eldred (Page 19 of 21)

Computer Vs. Banjo: Computer vs. Banjo

August 15, 2008 / James B. Eldred

King Kong vs. Godzilla, Alien vs. Predator, Freddy vs. Jason. These are the eternal battles that have captured the imagination of the American public. Now you can add Computer vs. Banjo to that list of epic duels. The computer half of this musical duel is Johnny Mann of the little-heard Nashville funk band Gran Torino. The banjo is represented by Beau Stapleton, formerly of the slightly successful southern jam band Blue Merle. To be honest though, there isn’t much in the way of “vs” on the duo’s self-titled debut. Much of the album is simply a low-fi electronic album, songs like “Low” and “Outer Space” have nary a country influence in them. On the flip side, country ballads “San Joaquin” and “2Heavy2Hold” don’t have much a computer presence to them. When the two do team up, the result is more like a Grandaddy album than something that you would expect from a name like Computer Vs. Banjo. Where’s the 21st century version of “Dueling Banjos”? What about a hardcore rave anthem with some line dancing influence thrown in for good measure? This is a good album, but there’s a lot of untapped potential here. Hopefully Mann and Stapleton will really embrace their novel concept on their next album and truly give us a battle between the technological majesty of electronic music and the down-home charm of classic country. (Diagram 2008)

Computer vs. Banjo MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Electronica

Middle Class Rut: MC Rut EP

August 8, 2008 / James B. Eldred

A band’s press release almost always relies on a simple “A + B” statement to define their sound, and usually the equation involves two bands of such regard that the results are laughable. It’s always the garage band from Gary, Indiana who considers themselves to be the magic combination of Radiohead and Led Zeppelin. Middle Class Rut ambitiously describe themselves as a combination of Jane’s Addiction, Refused, Rage Against the Machine and the Foo Fighters. Now that is a ballsy statement. Not only is Middle Class Rut comparing themselves to three of the biggest bands of the ’90s (and Refused, a hardcore post-punk band from Sweden) with the release of their (somewhat) self-titled debut, they also hold the ideal that people actually want to hear another band that is wearing said influences on their sleeves. Surprisingly though, that ridiculously hyperbolic description is spot-on. And the fact that the result isn’t half bad is even more surprising. “Let It Go” and “All Walks Of Life” recall the anger and energy of their influences, with a hardcore punk edge that explains the somewhat questionable inclusion of Refused in their equation. Sure, they may run out of steam later on, with “So Long” and “I Don’t Really Know” feeling a bit too much like Jane’s Addiction for their own good, but this is one of the only bands who have managed to draw influence from mid-’90s alternative rock and not suck outright. And for that they deserve something. Also with ten songs (one secret) and over 40 minutes in length, this has to be the longest EP ever. (No Label)

Middle Class Rut MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Revmatic: Cold Blooded Demon

July 25, 2008 / James B. Eldred

Going by their H.R. Giger-lite cover art and the vaguely-threatening title Cold Blooded Demon, it’s obvious that Revmatic want to be taken seriously as a “real” metal band. And while the group does manage to keep things at a constant fast and loud pace on their third album, they forgot to make it good. Hyper-fast guitars chug non-stop on Cold Blooded Demon, speeding their way through at near-Motorhead intensity on the opening “Head My Way” and rarely slowing down until the slightly more subdued closing number “So Far Away.” And while the crunching riffs start out great, they quickly get old as Revmatic reveals itself to be a one-trick pony, with their one trick being slightly heavier than usual, Top 40-friendly post-grunge bullshit. They may know how to plug an amp in and crank it to 11, but they sure as hell can’t do anything past that. The recurring theme of Cold Blooded Demon is “I hate that bitch because I love her so much” with titles like “She’s a Drug,” “Lie to Love” and “Such a Disease” singing the praise of dysfunctional relationships. Even if you somehow still like crap like this, you can do better. Doesn’t Puddle Of Mudd have a new CD out? (Self-released)

Revmatic Myspace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Metal, Rock

Your Highness Electric: The Grand Hooded Phantom

July 11, 2008 / James B. Eldred

David St. Hubbins said it best; “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever” and frequently it call comes down to presentation. Take a group like They Might Be Giants; a good majority of their songs don’t even make sense. They’re filled with non-sequiturs about human/alien lovemaking, evil puppets and deviant cyclopes. However, they present their lyrics in a musical format (college/indie rock) that is equally quirky and oddball, so it works out for them. Your Highness Electric, on the other hand, wrap their decidedly odd lyrics around generic, paint-by-numbers cock rock on The Grand Hooded Phantom. And since they aren’t going over the top with it a la The Darkness, it must be assumed that they want to be taken seriously. But when lines like “I know what the little babies need/They think ‘I want to suck on breasts all day long” are accompanied by bluesy rock riffs and a vocalist who sounds like he wants to make love to the microphone, it’s hard to wrap your head around it. Maybe if the music was a little bit better, it might work. Many songs, such as the hilariously named “Bob. Sugar. Sex. Magic.” and “Bearskin Love,” sound like boring arena rock that would have been embarrassing and boring if released 10 years ago, albeit with exceptionally out-there lyrics. It’s hard to hate Your Highness Electric because they are so damned odd. But it’s hard to like them because they are so damn boring. There has to be an audience somewhere for this weirdness; maybe philosophy majors who are into Skid Row. (LABEL: Longhair Illuminati 2008)

Your Highness Electric MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Global Noize: Global Noize

July 11, 2008 / James B. Eldred

Global Noize is collaborative project between turnbalist DJ Logic and Grammy Award-winning jazz composer/keyboardist Jason Miles, and joining them throughout their self-titled debut are about a dozen or so other musicians. Some of the more notable contributors include Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, Blues Traveler’s John Popper, singer Me’Shell Ndegeocello and legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert. In addition to those somewhat prominent names, jazz musicians Karl Denson, Billy Martin, Cyro Baptista and Christian Scott show up, as does Parliament/Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell. That’s a lot of great musicians from a ton of genres; and they bill themselves as “the nexus of jazz, funk, world music and electronica,” so it’s really too bad that they sound like nothing more than a third-rate jazz act experimenting with a turntable and a sampler. This isn’t a record that has one foot in jazz while dabbling in other genres; it has both feet firmly planted in jazz while the occasional pinky toe dips into electronic music or rock for a second before quickly retreating back to the safe, soothing waters of modern jazz. If you’re looking for a successful blend of jazz and electronic music (two genres of music that go surprisingly well together) check out Sqaurepusher’s Ultravisitor or At the Center by Meat Beat Manifesto. This is nothing more than waiting room music with mediocre backbeats tacked on. (Shanachie 2008)

Global Noize MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Jazz