Author: James B. Eldred (Page 4 of 21)

Ludo: Prepare the Preparations

September 17, 2010 /


RIYL: Sparks, My Chemical Romance, They Might Be Giants, Rocky Horror Picture Show

Ludo is a band that just keeps getting weirder, and that’s really saying something considering their second release was Broken Bride, a rock opera EP about atime-traveling scientist who, while on a quest to save his dead wife, ends up battling Satan and his army of zombies with his own legion of pterodactyls. The follow up to to Broken Bride was You’re Awful, I Love You. And while it found them on a major label for the first time, it didn’t stop singer/guitarist Andrew Volpe from penning horror-themed tunes about evil zombies in Lake Pontchartrain and stalker neighbors.

Ludo’s journey into insanity continues with Prepare the Preparations, an album that switches between lighthearted wackiness and the genuinely disturbing so much that it should be prescribed medication for manic depression.. It speaks volumes that the most mainstream-sounding track on Prepare the Preparations is “Whipped Cream,” a tongue-in-cheek ode to using the confectionery as a sex aid. From there things get downright insane. “Anything for You” is a deceptive love ballad that sounds normal at first, but as Volpe sings about his adventures in space, travels across the astral plane and meetings with leprechauns, it becomes apparent that this isn’t your typical love song. The same goes for “All the Stars in Texas” an ode from one bank robber to another, and “Manta Ray,” a song that may or may not be sung from the perspective of a man drowning himself (and someone else?) in his car. Its theme is subtle and not exactly clear. Something that cannot be said for the theatrical “Cyborgs vs Robots” and “Skeletons on Parade,” two songs so goofy that They Might Be Giants would think they’re too silly.

Ludo’s unique brand of weird will probably alienate ten times the people it attracts, but those who do enjoy Prepare the Preparations will absolutely fall in love with it. Most likely while driving to a horror movie convention. (Island 2010)

Ludo MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Power Pop, Rock

The Sword: Warp Riders

September 10, 2010 /


RIYL: Priestess, Black Sabbath, Wolfmother, vans with airbrushed graphics

The Sword’s first two albums were steeped in J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired mythology, with songs about goddesses, demons, frost giants and, of course, swords. In other words, they were totally fucking METAL.

Now the Sword leap out of the land of wizards and warriors and into outer space with Warp Riders, a full-on concept album about space travel, intergalactic demons and beings that live out of time. According to the band’s official website, the album tells the story of Ereth, a tribal archer from the planet Acheron. The planet is in a tidal lock, leaving half the planet in perpetual darkness and the other scorched by three oppressive suns. He’s on a mission to, like, save stuff.

Like all concept albums, the narrative kind of gets lost in the music, especially since large portions of Warp Riders are instrumental passages, with great emphasis given to non-stop pounding riffage by dual guitarists Kyle Shutt and J.D. Cronise (who also contributes his trademark monotone vocals). This may be a concept album about space, but it sure as hell isn’t a prog record. There are no keyboards to be found here, and the seven-minute epic “The Chronomancer I: Hubris” has more in common with Metallica’s “One” than anything Hawkwind ever put out.

Of course, the Sword’s biggest influence remains ’70s classic metal. Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and even a little bit of Nazareth can be found all over Warp Riders, whether it’s in the sludging riffs of the title track, or in the oddly radio-friendly sound of “Lawless Lands” and the excellent “Night City,” which, when taken out of context, could totally be the soundtrack to any metalhead’s night out on the town.

Warp Riders might just be the Sword’s heaviest and best album yet, and proof that there’s more heavy metal in meteors than there is in an orc’s axe. (Kemando 2010)

The Sword MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Metal, Rock

Underworld: Barking

September 8, 2010 /


RIYL: The Chemical Brothers, The Future Sound Of London, everyone on Hospital Records

Barking is the third Underworld album since Darren Emerson left the the duo of Karl Hyde and Mark Smith in 2002, and the first since then that is worth a damn.

A Hundred Days Off was a forgettable mess and the nicest thing that can be said about Oblivion With Bells was that its album title was an apt descriptor of the music. It’s probably no coincidence that this, the first good Underworld album since 1999’s Beaucoup Fish, is a collaborative effort between the group and a series of high-profile and up-and-coming producers.

Drum and bass producer High Contrast contributes the two highlights of the album, the very High Contrast-like sounding “Scribble” and the oddly sedate “Moon in Water,” which features some truly inventive vocal manipulations over a simplistic, but effective beat.

Other tracks are less surprising, but still good. D. Ramirez and Paul Van Dyk both specialize in dance-ready house and trance music, so it’s no surprise that their tracks, especially Ramirez’s “Always Loved a Film,” make Underworld sound like classic Underworld again, with frantic beats and epic synths serving as a perfect backdrop to Hyde’s distorted and manic vocal delivery. Van Dyk’s “Diamond Jigsaw” is so damned uplifting it should be played in rehab centers, and its peaks of Everest proportions pretty much ensures you’ll hear it on every mix by the DJ for the next few years. Minimal techno producer Dubfire is a little off with the slightly-too-slow “Grace” but makes up with it by delivering “Bird 1,” the opener to the album that builds in a way reminiscent of Beacoup Fish‘s “Shudder/King Of Snake.”

The only contributors to seemingly miss the point of the exercise are Appleblim and Al Tourettes, who never rise out of the dubstep doldrums they’re so comfortable in, with “Hamburg Hotel,” a barely-there collection of looping beats and boring bass lines. But hey, it’s dubstep, so you get what you ask for.

Maybe Hyde and Smith need someone else to bounce ideas off of in order to truly be great? Whatever the reason, here’s hoping their collaborative streak doesn’t stop with Barking. They just need to avoid any additional “dubstep” artists. (Om Records 2010)

Underworld MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Dub, Electronica

Toadies: Feeler

August 12, 2010 /


RIYL: The Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, Meat Puppets

Feeler was supposed to be the Toadies’ follow-up to their debut Rubberneck. But Interscope, their label at the time, didn’t like the record and forced the band to re-record it. By the time they finally finished Feeler, it was called Hell Below/Stars Above, it was 2001, and no one gave a crap.

Since then, the Toadies broke up, got back together (with a slightly modified line-up) and even released a new album in 2008,No Deliverance, which was surprisingly really damn good. So they must have thought now was a better time than ever to revisit their “lost” album, going back into the studio to re-record nine of the tracks from Feeler that weren’t retooled for Hell Below/Stars Above.

Hearing the tracks now, it’s hard to understand why Interscope had a problem with the release. Sure, it’s not going to change the world, but it stands up just as well as anything on Hell Below/Stars Above. It’s trademark Toadies, a combination of the Pixies’ quiet-loud-quiet song structure; the urgency of Husker Du; and a general WTF vibe that can only come from Austin, Texas.

People seem to forget that the Toadies are a really weird band. Seriously weird. Which in itself is weird when you think about the fact that their one hit, 1994’s alt-rock classic “Possum Kingdom,” was a five-minute mini-epic about a vampire/serial killer who hangs out behind a boat house. On Feeler we have similar tales of love and happiness, like the obsessive stalker anthem “Mine” and the brutal “Suck Magic,” on which lead singer Todd Lewis seemingly makes threatening compliments about his lover’s oral abilities. Don’t play that one for your girlfriend, guys.

Like most other bands from the ’90s who are still trudging along with new music, the Toadies aren’t likely to increase their fanbase with Feeler, but the fans that remain are sure to love this “new” record. (Kirtland Records 2010)

Toadies MySpace Page

Alternative, CD Reviews, Rock

Dax Riggs: Say Goodnight to the World

August 3, 2010 /


RIYL: John Doe, Birdmonster, Jeffrey Lee Pierce

Dax Riggs started as the lead singer of Acid Bath, a sludge/stoner metal band that was heavier than an elephant on Jupiter. After Acid Bath he went onto Agents of Oblivion and then Deadboy & the Elephantmen before finally just going solo with We Sing of Only Blood or Love. With each successive release, Riggs’ sound became more sonically mellow, even if his lyrics and own vocal delivery remained as raw and powerful as ever. On Say Goodnight to the World, Riggs starts strong (and loud) with the blues-rocking title track, and hints of his old metal ways can be heard on songs like “No One Will Be a Stranger” and “Gravedirt on My Blue Suede Shoes.” But the rest of the album is more barren and stark than anything Riggs has recorded to date. It’s occasionally interesting, but after a while the bleakness of it all becomes overbearing. The cover of “Heartbreak Hotel” is interesting, and certainly matches the somber lyrics of the song, but for the most part this album alternates between being horribly depressing, sleep-inducing or background noise.

If you thought Beck’s Sea Change and Nebraska by Springsteen were too upbeat, this is the record for you. (Fat Possum 2010)

Dax Riggs MySpace page

Blues, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑